When comparing PowerColor Radeon RX 480 Red Devil 8 GB vs Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 480 4GB, the Slant community recommends Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 480 4GB for most people. In the question“What is the best AMD Radeon RX 480 card?” Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 480 4GB is ranked 1st while PowerColor Radeon RX 480 Red Devil 8 GB is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 480 4GB is:
The 8% increases in both clock speed and boost speeds that have been applied to the Nitro+ RX 480 card results in a slight, but noticeable performance increase. [In 3D Mark Fire Strike](http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-rx-480-nitro-oc-4gb-8gb-review/6/) for example, a reference RX 480 scores 12245 points while this Sapphire card achieves a score of 13298, an 8.5% performance increase. [In Ashes of the Singularity at 1080p](http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-rx-480-nitro-oc-4gb-8gb-review/8/), the Sapphire Nitro+ achieves an average FPS of 49.3 compared to a reference card with 43.6 average frames per second (+ 13%). In [Dirt Rally](http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-rx-480-nitro-oc-4gb-8gb-review/13/), also tested at 1080p resolution, the Nitro+ OC 8 GB achieves an average of 85 FPS compared to the reference card's 75 FPS, a 13.33% improvement. A slight performance boost can also be seen in [Grand Theft Auto V](http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-rx-480-nitro-oc-4gb-8gb-review/19/), with 75 average FPS versus 72 frames per second for the reference RX 480 (+ 4.2%).
Specs
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Pros
Pro Extremely quiet operation
The triple fan layout of the Red Devil's cooler result in a satisfyingly quiet operation. When idling (tamps are below 60 Celsius), the card's fans won't spin, which means they aren't producing any noise. Even under full load, the RX 480 Red Devil is barely audible with 38 measured decibels (A). This makes the Red Devil a lot quieter than a reference RX 480 at 42 dB(A). Because the decibel scale is logarithmic the difference can be noticeable (it's about 40% louder).
Pro Good overclocking potential
You can easily overclock the RX 480 Red Devil with additional boosts for the Boost Clock, GPU Clock and even the Memory Clock, especially considering the latter two haven't been overclocked by PowerColor. In this particular situation, a maximum boost clock of 1375 MHz (+ 45 MHz) and Memory Clock of 9000 MHz (+ 1000 MHz) was achieved with very little issues. The temperature limit was set at 83 degrees Celsius. Further overclocking of the card increases performance. In this case, the overclocked Red Devil card scores 4802 points in 3D Mark: Time Spy, while the same card using stock speeds only scores 4441 points. The overclocked card offers an improvement of a little over 8%.
Pro Decent cooling results, prevents throttling
The cooler of the Red Devil card performs well, both in idle and full load situations. The maximum temperature measured in idle was 37 degrees Celsius, which is an excellent result. Keep in mind that the fans don't spin up at all in idle, which makes the result even more impressive. The hottest temperature measured under full load using stock fan settings was 76 degrees Celsius, a difference of seven degrees compared to a reference RX 480.
Lower temperatures not only ensure a longer lifespan, but it also prevents throttling. Throttling is the phenomenon where the card gets too hot and clocks itself down in order to stay cool, effectively sacrificing performance. Due to the Red Devil's decent cooling results, this never occurs.
Pro Very little added power consumption
Because the Red Devil card is outfitted with a large cooling solution and also because of the slightly higher boost speed, it's reasonable to think that the power consumption would also be higher. Luckily, the difference is very minimal. As seen in this graph, the card is measured to have a maximum power consumption of 168 watts which is only two watts higher than a reference RX 480.
Pro BIOS switch located on the card
The PowerColor Radeon RX 480 Red Devil has two BIOS settings: Silent and OC, which provides the Boost Clock. The card has the OC setting in place out of the box. You could adjust the GPU settings to achieve similar results in the drivers and additional software, but there's a handy and physical switch located on the graphics card itself which makes for an effortless switch.
Pro 8-pin power connector allows for plenty of headroom
A reference RX 480 is equipped with a 6-pin power connector, but the power limit of the 6-pin connector has proven to be an issue for the RX 480 cards, as the total power consumption is sometimes higher than specified. The Red Devil 8 GB uses an 8-pin connector and although an 8-pin connector requires more power than a 6-pin connector, this effectively eliminates all concerns about the RX 480's power consumption and distribution and allows plenty of headroom for overclocking the card even further.
Pro Factory overclock provides noticeable performance increase
The 8% increases in both clock speed and boost speeds that have been applied to the Nitro+ RX 480 card results in a slight, but noticeable performance increase. In 3D Mark Fire Strike for example, a reference RX 480 scores 12245 points while this Sapphire card achieves a score of 13298, an 8.5% performance increase.
In Ashes of the Singularity at 1080p, the Sapphire Nitro+ achieves an average FPS of 49.3 compared to a reference card with 43.6 average frames per second (+ 13%). In Dirt Rally, also tested at 1080p resolution, the Nitro+ OC 8 GB achieves an average of 85 FPS compared to the reference card's 75 FPS, a 13.33% improvement. A slight performance boost can also be seen in Grand Theft Auto V, with 75 average FPS versus 72 frames per second for the reference RX 480 (+ 4.2%).
