Introduction:

    The guys and myself at VH have been busy with AM2 motherboard reviews lately, but 939 isn't dead yet. Recently, AMD dropped prices on their CPU's across the board; the money saved can be put towards a new motherboard. A new motherboard like the Sapphire Pure CrossFire Advantage: a newly released socket 939... but what about AM2, you say. I say, "don't worry about it!" (New York accent)

The PC-A9RD580Adv Overview:

   Experience the Advantage of SAPPHIRE: Designed for the enthusiast, but engineered for the mainstream, the Sapphire PURE CrossFire Advantage PC-A9RD580Adv is derived from the fundamental belief that enhanced stability and gaming immersion are the cornerstones to a solid PC platform. Built upon the ATI CrossFire(TM) Xpress 3200 chipset, the Sapphire PC-A9RD580Adv affords the needed flexibility for today’s diverse PC applications demands. The Pure CrossFire Advantage mainboard boasts: DUAL PCI-Express x16 slot for Dual VPU support that delivers an unmatched gaming experience, support for the impressive AMD Athlon 64 4800+, Athlon FX-60, Athlon X2® (939 Socket) processors, support for up to 4GB of Dual Channel 400MHz system memory, 1000MHz (AMD) system bus ensuring high speed data transfer, ample expansion slots to fit all of your multimedia needs, onboard Gbit LAN and 10/100 LAN /USB 2.0 affords the luxury of connectivity without limitations, and for peak hard drive performance the Sapphire PC-A9RD580Adv boasts two ATA133 ports, SATA RAID 0/1 and SATA-II RAID 0/1 support.

About the Company:

    Pioneers in a new era of how data is displayed and games are played, Sapphire shepherds the performance oriented with ground-breaking solutions to an environment that remains in a constant state of flux and ultimate evolution. For over ten years Sapphire has held true to its unwavering commitment, the commitment to deliver the most feature rich and soundly engineered products. Because of Sapphire's firm position on achieving excellence with each product that leaves our ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified factories, you can rest assured that your customers will recognize YOUR commitment to selling only the highest of quality components.
 
    "Sapphire is ATI's largest and best performing partner World Wide" Dave Orton, CEO ATI

    Since ATI announced its manufacturing & distribution relationships with ODMs and AiBs in June of 2001, SAPPHIRE has been THE key ATI Graphics Boards Supplier worldwide and now stands poised and ready to capture the mainboard audience of those who seek a stable platform for their mission critical operations.

Specifications:

PC-A9RD580Adv Specifications ATI CrossFire(TM) Xpress 3200 RD580+SB450 AMD socket 939 - Athlon 64 4800+, Athlon FX-60, Athlon X2 1000MHz Front Side Bus Support for up to 4GB Dual Ch, DDR-400 - 4 memory slots 2* PCI-E x16, 2* PCI-Ex1; 2*PCI Onboard HD 8 Channel Sound 2*ATA133, SATA RAID 0/1 (4), SATA-II RAID 0/1 (2) USB 2.0 (4+4), SPDIF, 1*Parallel Gbit LAN and 10/100 LAN Stompsoft PC Backup, and Privacy Protector

Package:

Retail front	Front Panel open	Included games
Model Info	Open box	Under the mobo

    The Sapphire Pure CrossFire Advantage PC-A9RD580Adv comes packaged in a box that can't be missed. The box is done up in a highly reflective silver, almost a mirror finish. The front of the retail box sports a window in the bottom right corner. This idea gets the consumer closer to the package only to see that there is a flap that is covering more of the front. Opening this flap reveals a full window into the heart of the box and shows off the whole motherboard. The inside flap mentions some highlights of the motherboard. The back of the box gives a description of CrossFire and Dual PCI-Express x16 slots for Dual VPU's and the motherboard specifications.