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AT20 Giveaway Day 6: Sapphire Sends Radeon RX 580s & Some Steins
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AT20 Giveaway Day 6: Sapphire Sends Radeon RX 580s & Some Steins

We’ve hit the middle of the week, so that means it’s time for day 6 of our 20 day giveaway celebration of AnandTech’s 20th anniversary.

This morning we have some more video cards to give away, courtesy of Sapphire. Perhaps AMD’s closest board partner, the company has sent over one of each of their Nitro+ factory overclocked Radeon RX 580 card, and their slightly lower-key Pulse Radeon RX 580. The company has also sent over a bit of true swag, with a set of their steins. We have one each for the video card winners, and a 3 piece set for our third winner.

  • Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 & a Sapphire Stein
  • Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 & a Sapphire Stein
  • Set of 3 Sapphire Steins
Sapphire Radeon RX 580 Specifications
  Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 AMD Radeon RX 580
(Reference)
Boost Clock 1411MHz 1366MHz 1340MHz
Memory Clock 8Gbps 8Gbps 8Gbps
VRAM 8GB 8GB 8GB
TDP <235W <225W 185W
Power Connectors 6+8pin 8pin 8pin
Length 10.25″ 9.1″ N/A
Width Double Slot Double Slot N/A
Cooler Type Open Air Open Air N/A

The AnandTech 20th Anniversary Celebration – Sapphire Giveaway

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 8GB

At the high-end of Sapphire’s Radeon RX 500 series lineup is the Nitro+ series, the company’s gaming-focused, factory overclocked cards. The Nitro+ RX 580 sports a factory overclock of 1411MHz, 71MHz over AMD’s reference clock. Internally, the card is built on a custom Sapphire PCB with significantly beefed up power delivery (and a 235W TDP to match), backed by Sapphire’s Black Diamond chokes.

Cooling for the card is provided by one of Sapphire’s dual-fan Dual X coolers, which sports a set of rather sizable 95mm diameter fans. The fans also feature Sapphire’s Quick Connect feature, which allows them to be quickly connected and disconnected if necessary. And for some added flair, the Nitro+ also features full RGB lighting built into the card’s shroud, which Sapphire advertises under the Nitro Glow 2 name.

Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB

Meanwhile we also have Sapphire’s Pulse Radeon RX 580 card, the company’s entry-level RX 580 board. Like its bigger sibling, the Pulse is a dual-fan open air cooler type card, sporting a Dual X cooler with a pair of quick connect fans. The factory overclock on this card isn’t as aggressive as with the Nitro+, with Sapphire shipping the card at 1366MHz, 26MHz over the AMD reference. In turn, the card is a bit more compact as well, coming in at just 9.1-inches long.

Sapphire Stein

Last, we have Sapphire Steins for each video card winner, and another 3 for the 3rd place winner. Hoist your favorite drink in one while gaming, or use it to host company.

Finally, as with our other giveaways, today’s giveaway is only open for 48 hours, so be sure to enter soon. However please note that for legal reasons, we’re only able to open these giveaways to residents of the United States.

Good luck to everyone! And be sure to check in this afternoon for our next giveaway.

AT20 Giveaway Day 6: Sapphire Sends Radeon RX 580s & Some Steins
  • Comments are Closed

AT20 Giveaway Day 6: Sapphire Sends Radeon RX 580s & Some Steins

We’ve hit the middle of the week, so that means it’s time for day 6 of our 20 day giveaway celebration of AnandTech’s 20th anniversary.

This morning we have some more video cards to give away, courtesy of Sapphire. Perhaps AMD’s closest board partner, the company has sent over one of each of their Nitro+ factory overclocked Radeon RX 580 card, and their slightly lower-key Pulse Radeon RX 580. The company has also sent over a bit of true swag, with a set of their steins. We have one each for the video card winners, and a 3 piece set for our third winner.

  • Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 & a Sapphire Stein
  • Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 & a Sapphire Stein
  • Set of 3 Sapphire Steins
Sapphire Radeon RX 580 Specifications
  Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 AMD Radeon RX 580
(Reference)
Boost Clock 1411MHz 1366MHz 1340MHz
Memory Clock 8Gbps 8Gbps 8Gbps
VRAM 8GB 8GB 8GB
TDP <235W <225W 185W
Power Connectors 6+8pin 8pin 8pin
Length 10.25″ 9.1″ N/A
Width Double Slot Double Slot N/A
Cooler Type Open Air Open Air N/A

The AnandTech 20th Anniversary Celebration – Sapphire Giveaway

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 8GB

At the high-end of Sapphire’s Radeon RX 500 series lineup is the Nitro+ series, the company’s gaming-focused, factory overclocked cards. The Nitro+ RX 580 sports a factory overclock of 1411MHz, 71MHz over AMD’s reference clock. Internally, the card is built on a custom Sapphire PCB with significantly beefed up power delivery (and a 235W TDP to match), backed by Sapphire’s Black Diamond chokes.

