got apex? has posted a Sapphire Radeon Toxic X800 Pro VIVO review

For a few generations now, Sapphire has brought us a stock card, like the 9800XT, and it's buff big brother, the Ultimate. These cards were beefed up with giant Zalman heatpipes and a greater ability to overclock, and were, along with the HIS IceQ, premium cards much sought after by the hardcore. The big selling point of the Ultimate was also one of it's weaknessess - that 200 pound Zalman took up an extra slot, and the added weight of the card in the slot sometimes caused the sink to not quite sit flush on the core over time. It was cool, but it could be a monster to deal with, and in cases with poor cooling that heatpipe really didn't do anyone any favors. In a proper case though, they rocked the house.

The Ultimate is dead.

Long Live the Toxic!

Or so it seems. Taking a page right out of the HIS playbook, Sapphire has done away with the Zalman sink and popped on a low noise heatsink/fan combo. Then, recalling the days of the Gainward Golden Sample line, they offer up a pre-tested and guaranteed by warranty overclock. Nobody is ever going to accuse Sapphire of sitting still, and the Toxic X800 Pro Vivo card is a mostly successful attempt at leading the pack.

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