Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT Motherboard Review

With the recent release of AMD’s new Trinity APUs, motherboard manufacturers have been quick to respond with their Socket FM2 offerings, which support this new platform. You can include Sapphire in this group with their newest release, the PURE Platinum A85XT, which is armed with full support for everything the Trinity APU and A85X chipset brings to the table. If you’re thinking of building a system around this platform, let’s find out if the Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT is worth considering.

Specifications and Features

Below are the specifications as provided by Sapphire. Some highlights include a dual BIOS switch, an onboard mPCIe slot, seven SATA 6 GB/s ports, and 2-Way Crossfire support.

CPUSupport AMD Socket FM2: AMD A-series APU with AMD Radeon™ HD Graphics
Support AMD Socket FM2: AMD Athlon X4 700 series NPU
ChipsetAMD™ A85XT (Hudson-D4 FCH)
BIOSAMI BIOS, 32Mb Flash ROM
Memory4 slots 240-pin DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600+ non-ECC ,un-buffered memory
GraphicsAMD Radeon™ HD7000D series GPU Integrated in Socket FM2 A-series APU
Expansion Slots1 x MINI PCI-E x1 slots
2 x 32-bit PCI slots
2 x PCI Express x1 slots
1 x PCI Express x4 slots
1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 / x8 slots
StorageSupports HDDs with RAID 0, 1,5,10 functions
7 x SATA 3.0 6Gb/s connectors with AHCI support
1 x Support mSATA by mini PCIE slot
AudioRealtek ALC892 HD Audio CODEC with 8-Channel
Ethernet LANRealtek RTL8111F PCI Express Gigabit LAN
Rear Panel I / O4 x USB 2.0 port
2 x USB 3.0 port
1 x Dual-Link DVI port
1 x HDMI port
1 x Supporting Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR by Atheros AR3011
PS/2 KB/MS combo port
1 x VGA (DB-15)
RJ- 45 Gigabit LAN with ESD
DisplayPort1.2
Internal I / O2 x USB 2.0 headers
4 pins CPU PWM Fan connectors
3 Pin Chassis Fan connectors
24-pin ATX Power connector
8-pin ATX 12V Power connector
1 x COM headers
Control (Front) panel headers
1 x USB 3.0 headers
Audio I/O (Front) header
Power Button
Reset Button
CMOS clear Button
Dual BIOS select switch with indicator LED
Form FactorATX, Size 12″ x 9.6″
OS supportWindows 7 (32/64) bit

The word “PURE” used in the naming incorporates three sets of features: PURE Speed, PURE Features, and PURE Reliability. PURE Speed features include support for Trinity APUs, DDR3 support up to 1600 MHz and beyond (via overclocking), Gigabit LAN, seven SATA 6 GB/s, and the TriXX tweaking software. The PURE Features options include USB 3.0 support, AMD Crossfire technology, Bluetooth 2.1 support, and PCI Express Gen 2. PURE Reliability encompasses 100% polymer solid capacitors, high quality IR Digital PWM components, onboard diagnostic and CPU temp LED display, and a dual BIOS switch.

Packaging and First Look

The Sapphire color scheme for this PURE Platinum rendition is predominantly black, and uh…. platinum of course! The box front is splattered with icons depicting many of the features, and the large shield-like PURE Platinum logo. The back of the box lists the features, as shown above and some additional branding. The right side of the box has a detailed list of specifications, while the left side is home to the bar coding sticker.

Box Front
Box Front

Box Left Side
Box Left Side

Box Right Side
Box Right Side

Box Back
Box Back

Once the outer carton is opened, another solid black box awaits you. Inside, and sitting at the top, are the accessories packaged with the PURE Platinum A85XT. The accessories include the following items:

  • Product Registration Pamphlet
  • Quick Installation Guide
  • Driver/Software DVD
  • I/O Shield
  • 6 x SATA 3.0 Cables
  • 3.5″ Drive Bay USB 3.0 FP Connector

The included SATA cables only have a locking latch on one end, which some people might like and others not. The USB 3.0 drive can be installed in an open PCI expansion slot, if preferred, by removing the head assembly and installing it on the the enclosed PCI bracket instead. The quick start manual is a good basic setup manual, but does not go into much detail about the board. Thankfully, a very detailed manual can be downloaded at the Sapphire website.

