Sapphire Pulse RX 5500 XT Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅12-12-19
Conclusion

After eagerly waiting for the AMD RX 5700 Series, we’re left in no doubt of its potential as a mid-range alternative to the NVIDIA GTX 16 Series.

Up against the GTX 1650 SUPER and GTX 1660, the RX 5500 XT does an admirable job. We’ve been testing out the 4GB version today but the 8GB version will elevate the performance further and allow for even more eye-candy when the detail preset is increased in-game.

Sapphire’s Pulse offering under the guise of the RX 5500 XT provides a low-noise solution, which also delivers confidently under pressure in terms of thermal prowess. Visually, we really like the design, it cuts out the RGB and simply puts forward a stylish graphics card that will match up with other components very well.

The ability to easily detach each of the fans from Pulse is a novel idea which is practical for monthly maintenance but also gives the option to customise with another cooling fan.

The RX 5500 XT has a base MSRP of $169 for 4GB and $199 for 8GB. This positions the XT right in between the GTX 1650 SUPER and GTX 1660, with custom designs costing upwards of these figures. We feel that the pricing needs to be lowered in order for AMD to remain competitive in the mid-range division.

If 1080p is the aim, the RX 5500 XT is a good option to go with. Pulse builds on a great GPU by offering a solid thermal design packed with useful features!



Pros
+ Attractive design without RGB
+ Can fit into smaller cases
+ Decent thermal performance
+ Low-noise cooler
+ Cooling fans can be switched out
+ Dual-Bios switch for lower noise
+ Great 1080p performance

Cons
- Pricing isn’t as competitive as hoped

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