Pro Fans can easily be removed and replaced
The fans that are placed on the Nitro+'s cooler are easily replaceable. You just have to unscrew a single screw and the fan will pop out of the cooler. This makes it a lot easier to clean the graphics card and get rid of dust, but it also allows you to replace them in an instant in case a fan is faulty.
Pro BIOS switch is located on the card
The Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480 has two built-in BIOS settings: one for a more silent operation and a boost mode. You could adjust the GPU settings to achieve similar results in the drivers and additional software, but there's a handy physical switch located on the graphics card itself which makes for an effortless switch.
Pro 8-pin power connector allows for plenty of headroom
A reference RX 480 is equipped with a 6-pin power connector, but the power limit of the 6-pin connector has proven to be an issue for the RX 480 cards, as the total power consumption is sometimes higher than specified. The Nitro+ uses an 8-pin connector to help solve this issue. Although an 8-pin connector requires more power than a 6-pin connector, this effectively eliminates all concerns about the RX 480's power consumption and distribution and allows plenty of headroom for overclocking the card even further.
Pro Equipped with two HDMI connectors, better suited for VR
Sapphire has made a slight adjustment to the available connectors of the RX 480. Instead of going with the regular combination of 3x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI and 1x DVI-D, Sapphire has opted for 2x DisplayPort, 2x HDMI and 1x DVI-D instead. The additional HDMI connector is particularly useful when using the card in combination with a VR headset such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, which require two HDMI ports. Connecting a VR Headset doesn't require an adapter.
Pro Features some adjustable RGB lightning
On the top of the card, the Sapphire logo is outfitted with a couple of RGB LED's that are configurable via Sapphire's software. This allows you to customize the look of the graphics card, which can be useful if your setup is built with a specific color scheme in mind. You can also choose to disable these LED's entirely.
Pro Fans stay off when idling, keeping the card super quiet
The Dual-X cooling system uses 2 95mm fans which are accompanied by an array of heatpipes. The heatpipes alone work well enough so that the fans can stay off until an internal temperature of 52 Celsius is reached - at which point the fans will kick on.
Pro Good price for performance
And the price keeps dropping.
Pro Slightly better cooling results than some other RX 480 cards
The cooler of the Nitro+ OC performs well and better than a reference RX 480. Under idle - despite the semi-passive cooling system - maximum temperature recorded in this test was 29°C, which is one degree lower than a standard RX 480. In a full-load test, a target of 75° C was set in the drivers. The Nitro+ card is able to maintain this temperature without an issue at 74 degrees C, while a reference RX 480 heats up even further at 83° C.
Pro Good for a crossfire config
Pro Uses a semi-passive cooling solution for silent operation in idle
When the Nitro+ RX 480 OC has a temperature lower than 60° C, the fans of the cooler will not spin up because they're semi-passive. This allows for essentially silent operation when the card isn't working hard and doesn't need to be cooled.
Pro Good for overclocking
A crossfire overclock can increase the power output by 10%.
Cons
Con Very cheap PCB components
The components used in the PCB are really cheap. The VRM is rated at 46 amps (25 degrees Celsius) and 34 amps (80 degrees Celsius). For comparison, the reference RX 480 is rated at 66 amps (25 degrees Celsius) and 50 amps (80 degrees Celsius), which is significantly better. PowerColor has stated to not run Furmark on this card, because it just can't handle it without breaking.
For full details, this YouTube video by Actually Hardware Overclocking breaks down the problem.
Con GPU Clock hasn't been improved
Although the Red Devil 8 GB is equipped with an impressive cooling solution, the card only received a 5% Boost Clock overclock, while the GPU Clock has remained the same. This is a missed opportunity, as many other third-party RX 480 cards have received a GPU Clock improvement.
Con Quite long, won't fit in smaller cases
The maximum length of the PowerColor RX 480 Red Devil is 12.2 inches (310 mm), which is significantly longer than the reference 9.5 inches (241 mm). The additional length may cause installation issues in some smaller enclosures.
Con Power hungry
If you plan to overclock this card you should expect around 180W (almost 200W sometimes) power drawn.
Con 4GB version not that good.
RX 480 with 4GB VRAM have lower clock speed,the less VRAM make it not future-proof.
Con Produces the same amount of noise as a reference RX 480 under load
Although Sapphire has equipped this Nitro+ graphics card with their own cooler and claims a "10% lower noise production", there is no noticeable improvement under full load. As seen in this graph, the maximum sound production of the Nitro+ OC (measured while running Furmark) is 35.2 decibels (A). While this is fairly quiet, it is the exact same amount of noise produced by a reference RX 480. Testing was done at the 75° Celsius temperature setting.
Con Very warm idle temperatures
This Nitro+ RX 480 card idles around 50 degrees Celsius which is much higher than other cards. While nowhere near a dangerous temperature, this means that the fans will be spinning more often than other RX 480s, thus producing more noise than alternative options. However, it should be mentioned that for as long as the temperatures are below 52 degrees Celsius, the fans won't start spinning.