Cooling for the card is provided by one of Sapphire’s dual-fan Dual X coolers, which sports a set of rather sizable 95mm diameter fans. The fans also feature Sapphire’s Quick Connect feature, which allows them to be quickly connected and disconnected if necessary. And for some added flair, the Nitro+ also features full RGB lighting built into the card’s shroud, which Sapphire advertises under the Nitro Glow 2 name.

Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB

Meanwhile we also have Sapphire’s Pulse Radeon RX 580 card, the company’s entry-level RX 580 board. Like its bigger sibling, the Pulse is a dual-fan open air cooler type card, sporting a Dual X cooler with a pair of quick connect fans. The factory overclock on this card isn’t as aggressive as with the Nitro+, with Sapphire shipping the card at 1366MHz, 26MHz over the AMD reference. In turn, the card is a bit more compact as well, coming in at just 9.1-inches long.

Sapphire Stein

Last, we have Sapphire Steins for each video card winner, and another 3 for the 3rd place winner. Hoist your favorite drink in one while gaming, or use it to host company.

Finally, as with our other giveaways, today’s giveaway is only open for 48 hours, so be sure to enter soon. However please note that for legal reasons, we’re only able to open these giveaways to residents of the United States.

Good luck to everyone! And be sure to check in this afternoon for our next giveaway.

Apple Announces Q2 FY 2017 Earnings
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Apple Announces Q2 FY 2017 Earnings

This afternoon, Apple announced their earnings for the second quarter of their 2017 fiscal year. Revenue was up 5% year-over-year to $52.896 billion. Operating income for the quarter was up 6.6% to $14.097 billion, and net income was up just under 5% to $11.029 billion. This resulted in diluted earnings per share of $2.10.

Apple is also announcing they are expanding their capital return program, and the board has increased the capital return to shareholders another $50 billion, making the total program worth $300 billion in dividends and share repurchases by the time it wraps up in March 2019.

Apple Q2 2017 Financial Results (GAAP)
  Q2’2017 Q1’2017 Q2’2016
Revenue (in Billions USD) $52.896 $78.351 $50.557
Gross Margin (in Billions USD) $20.591 $30.176 $19.921
Operating Income (in Billions USD) $14.097 $23.359 $13.987
Net Income (in Billions USD) $11.029 $17.891 $10.516
Margins 38.9% 38.5% 39.4%
Earnings per Share (in USD) $2.10 $3.36 $1.90

iPhone is still far and away the biggest part of Apple, but sales for this quarter were relatively flat compared to the same period a year ago. For the quarter, Apple sold 50.763 million iPhones, down 1% from a year ago, but with higher average selling prices, revenue was up 1% to $33.249 billion for the quarter. Of course, last quarter was the iPhone refresh, and they sold 78.29 million iPhones last quarter, so the business isn’t exactly doing poorly, but iPhone is the device that has transformed Apple, so we’ll have to see how sales go over this calendar year.

Mac sales were strong though, considering the PC market. Mac had an increase in device sales of 4%, to 4.199 million units. With a new Mac Pro refresh, this is perhaps not as strong as expected, but revenue for the unit was up 14% to $5.844 billion, so they are making more per Mac sale.

Services seem to be the next big growth area for Apple, and with an install base of iPhones as high as it is, this is arguably a good way to capitalize on that base. Apple’s services segment, which includes revenue for digital content, AppleCare Apple Pay, licensing, and other services, had revenue growth of 18% to $7.041 billion. The difference with services compared to iPhone sales is that there isn’t the massive swing quarter to quarter either, with services only dropping 2% from Q1, compared to iPhone which dropped 39% from the holiday quarter.

The iPad continues its drop, and nothing Apple has done yet seems to have had any impact on this trend. iPad was down 12% in revenue year-over-year to $3.889 billion, and of course that’s still a huge amount of revenue, but when it has to compete against the iPhone it seems poorer than it is. In terms of device sales, Apple sold 8.922 million iPads this quarter, down 13% from a year ago where they sold 10.251 million.

