Sapphire discusses ATI 5 series GPUs and more

A common gripe that we hear from tech-heads around the world is that there are so many different versions of seemingly identical cards, making the manufacture of standardised water blocks and other gadgets increasingly difficult. Sapphire having three different circuit topologies of the 4850 alone, we put the question to Donnelly, why so many?

"At the point of introduction, all partners are given standard products to sell, and have access to the reference designs," he said. "Sapphire then takes those reference designs and optimises them for different markets." Some of the ones he went on to list included its Toxic water cooled range, as well as the VaporX series with advanced air coolers. The other one he mentioned was a budget model designed with ease of manufacturer in mind, which Donnelly said allowed the firm to "offer a cost reduced model for the mass market". However it seemed he couldn't resist using this opportunity to take an indistinct swipe at GPU rivals, simply stating, "Some of the other partners never get beyond using the reference designs - maybe just changing the coolers, but that is only part of the story."

We also questioned Donnelly on what he thought the future of consumer graphics would be. Would it continue to develop as it is, or would cloud computing and services like OnLive sound the beginning of the end for the market?
Unsurprising for a man proud of his industry, he answered with a succinct "No", and went on to explain that those wanting the most immersive gaming experience "will always want to display images locally at high resolutions and high levels of detail". He also managed to mention a new 5 series feature known as Eyefinity, which allows ATI cards to support up to three high resolution monitors at once.

Donnelly also filled us in a bit on Sapphire's strategy in other hardware markets, including motherboards and power supplies. He mentioned that the firm has a new PSU range out at the moment, known as the Pure series, which has had recent additions of 1250W, 1050W and 950W. He was also quick to mention that they were already available at all big e-tailers. Motherboard-wise he was keen to mention Sapphire's use of "solid capacitors", "well designed voltage regulation circuitry" and "options for end user tuning" in the BIOS, though he identified no specific products.

Donnelly concluded our talk by saying that Sapphire has an exciting few months ahead and throwing one final jab at competitors, saying ATI's cards give the firm a "major leap ahead" of the rest of the pack. The response from the other camp should, nevertheless, be interesting.