Until the end of 2023, we will please gamers and consider the Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE – an exemplary representative of the middle class. The model is positioned for video games in 2K, but in addition to toys, we test the graphics adapter in work tasks, compare with competitors, measure energy consumption and temperatures.
Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE
UAH 22,700
Pros:
high-quality cooling; low noise level; excellent gaming performance in Quad HD; low power consumption and idle temperature;
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Cons:
inflated recommended value; small nuances of the software;
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Specifications Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE
| Specifications Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT Pulse | |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Technical process | 5 nm |
| VRAM speed | 18 Gbit |
| VRAM volume | 12 GB |
| Memory bus | 192 bits |
| exits | 2 x HDMI |
| 2 x DisplayPort | |
| GPU frequency | 2544 MHz |
| Power connector | 8 + 8 pin |
| Energy consumption | 245 W |
| Recommended BP | 700 W |
| Length | 267 mm |
| Takes up slots | 2.5 slots |
Test stand
PC characteristics:
Appearance and configuration of Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE
The Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE video card is packed in a branded box with a glossy finish. Inside is a minimal set, including a map, paper documentation and plugs for ports.
The graphics adapter will be wrapped in an antistatic bag, everything is lined with dense foam so that careless loaders of transportation services do not damage anything. Considering the dimensions, a bar as a support would not be a problem here, but we only have such a modest set.
The dimensions of the Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE are significantly larger than the recently reviewed RX 7800 XT Reference. The radiator is thick, wide, but not as dense as in the original design. This model is not compact, although it will still fit into most medium-sized cases.
The radiator is heavy, so at least some kind of support wouldn’t hurt. It is good that the case of MSI MPG QUIETUDE 100S has a built-in stand with height adjustment, and if there is none, then it is better to purchase it separately.
Two fans blow the large radiator and do it very efficiently. The ratio of noise to temperatures was pleasantly surprising, more about this at the end of the review.
It should be noted the considerable dimensions of the board, textolite. Unlike the diminutive RTX 4000s, this model has a large board as long as the heatsink. The power supply is standard 2 x 8 pin, no adapters are needed. Equally interesting is the fact that RX 7700 XT, RX 7800 XT and RX 7900 XTX (reference) have the same number of power connectors.
There is no RGB backlight, which the manufacturer saved on, but this does not prevent the Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE from looking stylish. Strict design with effective cooling without unnecessary chips. What more does a conservative gamer need? In addition, the jack configuration should be highlighted: 2 x DP, 2 x HDMI. All of them are version 2.1, which is not always found in NVIDIA video cards.
Work productivity
Like its predecessor, the Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE has 12 GB of video memory. The chip itself has become somewhat faster and competes with the RTX 4060 Ti. In some tests it loses, in others the model from NVIDIA wins and in general they can be called direct rivals in the market.
In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD model is expected to win, but shows the worst result in Geekbench Open CL. It seems to be a decent indicator in both cases, but in some applied tasks Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE shows itself more modestly.
3D graphics rendering is NVIDIA’s forte. Here Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE is far behind. Even the RTX 4060 processes scenes noticeably faster. So there’s the middle class, the RTX 4060 Ti beats the Radeon 7000 flagships with twice the TDP.
Of course, it makes no sense to buy for the work of the hero of the review, but the manufacturer does not position the Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE as a solution for professionals. This is a common video card for gamers who recently switched from Full HD resolution to Quad HD.
Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE gaming performance
All video games were tested with ULTRA graphics settings without ray tracing. In the last review of the RX 7800 XT, we were convinced that RT in most games is not worth the performance losses, especially on Radeon video cards. However, there is a small margin for ray tracing, but you will have to put up with a significantly lower FPS, sometimes three times.
Perhaps the AMD Fluid Motion Frames technology will help improve the situation, but we will talk about it in a separate article. AMD’s frame generation is only available in the beta driver, and testing was done on the public version, the latest available for official download.
