In recent years, the constant whingeing from AIBs over having to pay Sony a licence fee every time they include HDMI on graphics cards has often felt like a mild case of tinnitus; just enough to be annoying - yet not enough to make one want to take up trepanning.
Enter Displayport, with its HDMI-like image quality and ability to carry high-definition audio, and we may just have a contender for the future of graphic card connectivity.
One firm taking advantage of cheaper Displayport tech is Sapphire. But given the 'same-features-but-lower- price' claim to fame, Sapphire's approach to its latest high-end card is far from surprising.
Instead of trying to reduce the number of connectors and, therefore, the price - our friends at PC Partner have gone all out to use every inch of back-plate available to give users something to stick their plugs into.
Sapphire-370x370
This picture of Sapphire's latest 4890 Vapor-X performance card clearly shows Displayport alongside HDMI, VGA and DVI.
Sapphire also confirmed that its 4730 is indeed ready to ship, just waiting for the go-ahead from Cap'n KD before setting sail. µ