Page 42 - PCWorld (September 2019)

REVIEWS SAPPHIRE PULSE RADEON RX 5700

• Asus Maximus X Hero motherboard vendor-specific technologies—like AMD TressFX,
($420 on Amazon at go.pcworld.com/c240) Nvidia GameWorks options, and FreeSync/G-

• 64GB HyperX Predator RGB DDR4/ Sync—disabled, and temporal anti-aliasing (TAA)
2933 ($420 on Amazon) enabled to push these high-end cards to their

• EVGA 1200W SuperNova P2 power limits. If anything differs from that, we’ll mention
supply ($230 on Amazon at go.pcworld. it. We run each benchmark at least three times
com/mxmc) and list the average result for each test.

• Corsair Crystal 570X RGB case, with Because the Sapphire Pulse is just a slightly
front and top panels removed and an extra faster Radeon RX 5700 at its core, we’re going to
rear fan installed for improved airflow ($130 skip our usual commentary after each benchmark

on Amazon at go.pcworld.com/crst) and let the testing speak for itself, aside from in
• 2x 500GB Samsung 860 EVO SSDs ($78 the Trixx Boost and thermals sections.

each on Amazon at go.pcworld.com/smev)
We’re comparing the $359 Sapphire Pulse GAMING BENCHMARKS
RX 5700 against AMD’s $350 Radeon RX 5700 The Division 2

and $400 Radeon RX 5700 XT reference Let’s start with the latest games. The Division 2 is
models, as well as Nvidia’s $350 GeForce RTX one of the best looter-shooters ever created, and
2060, $400 GeForce RTX 2060

Super, and $500 GeForce RTX The Division 2
2070 Super. If you want to see how (Frames per second)

AMD’s new GPUs stack up against Nvidia GeForce RTX 83
2060 (FE) 55
a wider range of cards, be sure to 28
check out our original Radeon RX 90
Radeon RX 5700 60
5700 series review. (Spoiler: 31
They’re great options, and the 90
Sapphire Radeon RX
60
$350 Radeon RX 5700 won an 5700 Pulse 32
Editors’ Choice award.) Nvidia GeForce RTX 97
2060 Super (FE) 64
All prices cited are launch 33
MSRP; you can sometimes find 103
Radeon RX 5700 XT 67
these cards cheaper on the streets. 35

Each game is tested using its 119
Nvidia GeForce RTX
79
2070 Super (FE)
in-game benchmark at the highest 41
possible graphics presets, with 1080p 1440p 4K
LONGER BARS INDICATE BET TER PERFORMANCE
VSync, frame rate caps, and all GPU

42 PCWorld SEPTEMBER 2019