Legend:
- FSQ – AMD FSR Quality;
- FSP – AMD FSR Performance;
We will also note a nuance with monitoring. No program was able to display complete information about the video card, even the proprietary utility from Radeon. Updating drivers, window mode, changing monitoring utilities did not help. Many metrics were not available and power consumption was almost impossible to look at due to the gear curve and lack of optimization.
The text of the AMD overlay was superimposed on each other, only by squinting you could guess that the power consumption in peaks reached 230 “with a hook” W. Other programs did not show power consumption at all.
The video card feels comfortable with 2K monitors. You can play any games, demanding, optimized and not optimized, all under the power of Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE. In some projects, we get 120-160 FPS, which is ideal for monitors with a high refresh rate.
You can afford not to include FSR, but only for 1440p resolution. The transition to Ultra HD is difficult, although the video card has held up decently so far. For fun, Cyberpunk 2077 FSR is included in performance mode. Of course, the picture lost a little clarity, but for a conventional 27-inch 4K monitor, it will be almost imperceptible.
The only one that had problems with 4K was Diablo IV. This game pleases with its excellent optimization, but in our case it refused to work due to a shortage of VRAM. It’s surprising, because the RTX 4070 Ti with the same amount of memory felt easy in this RPG. NVIDIA VRAM loading at 4K resolution was in the range of 10-11 GB, and here all 12 GB was not enough.
Energy consumption, heating and noise
The Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE requires about 230-240 W, but from the outlet the consumption is slightly higher, because there are losses on the power supply unit. With a high-quality gold standard PSU, the real power consumption of the video card is about 250-260 W.
The computer in simple “eats” less than 90 W, in the FurMark test 330 W, in games 350-360 W. It is not clear why the manufacturer recommends a PSU for as much as 700 W, when any quality 450-500 W will do.
The temperatures of the video card are not high, after 20 minutes FurMark recorded only 67 degrees. The radiator of the graphics adapter also does not heat up very much, but the most important thing is that the video card remained quite quiet. 35-38 dB half a meter from the system unit is an excellent result.
Unfortunately, none of the programs showed the speed of rotation of the fans and the temperature of the Hot Spot, but even so it can be said that the cooling system here is quite high-quality.
Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE is somewhat more demanding on power supply and hot than RTX 4070 and 4060 Ti, and among internal analogues it is quiet and cold. Since we mentioned the competitors, let’s immediately move on to the comparison of current models on the market that can replace the hero of the review.
Prices and competitors
Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE is sold at a price of UAH 20,000 and is currently one of the most affordable versions of RX 7700 XT. After paying an extra 5000-6000 UAH, you can buy RX 7800 XT, but you can’t attribute it to competitors, it is of the highest class.
The main competitor is the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 16G priced at UAH 20,000. More economical, faster in work tasks and has a larger amount of VRAM, but the RX 7700 XT has a more powerful chip and better memory bandwidth.
In addition, you can look at the cheaper Palit GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Dual 8GB, if it is not important to get a smaller amount of memory. It is sold from UAH 17,500 and is the most powerful video card with a TDP of 160 W.
Another alternative is the older XFX Radeon RX 6800. Here we have 16 GB of VRAM, powerful dimensions and the highest power consumption. Such a video card can be purchased for only UAH 17,000, so it still competes with new models.
Conclusion:
The Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE video card performed well in gaming scenarios and is suitable even for 4K monitors, with rare exceptions. Although it is not very suitable for working with 3D graphics, but gamers will definitely be delighted, and AV1 support makes it relevant for streamers and video editors.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the operation of the cooling system. This is the quietest AMD graphics card tested in all of 2023. The temperature to noise ratio is really great, especially for a graphics card with a TDP of 245W.
If it weren’t for the big price tag, the Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT PULSE would be immediately doomed to success, but for the time being, the compromise RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB for the same money and slightly more expensive than the RX 7800 XT with RTX 4070 will make a potential buyer think about choosing a video card for Quad.
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