Under the cardboard bed where the accessories are housed, you find the motherboard itself. The board is wrapped in the customary anti static bag and sitting on a foam pad.

The Black Box
The Black Box

Registration Pamphlet & Software/Driver DVD
Registration Pamphlet & Quick Install Guide

I/O Shield and Driver/Software DVD
I/O Shield and Driver/Software DVD

SATA Cables and USB 3.0 Drive
SATA Cables and USB 3.0 Drive

Motherboard in Anti Static Bag
Motherboard in Anti Static Bag

Photo Op

Before we dive in for a closer look at the Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT, here are some pictures from various angles to tide you over. The board is built on a brown PCB with blue, black, and red highlights coming via the different slots on the motherboard. It’s probably not the most attractive color combination out there; but unless you’re building an all out, color coordinated system, it’s probably not an issue to most.

A Closer look/Under the Hood

Let’s begin with a look at the PURE Platinum A85XT’s outer perimeter, beginning with the bottom area. Here we find the built-in speaker and the com port connection. Also located here are the onboard power, reset, and reset CMOS buttons. Moving over to the right, we find a lot going on. The BIOS select switch is found here and allows you to switch between two BIOS versions. There are two 3-pin fan headers, two USB 2.0 connections, and the USB 3.0 connection all located here as well. The LED digital display on the edge of the board shows post codes for trouble shooting, and once the system is booted, displays the CPU temperature.

Bottom Left Area
Bottom Left Area

Bottom Right Area
Bottom Right Area

BIOS Select Switch
BIOS Select Switch

Reset CMOS, Reset, and Power Buttons
Reset CMOS, Reset, and Power Buttons

On the lower-right side of the board is where the front panel connections, seven SATA 6GB/s ports, and another 3-pin fan header are found. The upper-right side has the 24-pin ATX power connection, yet another 3-pin fan header, and three LED lights (labeled LED 1, 2, 3). LED 1 illuminates yellow when DIMM slots are functional, LED 2 illuminates green when the system is powered on, and LED 3 illuminates blue when the system is in standby mode. From this vantage point, we also get a good look at the four DDR3 memory slots.

Lower Right Area
Lower Right Area

Upper Right Area

SATA 6 GB/s Ports
SATA 6 GB/s Ports

The top of the board has a set of voltage readout points, which strangely are not mentioned anywhere in the documentation. Two more fan headers (power and CPU) round out the five in total. The 8-pin +12V ATX CPU power connection is tucked in behind the PWM heatsink.

Upper Right Area
Upper Right Area

Upper Left Area
Upper Left Area

Voltage Readout Points
Voltage Readout Points

The all important left side of the motherboard has all the I/O connections in the top area. The connections include the following:

  • Combo Mouse/Keyboard PS/2
  • Bluetooth Module
  • Four USB 2.0
  • Two USB 3.0
  • Optical S/PDIF Out
  • DisplayPort
  • DVI-D
  • HDMI
  • VGA
  • Gigabit LAN
  • 8-Channel Audio Jacks

At the bottom-left there isn’t a whole lot to talk about, other than the front panel audio and S/PDIF headers.

Upper Left I/O Area
Upper Left I/O Area

Lower Left Area
Lower Left Area

As we move toward the center of the PURE Platinum A85XT, we get to the PCI-e and PCI slots. There are two PCI-e graphics card slots that can be used for a Crossfire setup if desired. A single card in PCI-e2 will run at x16 speed, and adding another card in PCI-e5 will result in both cards running at x8 speed. There are also one PCI-e x4 and two PCI-e x1 slots available. Something we are seeing less and less of now days is the inclusion of PCI slots, there are two of them on this board.

