The last word:
Pricing?
Let’s get straight down to the most important point concerning the launch of the RX 7900 GRE in Europe. Well, at the time of publishing this article, we still don’t know the price of this Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 GRE Gaming OC. The only thing we know for sure is the MSRP announced by AMD, which will be 609.90 euros in France, whereas the RTX 4070 SUPER is priced at 659 euros MSRP. Excellent news for potential buyers of these models.
We know that the Sapphire Pulse is often priced very close to MSRP, as it is one of the brand’s entry-level models. The Sapphire Pulse RX 7800 XT already starts at 545 euros, and the Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 XT at 800 euros. The Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 GRE Gaming OC is therefore likely to be available in the near future at around 650 euros.
Performance?
In rasterization, this Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 GRE Gaming OC proves unbeatable, doing as well as or slightly better than the RTX 4070 SUPER. Once we test our games with active ray tracing, our sample of the day comes in behind the “SUPER” model, but still ahead of the RTX 4070. Compared to its big sister, the RX 7900 XT, it’s no match for 2160p, as it’s far too limited. Even if some games can be played in 2160p, this model is primarily intended for 1440p definition.
What about the price difference between an RTX 4070 SUPER and an RX 7900 GRE on a similar model? Difficult to judge, since Sapphire only offers AMD models, and we don’t yet know the price of our example. If we compare it with the ASUS Dual RTX 4070 SUPER we recently tested, its price is 689 euros at Alternate. To compete, our Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 GRE Gaming OC will need to be priced lower. We’ll be bringing you a brief update tomorrow when the launch prices are known, so that we can give you the best possible advice.
The map?
Although it’s an entry-level model from Sapphire, this Pulse RX 7900 GRE Gaming OC does the job perfectly. Aesthetically, the card is very pleasing, and the cooling system, while not the best in its class, keeps the various PCB components cool.
The Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 GRE Gaming OC:
This Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 GRE Gaming OC fills the gap between the RX 7800 XT and RX 7900 XT. It’s therefore a very good choice, even if it seems late to us, to finally offer the RX 7900 GRE worldwide. Performance is very good in rasterization, and not bad when ray tracing is active. So, is this AMD RX 7900 GRE worth the effort compared to the RTX 4070 SUPER? Yes, provided there’s a substantial price differential. If the price of the RX 7900 GRE is too close to that of the greens, we think that NVIDIA will still retain the advantage thanks to DLSS 3, which is much more widespread in games than FSR 3 at present. All in all, as we’ve come to expect from AMD, it’s a pity that the card is so limited, as we can feel that it still has a lot to offer. Many thanks to AMD France for making this test copy available.
