VizWorld.com

GenArts has announced that Sapphire5 will be available for Autodesk users in the first quarter of 2010, boasting hugely improved performance over Version 4.  Most of the improvements come from GPU-accelerated algorithms and much improved floating-point support.

Faster Render Speeds
Fully GPU-enabled to provide artists with a completely interactive user experience at HD resolutions and beyond and renders up to 700% faster.

Floating Point Support
Delivers true photorealistic image quality with the highest possible dynamic range.

Fully Interactive at HD Resolutions
Enables artists to push the bounds of their imagination, even in client attended sessions, without intrusive pauses for screen refresh.

See the performance benchmarks on their website.

GenArts Sapphire 5 for Autodesk Systems.

Graphics autodesk, genarts, sapphire, software

FiringSquad takes advantage of the shortage affecting supplies of the ATI Radeon 5870 by publishing a great review of Sapphire’s version of the card.

Part of the problem is that ATI’s the only game in town right now if you want to upgrade to next-generation DirectX 11 graphics and performance. The 5870 runs about 1.5 times faster than ATI’s previous high-end offering, the Radeon 4890, and while NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 295 card is the faster overall graphics card, no single GPU comes close to offering the 5870’s unique combination of features, technology, performance, and surprisingly sublime power consumption.

Without a natural competitor, the 5870 enjoys all the high-end GPU sales. And the 55-nm GPU shortage exacerbates the situation. Finding a GeForce GTX 285 or 295 in stock at a reasonable price is becoming tougher by the day. As a result, demand for the 5850 and 5870 is even greater.

via Sapphire Radeon 5870 Vapor-X 1GB Review.

Hardware amd, ati, sapphire

GenArts, makers of Sapphire, have just announced that they have purchased wondertouch, makers of the particleillusion plugin.  Initially both products will remain distinct and separate, but with the lead programmer becoming a GenArts employee, that’s likely to change.

“We are really excited about taking the core particles engine technology and seeing what we can do by combining that with the great technology and resources that we have at GenArts to build great next-generation products,” says Bannerman. “We’re hoping those next-gen products will serve a broader audience that will include both Alan’s customers and the current GenArts customers.”

When asked how GenArts feels about one of their main competitors, Trapcode Particular, they had an interesting response:

“Obviously, our customers highly value that type of functionality,” says Bannerman. “Yet one of the things they’ve consistently struggled with is the fact that Trapcode Particular is only really available as an After Effects plug-in. For customers that don’t have After Effects in their pipeline or don’t need After Effects in their pipeline, they have very limited choices: they can insert After Effects into the process and move out of something like a Flame, or even an Avid, and then back again, but they lose a lot of efficiency that way. Or they could just hand it over to the 3D guys and let them figure our how to do it in Maya, which is also really complicated. You almost have to be a programmer to figure out how to do particles in Maya.

via Studio Daily Blog » Why wondertouch Particles Matter to GenArts.

Graphics genarts, particleillusion, sapphire, software, wondertouch

We’ve discussed the Sapphire Atomic HD 4890 before, but a little bit of new information has come to light:

Packed in an exclusive Atomic aluminum case, the card features 1GB GDDR5 and core/memory clock of 1000/1050MHz (effective 4200MHz). The other features keep unchanged: 800 stream processors, 256-bit memory interface and support for ATI CrossFireX.

Sapphire is expected to officially announce the card tomorrow.

Sapphire Atomic HD 4890 Spotted – Expreview.com.

Hardware ati, sapphire

Hexus.net has the scoop on a new Radeon HD4890 from Sapphire that runs at an astonishing 1,000MHz core, compared to the normal 965Mhz of their competitors.  Using their VaporX heatsink technology, it has an “effective” 4200Mhz memory clock.  They plan to officially launch it next week.

Sapphire Plans Atomic HD 4890 With 1000MHz Core Clock – Expreview.com.

Hardware ati, sapphire