The Socket FM2 area is free of any large obstructions and appears ready to accommodate just about any air cooler. You’ll probably find memory module height being an impedance before the openness of the socket area becomes an issue.

Between the two PCI-e graphics slots is where you find the onboard mPCIe slot. I’m not quite sure about where Sapphire decided to locate this mPCIe slot. It appears there may be clearance problems if a dual slot video card is installed with the mPCIe slot populated.

Even though there is a BIOS switch that can be used to boot the system from an alternate BIOS version should one of them get corrupt, it’s always nice to be able to replace the chip itself should disaster strike and both get corrupted. The picture below shows the clam shell outlined in red; it can be opened to gain access to the BIOS chip if it ever needs replacing.

PCI-e/PCI slots
PCI-e/PCI slots

Socket FM2 Area
Socket FM2 Area

mPCIe Slot
mPCIe Slot

BIOS Chip Clam Shell Housing
BIOS Chip Clam Shell Housing

As we explore several of the chips used on the PURE Platinum A85XT, we first find that Realtek is the vendor of choice for both the onboard audio and LAN functions. The LAN controller is provided by the RTL8111F Gigabit chip, and the audio is controlled by the ALC892 Codec chip.

Realtek RTL8111F LAN Controller
Realtek RTL8111F LAN Controller

Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec Chip
Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec Chip

PCI-e lane switching is handled by four ASMedia ASM1440 multiplexer/demultiplexer switching chips. The 6+2 phase PWM Controller is handled by International Rectifiers IR3567A voltage regulation chip.

ASMedia ASM1440 Switching Chips
ASMedia ASM1440 Switching Chips

Voltage Regulation Chip
Voltage Regulation Chip

The two heatsinks on the Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT were making excellent contact with the intended chips, and the thermal interface material was well applied. The thermal pad used for the PWM chips came off in pieces after removing the heatsink, but it was making perfect contact across the span of chips. It’s a good thing I keep plenty of replacement thermal pads on hand!

With the heatsinks removed, we get a good look at the AMD A85X (Hudson-D4) chipset and the 8-phase power delivery system.

Chipset Heatsink
Chipset Heatsink

PWM Heatsink
PWM Heatsink

Chipset Heatsink Removed
Chipset Heatsink Removed

AMD A85X (Hudson-D4) Chipset
AMD A85X (Hudson-D4) Chipset

PWM Heatsink - 8 Phase Power Delivery
PWM Heatsink – 8 Phase Power Delivery

Power Delivery Chokes and Solid Caps
Power Delivery Chokes and Solid Caps

Chipset Heatsink Up Close
Chipset Heatsink Up Close

PWM Heatsink Up Close
PWM Heatsink Up Close

The AMI UEFI BIOS

The UEFI BIOS that Sapphire uses is loaded up with enough options to get the APU, Memory, and other sub systems fine tuned. Unfortunately, there is no option to save screen shots to an image file. So, in lieu of poor quality camera images, we’ll use the pictures that are in the detailed users manual. The user’s manual that you download from Sapphire’s web site is one of the most detailed I have come across, especially when it comes to the UEFI BIOS.

When entering the UEFI BIOS, you’re greeted with the Main tab. The first thing I noticed when landing here was the system monitoring information at the bottom of the screen. This information follows you on every screen as you navigate through the different areas. The Main tab is mostly informational, but you can set the time and date here.

The Main Tab
The Main Tab

The Performance tab is where the overclockers will spend a lot of time. Here we have the CPU and GPU host clocks, CPU ratios, and frequency controls. The two sub menus allow for memory and voltage manipulation. Under the Memory Configuration sub menu, you will find the ability to set the memory frequency. In my particular case, the memory frequency option only went as high as DDR3-2133 MHz, even though the installed kit is DDR3-2400 MHz. I can’t really complain about that because the Trinity APUs officially support up to DDR3-1867 MHz memory. Of course, you also have the ability to manually set the memory timings here, as well. The Voltage Configuration sub menu has the typical APU and memory voltage options. The APU voltage mode can be changed from using offset values to hard voltage numbers if you prefer.