Apple Q2 2017 Device Sales (thousands)
  Q2’2017 Q1’2017 Q2’2016 Seq Change Year/Year Change
iPhone 50,763 78,290 51,983 -35% -1%
iPad 8,922 13,081 10,251 -32% -13%
Mac 4,199 5,374 4,034 -22% +4%

Other products, which is where Apple puts Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats, iPod, and accessories, actually had a solid quarter, with revenue up 31% to $2.873 billion. Apple never breaks down the individual parts of this though, which is understandable, but unfortunate.

Apple is forecasting revenue for Q3 to be between $43.5 and $45.5 billion, with a gross margin of 38% plus or minus 0.5%.

Source: Apple Investor Relations

Apple Announces Q2 FY 2017 Earnings
  • Comments are Closed

Apple Announces Q2 FY 2017 Earnings

This afternoon, Apple announced their earnings for the second quarter of their 2017 fiscal year. Revenue was up 5% year-over-year to $52.896 billion. Operating income for the quarter was up 6.6% to $14.097 billion, and net income was up just under 5% to $11.029 billion. This resulted in diluted earnings per share of $2.10.

Apple is also announcing they are expanding their capital return program, and the board has increased the capital return to shareholders another $50 billion, making the total program worth $300 billion in dividends and share repurchases by the time it wraps up in March 2019.

Apple Q2 2017 Financial Results (GAAP)
  Q2’2017 Q1’2017 Q2’2016
Revenue (in Billions USD) $52.896 $78.351 $50.557
Gross Margin (in Billions USD) $20.591 $30.176 $19.921
Operating Income (in Billions USD) $14.097 $23.359 $13.987
Net Income (in Billions USD) $11.029 $17.891 $10.516
Margins 38.9% 38.5% 39.4%
Earnings per Share (in USD) $2.10 $3.36 $1.90

iPhone is still far and away the biggest part of Apple, but sales for this quarter were relatively flat compared to the same period a year ago. For the quarter, Apple sold 50.763 million iPhones, down 1% from a year ago, but with higher average selling prices, revenue was up 1% to $33.249 billion for the quarter. Of course, last quarter was the iPhone refresh, and they sold 78.29 million iPhones last quarter, so the business isn’t exactly doing poorly, but iPhone is the device that has transformed Apple, so we’ll have to see how sales go over this calendar year.

Mac sales were strong though, considering the PC market. Mac had an increase in device sales of 4%, to 4.199 million units. With a new Mac Pro refresh, this is perhaps not as strong as expected, but revenue for the unit was up 14% to $5.844 billion, so they are making more per Mac sale.

Services seem to be the next big growth area for Apple, and with an install base of iPhones as high as it is, this is arguably a good way to capitalize on that base. Apple’s services segment, which includes revenue for digital content, AppleCare Apple Pay, licensing, and other services, had revenue growth of 18% to $7.041 billion. The difference with services compared to iPhone sales is that there isn’t the massive swing quarter to quarter either, with services only dropping 2% from Q1, compared to iPhone which dropped 39% from the holiday quarter.

The iPad continues its drop, and nothing Apple has done yet seems to have had any impact on this trend. iPad was down 12% in revenue year-over-year to $3.889 billion, and of course that’s still a huge amount of revenue, but when it has to compete against the iPhone it seems poorer than it is. In terms of device sales, Apple sold 8.922 million iPads this quarter, down 13% from a year ago where they sold 10.251 million.

Apple Q2 2017 Device Sales (thousands)
  Q2’2017 Q1’2017 Q2’2016 Seq Change Year/Year Change
iPhone 50,763 78,290 51,983 -35% -1%
iPad 8,922 13,081 10,251 -32% -13%
Mac 4,199 5,374 4,034 -22% +4%

Other products, which is where Apple puts Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats, iPod, and accessories, actually had a solid quarter, with revenue up 31% to $2.873 billion. Apple never breaks down the individual parts of this though, which is understandable, but unfortunate.

Apple is forecasting revenue for Q3 to be between $43.5 and $45.5 billion, with a gross margin of 38% plus or minus 0.5%.

Source: Apple Investor Relations

Microsoft Announces Windows 10 S: RT Redux
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Microsoft Announces Windows 10 S: RT Redux

Alongside the new Surface Laptop announced today in NYC, Microsoft also unveiled their next play with Windows 10. Windows 10 S launches as a fresh take on an old idea. The old idea was “What happens when you lock Windows to only using Store boug…