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The Sapphire box artwork features another futuristic robotic render with a little window to showcase the Nitro sticker on one of the fans.
The rear of the box highlights the Nitro cooler in the form of a breakdown diagram.
The bundle contains a video adapter, literature, and a software/driver disc. We always advise people to get the latest driver direct from AMD's website as the driver on the optical disc may be a couple of revisions older.
Sapphire's Nitro cooler is very understated which will appeal to the enthusiast audience who have an inherent adverse reaction to flashing lights and bright colours. The PCB is black, to match the matte finish of the cooler.
The card measures in at almost 240mm, meaning that compatibility and installation issues are unlikely.
The card is equipped with two DVI ports, one DVI-I and one DVI-D. There is a full sized HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort underneath an exhaust vent.
There is no HDMI 2.0 on this card, although that is unlikely to annoy HTPC gamers with a 4K TV as the R9 380 is not strong enough to push playable frame rates at a 3840×2160 resolution. It is, however, an annoyance to users who want to occasionally connect their system to their big 4K TV for high-resolution media consumption from the likes of Netflix.
The card takes power from two six pin PCIe power connectors.
There are no crossfire connectors on the R9 380 Nitro – as this is based on the R9 285, it has bridgeless Crossfire support. Simply plug in two of these cards into a Crossfire capable motherboard and Catalyst Control Center will enable Crossfire options. TrueAudio is also fully supported.
The plastic shroud can be easily removed showing the large heatsink underneath in all its glory. It is a fairly chunky cooler.
The four thick copper heatpipes run directly into a big copper base which cools the Antigua (Tonga) core – these heatpipes run into aluminium fins on either side of the GPU core to quickly disperse the heat. Memory and VRMs are actively cooled by the heatsink as well.
GPU-Z depicts an overview of the Sapphire R9 380 Nitro – which is basically the same as the last generation R9 285, with higher core and memory clocks. AMD's Antigua Pro (Tonga) core is built on the 28nm process. There are 32 ROP's, 112 Texture units and 1792 Stream Processors. The 4GB of GDDR5 memory runs at 1,450mhz (5.8Gbps effective) and is connected via a 256 bit memory interface. The core is running at 985mhz – slightly faster than AMD's reference clocks.
Can you try to make a CF (4GB) review?
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To add perspective, this 380 was up against a 3-Slot Über OC Palit GTX 960 Super Jetstream 2Gb, and this even with cost disparity of being a 4G unit is just £4 more right today. I see a good purchase or a high priced 960!
Considering the Palit GTX 960 Super Jetstream 2Gb you tested back Feb ’15 only provided 6% more OC it’s fairly spent in what it can provide in more FpS. Also, for the 3-Slot Palit cooler and Maxwell efficacy, the Nitro cooler is offering excellent cooling under gaming, even with the Palit having a big chunk of its cooler hanging out in the clear through flow air, because of it’s short PCB.
As they stand they’re close competitors, but when the Sapphire Nitro truly pedestrian, while hardly any huge factory OC (985MHz) version. I say it held up excellent against what is one of the “preeminent 960” offered… which anymore seems overpriced. Perhaps a more proper vying would be something like XFX Black 380 4G with a 1030MHz, that would give a clear picture of what are the “ultimate versions” from either side.
Hello! I have just received my r9 380 4g. Didn’t expect thechanges from the review product… The version I have received now have 1010 Mhz default core clock. And an unexpected backplate. Yes a backplate that looks similar to the r9 390 version. Plus a free Dirt 3 game. Although I was wondering, r9 380 is under Gold Reward group which was listed as to receive 3 games but I only got 1. (Is this only for reference cards? see AMD Never Settle Promo).
Anyway Photos of the backplate could be seen at the link below.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12208225/20151029_211102.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12208225/20151029_212041.jpg
A great deal anyway! Thanks AMD and Sapphire!
It deems Sapphire started to supply all the 300 series with Backplates now. And they have a nice design to them too, like yours.
IMO, these little things make the 380 worth every penny.