I did run across a very annoying bug in the current BIOS version where overclocking is concerned. When you attempt to overclock, before doing so you have to restore defaults before making any changes. In other words, let’s say you achieved a stable 4.3 GHZ and want to try 4.4 GHz. If you raise the multiplier to x44 and bump the APU voltage to accommodate, the system will fail to post and give a watchdog error. Even if you go back into BIOS and set things back to stock values, you again get a watchdog error and a no post situation. Rinse and repeat. So, basically what this means is every time you want to play with overclocking, you have to start with a clean slate and begin by restoring defaults. Then you can proceed to set your overclocking parameters. This becomes quite a time burner when trying different settings along the overclocking journey.

Performance Tab

Performance Tab – Memory Configuration

Performance Tab - Voltage Configuration
Performance Tab – Voltage Configuration

Moving over to the Advanced tab, we come to eight sub menus. Within these sub menus you can set wake times and adjust sleep/hibernation states, for starters. Diving deeper into the CPU Configuration sub menu, you can set the APU C-States and Performance Boost Mode. The SATA Configuration sub menu allows you to set the ports to AHCI, Legacy IDE, or Raid. It appears that you can assign eSATA functions to each of the SATA ports from here too. I guess that’s just another way of calling it a “Hot-Swap” port. The rest of the sub menus have to do with the USB, Super I/O, Hardware Monitoring, and onboard device settings. In the Hardware Monitoring sub menu, you will also find the Smart Fan configuration options, which allow you to control three of the five motherboard fan headers.

Advanced Tab
Advanced Tab

The Chipset tab has two sub menus dealing with graphics and memory. The GFX Configuration sub menu allows for setting the primary video device and enabling or disabling the integrated graphics controller. The DIMM Information sub menu is informational only and gives you the installed location, size, and speed of the modules.

Chipset Tab
Chipset Tab

Chipset Tab - DIMM Information
Chipset Tab – DIMM Information

The final few areas of the UEFI BIOS include the Boot, Security, and Exit tabs. The Boot tab is where you set your drive BBS and boot priorities, and the Security tab is for setting administrator and user passwords. The Exit tab allows you to save only one BIOS profile; it’s called “Save as User Defaults”. Only having the ability to save a single profile is something that Sapphire needs to improve on, that simply is not enough. From the Exit tab you can also flash the BIOS by using the incorporated S_BIOS flash utility. You can also flash the bios versions between the primary and secondary BIOS if needed.

Boot Tab
Boot Tab

Security Tab
Security Tab

Exit Tab
Exit Tab

Included Software

The included software is very slim to say the least. Other than the drivers, the enclosed DVD has Sapphire’s TriXX monitoring and overclocking software, and that my friends is all there is. When you install the TriXX utility, it also gives you a sidebar gadget with monitoring information. I like the gadget!

TriXX and Sidebar Gadget
TriXX and Sidebar Gadget

The monitoring portion of TriXX works well enough, but the overclocking part needs work. If you look at the picture above, the option to change the CPU ratio is grayed out … not good! The only way to boost processor speed from here is by adjusting the bus frequency … what sense does that make? I think it would be nice if they included the option to overclock the integrated GPU from here too, don’t you? Suffice to say, any overclocking adventures (CPU or GPU) will need to be done from within the BIOS.

Overclocking and Benchmarks

Test System

Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT Motherboard
AMD A10-5800K Trinity APU (Overclockers Approved!)
G.Skill 2X8 DDR3-2400 MHz Gb F3-2400C10D-16GTX
OCZ Vertex4 128 GB SSD
EVGA Superclock CPU Cooler
Corsair HX1050 Power Supply
Window 7 Pro x64

The Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT overclocked much better than the Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4 I used for the Trinity APU review, more on this later. In order to keep the benchmark results on an even playing field, the overclock on the Sapphire board is set to the same 4.4 GHz which the Gigabyte board topped out at. The voltages needed to obtain the 4.4 GHz overclock were identical for both motherboards. As we work our way through the benchmarks, we’ll compare the two motherboards head to head using the same benchmarks we used during the Trinity APU review. Because the platform is so new, we only have the Sapphire and Gigabyte boards to compare this time around. I’m sure that list is going to grow as time goes on. I don’t expect to see a lot of difference between the two boards, but we’ll see.

