By Chris Hall

     Last August, 2007, we reported on NVIDIA based graphics cards from Hong Kong. In this report, we right the balance, covering the two major makers of AMD cards in Hong Kong, Sapphire Technology Limited and Hightech Information System Ltd. (HIS).
     The Hong Kong based Sapphire Technology is the largest global partner in graphics cards for AMD’s graphics wing, formerly ATI Technologies. Sapphire sells its AMD based cards brand and has always specialized in AMD/ATI based products. Sapphire does not offer any NVIDIA based cards.
     Sapphire sells a large proportion of its card to markets in the US and Europe, with sales to Europe going in particular to Germany, the UK, Italy and France. Sales to EU countries are growing rapidly. Sapphire has also managed to capture 50% of the Russian market for graphics cards. In the Asia Pacific, there are significant sales to Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.
     Sapphire offers a full range of AMD cards, from entry-level to mainstream, to the kind of high-end solutions that sell to gamers and other end-users wanting high performance graphics. Sapphire can also meet the needs of the workstation market with AMD Fire GL cards.
     At the entry level, Sapphire is selling AMD X300/X1050 cards for PCIe environments and R9250 solutions for mainboards with the AGP. Steve Choy, Sapphire’s marketing manager, APAC, pointed out that many mainboards in use still have the AGP, so there is still a significant replacement market.

The trend to HD
     Choy emphasized that currently there is “a huge market” for cards able to support high definition (HD) video and 3D gaming.
     In the mainstream, Sapphire is offering HD2600 and HD2400 based cards, with HD3800 series cards the latest addition to the range. Noted Choy, HD3850 and HD 3870 based cards are “in high demand.”
     High demand has also been the market response to Sapphire’s HD3870 based cards for gamers. In addition, Sapphire currently offers HD2900/X1950 cards for the gamer segment. Choy indicated that HD3870 cards support ATI CrossFireX setups, where three cards can be installed in an SLI arrangement supported by R680 logic. Four graphics processing units on a single motherboard are supported by AMD’s 790FX chipset. (There could be two cards with dual GPUs or four cards each with a single GPU for this implementation of CrossFireX.
     Choy is of the opinion that AMD (ATI) technology has always been in advance of that of NVIDIA, and he expects AMD based graphics to regain significant market share this year, after market-share losses in the period following the acquisition of ATI by AMD.
     Looking ahead to new technology developments in AMD graphics, Choy indicated that “Fusion” solutions, where the graphics processor is integrated into the system CPU, are scheduled to become available soon.
     We can also anticipate Hybrid CrossFire, where integrated graphics can be run in conjunction with a discrete card, rather than being turned off.
     At time of interview, Sapphire was also planning to launch a product called Atomic, targeting high end gamers. The first Atomic product is an enhanced version of the HD3870 reference design, and the company is showcasing this advanced technology offering at the website www.sapphireatomic. com. Sapphire is planning a limited edition of this card, probably running to a few hundred pieces.
     Product innovation, stability and reliability are company goals, said Choy, and Sapphire does not encourage overclocking of cards to their limits, which can shorten the life of the card. “Sapphire is good at Technologies. What we sell is stability and reliability.”

Cooler, quieter, faster
     At HIS, marketing manager Peter Yeung, explained that in 2002, HIS had decided to operate as a brand maker of graphics cards. Said Yeung, adopting a brand strategy had led to record profits for HIS.
     Overall, said Yeung, HIS’s strategy is to target gamers with ATI (AMD) based products, offering cards that are “cooler, quieter and faster.” Yeung pointed to HIS’s HD2600XT card, which carries 256MB of DDR3 graphics memory, as an example. When it comes to “cooler,” said Yeung, HIS’s state of the art Ice Q Turbo technology is well known for its highly effective cooling of the GPU, while at the same time, it runs quieter than other fan solutions in the market.
     Last year, said Yeung, HIS decided to put more on emphasis on its “HD” or high-definition line of products, ensuring that DVI output connectors are gold plated, for example, for optimal signal transfer. HIS is seeing a trend to “full HD,” at 1080P resolution, noted Yeung, as well as the increasing popularity of the DVI interface. Now HIS is fitting cards with dual DVI connectors, which saves time for the end user. “Two or three years ago,” said Yeung, “this would have been considered a unique feature, but now it’s standard.” As well, HIS’s DVI connectors can be easily converted to HDMI connectors, with the addition of an adapter. “There are no gimics in what we offer,” emphasized Yeung, “the cards do what we claim.”

Product lineup
     Currently on offer, as a high end card, is the HIS HD2600XT card, fitted with the company’s Ice Q Turbo cooling solution and 512MB of DDR3 graphics memory. The company is quoting a 3D Mark 06 score of 4974 for this card. Another version of the HD2600XT carries 256MB of DDR3 memory ---- for a 3D Mark 06 score of 4606. A third version of this card has 256MB of GDDR4 memory, for a 3D Mark 06 score of 4866. These three cards, indicated Yeung, are priced at around US$99, US$130 and US$140 respectively.
     This month, HIS is launching an HD 3000 card series. These are DirectX 10 compatible, support Shader Model 4.1 and have direct HDMI output. At the high end, this new family will be priced at around US$499, but there will also be mainstream and value cards in the series, with a complete top-to-bottom price range of US$499~49.
     At the end of this month, HIS also plans to release a Hybrid CrossFire card, which will support the combined graphics processing of an integrated graphics solution plus discrete graphics card for an estimated 70% boost in graphics performance.

Solutions for gamers
     “We don’t claim to be No. 1 in the market for AMD/ ATI graphics cards,” commented Yeung. “What we are aiming to do is provide good solutions for gamers. We see ourselves as a niche player, in some respects, putting the emphasis on the strength and quality of the brand.”
     In practice, that means HIS is not making cards simply for the China market. Rather, HIS is targeting markets in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. That also means that HIS’s ASPs are relatively high, compared to a number of other makers who offer cards at US$100 or below. Adding the dual-DVI feature is one way the company offers a mix of flexibility and functionality.