Sapphire Technology
Encyclopedia
Sapphire Technology is a Hong Kong
-based technology company, which produces graphics cards for personal computer
s and workstation
s, motherboard
s, TV tuner card
s, digital audio players and LCDTVs
Sapphire's products are based on AMD graphics processing unit
s, and both AMD (ATI
) and Intel motherboard
chipset
technology. The company is the largest supplier of AMD-based video cards in the world.
Sapphire was the first company to release a video card with a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI
) connector.
Sapphire was the first company to release a video card having clock speed of 1000 MHz (1 GHz) with the release of the Sapphire Atomic Edition HD 4890.
and ISO 14001
-certified manufacturing facilities in Dongguan, China, which have a monthly production capacity of 1.8 million video cards.
The manufacturing facility had an area of about 250,000 m² used by 16 independent production lines as of May 2005.
is performed using the reflow soldering
method. It then uses AMD's (former ATI
) technology to place the memory and GPU required for the specific graphic card.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based technology company, which produces graphics cards for personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s and workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
s, motherboard
Motherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
s, TV tuner card
TV tuner card
A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner that allows television signals to be received by a computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards, allowing them to record television programs onto a hard disk much like the Tivo digital video recorder does.-Variants: The interfaces for...
s, digital audio players and LCDTVs
Sapphire's products are based on AMD graphics processing unit
Graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
s, and both AMD (ATI
Ati
As a word, Ati may refer to:* Ati, a town in Chad* Ati, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines* Ati-Atihan Festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines* Ati, a queen of the fabled Land of Punt in Africa...
) and Intel motherboard
Motherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
chipset
Chipset
A chipset, PC chipset, or chip set refers to a group of integrated circuits, or chips, that are designed to work together. They are usually marketed as a single product.- Computers :...
technology. The company is the largest supplier of AMD-based video cards in the world.
Sapphire was the first company to release a video card with a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI
HDMI
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...
) connector.
Sapphire was the first company to release a video card having clock speed of 1000 MHz (1 GHz) with the release of the Sapphire Atomic Edition HD 4890.
Manufacturing facilities
As of 2007, Sapphire has two ISO 9001ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders . The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and available through National...
and ISO 14001
ISO 14000
The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the...
-certified manufacturing facilities in Dongguan, China, which have a monthly production capacity of 1.8 million video cards.
The manufacturing facility had an area of about 250,000 m² used by 16 independent production lines as of May 2005.
Manufacturing process
Sapphire buys printed circuit boards (PCB), the basic part of a graphics card, from an external contractor. The next step in the process is placement of the surface mount device (SMD) components. This is performed by a fully automated placement machine. SolderingSoldering
Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the workpiece...
is performed using the reflow soldering
Reflow soldering
Reflow soldering is a process in which a solder paste is used to temporarily attach one or several electrical components to their contact pads, after which the entire assembly is subjected to controlled heat, which melts the solder, permanently connecting the joint...
method. It then uses AMD's (former ATI
Ati
As a word, Ati may refer to:* Ati, a town in Chad* Ati, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines* Ati-Atihan Festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines* Ati, a queen of the fabled Land of Punt in Africa...
) technology to place the memory and GPU required for the specific graphic card.