Sapphire has announced the Nitro+ RX 9070 XT Crimson Desert Edition graphics card, featuring a quick-connect magnetic back plate, 12V-2×6 power, and RGB lighting. Created in collaboration with AMD and Pearl Abyss, the card also boasts custom game artwork on both front and back, giving it a distinct look that is sure to please many fans of the game.
As its name implies, the Nitro+ RX 9070 XT Crimson Desert is based on the Nitro+ Radeon RX 9070 XT, keeping the same great design while adding some custom touches. Starting from the back, we find the part most owners will notice in a regular GPU installation, embellished with some nice game art depicting the main protagonist, Kliff – the central character with the sword and shield – and his companions. This back plate also serves as a cover for the 12V-2×6 power cable, which can be routed stealthily towards the case’s cable grommets without blocking the great view over the art.
But that’s not all, the front has been altered too, with gold-accentuated Sapphire and game logos on the fan hubs. The latter uses three fans, one of which is counter rotating, to reduce noise. Those who like a little bit more flair will also find an ARGB light strip that can be customised via the brand’s TriXX app to reflect the game’s vibes.
The Nitro+ RX 9070 XT Crimson Desert will be bundled with a copy of the game – if bought from participating retailers, plus an L-shaped support bracket to improve rigidity. The game is a single-player, open-world fantasy action-adventure due to launch on March 19, where you explore a narrative-driven world filled with dynamic weather, faction wars, and survival mechanics. Crimson Desert is a highly ambitious game where you represent just a part of the ensemble and not the centre piece. In other words, a world built to be lost in.
Spec-wise, this Crimson Desert edition comes slightly factory overclocked up to 2,520MHz game and 3,060MHz boost, featuring the same 64 RDNA 4 compute units and 16GB of 20Gb/s GDDR 6 memory as any RX 9070 XT card. For video outputs, Sapphire kept the same dual HDMI 2.1b plus dual DisplayPort 2.1a combo offered on the regular Nitro+, slightly different from the competition, which tends to favour a higher DisplayPort count.
The GPU and memory are fed via a fuse-protected 16-Phase Digital Power Design, taking 12V power from a single 12V-2×6 (H++). The latter is currently the latest official revision of this connector standard, meant to address the safety issues seen on earlier 12VHPWR (H+) designs. That said, if your PSU doesn’t support this cable/connector, the card comes bundled with a 12V-2×6 to triple-8-pin adapter. Unfortunately, the Crimson Desert Edition card doesn’t seem to feature the alternative GC-HPWR connection available on the Phantom Link variant.
The Sapphire Nitro+ RX 9070 XT Crimson Desert Edition graphics card will be available from selected e-tailers and retailers in February 2026. Some stores have already listed the card at around €970, which is about €100 higher than the regular Nitro+. Not bad when factoring in the custom art and game copy, all things considered.