First thing to do is run stability testing at both stock and overclocked speeds, both went off without a hitch. During the stock stability test, I set the memory to 2133 MHz just to make sure that function worked.

Stock Stability Test
Stock Stability Test

Overclocked Stability Test
Overclocked Stability Test

The Sper Pi 1M results showed almost identical scores between the two boards. The Sapphire board was just ahead when overclocked and just behind at stock. The SuperPi 32M results flipped with the Sapphire coming out on top at stock, but falling behind when overclocked.

SuperPi 1M Results
SuperPi 1M Results

SuperPi 32M Results
SuperPi 32M Results

WPrime 32MShowed the Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT coming out on top at both stock and overclocked, and the 1024M results finished off the sweep for Sapphire.

WPrime 32M Results
WPrime 32M Results

WPrime 1024M Results
WPrime 1024M Results

Next up is some CPU rendering action in the form of Cinebench R10 and R11.5. The R10 run showed the Gigabyte board far ahead when overclocked, but at stock the Sapphire was substantially better. These results were a bit odd to me so I double checked them and came out with the same results twice. In Cinebench R11.5, almost identical results were recorded while overclocked, but the Sapphire board was quite a bit better when both boards were at stock.

Cinebench R10 Results
Cinebench R10 Results

Cinebench R11.5 Results
Cinebench R11.5 Results

Next up is the PoV Ray and x264 Benchmark runs. PoV Ray shows a slight win for the Sapphire board, while overclocked; and a more sizable win during the stock testing. The x264 pass 1 results show the Gigabyte board coming out on top at both stock and overclocked, while the pass 2 results show the Sapphire on top at stock and the Gigabyte winning out while overclocked.

Pov Ray and x264 Results
Pov Ray and x264 Results

Our last set of benchmarks are the AIDA64 CPU and FPU tests. There isn’t really a whole lot to talk about in regards to the CPU results as most of the scores were within a percentage point of each other. The same held true for the FPU testing as well, with little or no advantage for either motherboard noticed.

AIDA64 CPU Test Results - Group One
AIDA64 CPU Test Results – Group One

AIDA64 CPU Test Results - Group 2
AIDA64 CPU Test Results – Group 2

AIDA64 FPU Test Results - Group One
AIDA64 FPU Test Results – Group One

AIDA64 FPU Test Results - Group 2
AIDA64 FPU Test Results – Group 2

Pushing the Limits

I was able to get the memory set to the maximum available BIOS option of 2133 MHz, no problem there. There is a warning in BIOS about not going over 1.65 V for the APU, I’ll take them at their word. I was able to get the CPU stable at 4.6 GHz, which was 200 MHz higher than I was ever able to get the Gigabyte board. I had to apply 1.575 V to the APU and disable LLC to get there. With LLC disabled, the actual APU voltage was coming close to the recommended 1.65 V warning territory. Also worth noting is the GPU overclocking, which worked quite well and easily pushed the GPU speed from 800 MHz to 1050 MHz.

4.6 GHz Stability Test
4.6 GHz Stability Test
GPU-Z Screen Shot @ 1050 NHz
GPU-Z Screen Shot @ 1050 NHz

At 4.6 GHz, I ran a few benchmarks to compare against the previous 4.4 GHz overclocked scores, some nice gains were achieved here.

Cinebench R10 @ 4.6 GHz
Cinebench R10 @ 4.6 GHz

Cinebench R11.5 @ 4.6 GHz
Cinebench R11.5 @ 4.6 GHz

SuperPi 1M @ 4.6 GHz
SuperPi 1M @ 4.6 GHz

WPrime 32M/1024M @ 4.6 GHz
WPrime 32M/1024M @ 4.6 GHz

Ok, to heck with stability! Let’s see if we can get a couple benchmark runs at 4.8 GHz. I did manage to get SuperPI 1M and WPrime 32M accomplished at this speed.

SuperPI 1M @ 4.8 GHz
SuperPI 1M @ 4.8 GHz

WPrime 32M @ 4.8 GHz
WPrime 32M @ 4.8 GHz

All in all, quite an improvement from the Gigabyte motherboard I used for the A10-5800K Trinity review, which refused to do anything over 4.4 GHz.

Conclusion

Sapphire tells us the PURE Platinum A85XT will carry a MSRP of approximately $139.00. At this price, it’s $10 more than the Gigabyte F2A85X-UP4, and the same price as the ASUS F2A85-V Pro. The advantage over the Gigabyte board is obvious on an enthusiast level, plus the included Bluetooth adapter is probably where most of the price difference comes from. I don’t have the ASUS version on hand, but a feature comparison shows the two boards being pretty much the same, except for the ASUS board not appearing to have Bluetooth capabilities. The other feature the PURE Platinum A85XT has over the competitors is the built in mPCIe slot. So, pricing is right where it should be, or perhaps even under, considering the Bluetooth and mPCIe features.

Honestly, after doing the A10-5800K Trinity APU review, I had my doubts about FM2 being much of an overclocking platform. I’m happy to report the Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT has tuned those doubts around. Other than the annoying BIOS glitch I mentioned earlier and the lack of any memory settings over 2133 MHz, the motherboard really does overclock quite nicely. I’m sure those issues will be addressed in future BIOS updates though, at least I hope so.

The included accessories are more than adequate, and the USB 3.0 drive is a a nice touch. On the software side, the TriXX overclocking/monitoring utility is all you get, and probably all you really need. The overclocking portion of TriXX needs to be enhanced, in my opinion, to include CPU ratio and GPU frequency controls. I am glad to see it does a nice job of monitoring the APU temperatures though; it’s the first utility I have run across that can on this platform.

For the AMD fans out there looking to get into the FM2 platform, the Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT is deserving of serious consideration. A solid initial FM2 offering from Sapphire!

Click the stamp to find out what this means

-Dino DeCesari (Lvcoyote)

About Dino DeCesari 230 Articles
Dino DeCesari was a pillar of the Overclockers.com community for over 13 years when he passed away suddenly in 2015. His legacy lives on through his hundreds of computer hardware reviews posted here. Dino spent time in the army as a Telecommunication Center Specialist and received a commendation medal. He had a successful 20+ year career in the automotive parts and technology industry, where he eventually bought and sold his own business. Once retired, he volunteered as tech support for a non-profit and his local school district. 

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Avatar of Bobnova
Bobnova

Senior Member

20,964 messages 1 likes

Interesting selection of features on that board. I like the idea of spending less on PCB color and more on actual hardware. The easily replaceable BIOS chip is awesome.

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Avatar of wagex
wagex

Chapstick Eating Premium Member

6,422 messages 58 likes

Interesting selection of features on that board. I like the idea of spending less on PCB color and more on actual hardware. The easily replaceable BIOS chip is awesome.

might wanna let I.M.O.G. know about that board :rofl:

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Avatar of Hilight
Hilight

Member

488 messages 0 likes

Nicely written review. I've not paid any attention to boards from Sapphire in quite some time. Do any of you know if they are any good at providing timely BIOS updates? If you were to buy this board, seems like you'd want to have that bios overclocking glitch fixed asap....

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Avatar of Lvcoyote
Lvcoyote

Overclocked Moderator, Overclockers.com Lead Edito

1,473 messages 0 likes

Honestly, I haven't had much experience with Sapphire's Motherboards either as far as timely BIOS releases, I guess we'll find out though :)

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