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The Sapphire HD 6870 comes packaged in a high gloss box that lists many of the 6800 series features on the front: support for DX11, AMD Eyefinity, PCIe 2.1, full 1080p HD video, Windows 7, Displayport 1.2, HDMI 1.4, 7.1 HD Surround sound, and the use of GDDR5 memory. The back panel of the box also lists many of the same features, but there is a explanation accompanied with the listing of the technology on the back.
As for accessories, Sapphire has really delivered and included just about everything the end-user could need like driver CD, installation guide, CrossFire bridge, dual 6-pin power adapters, Mini-DP to DP adapter, DVI to VGA adapter and a 1.8 meter HDMI 1.4a cable.
The Sapphire HD 6870 uses the reference design, so for the most part the card is similar to those from AMD. However, the Sapphire model has a glossy sticker on the heatsink cover that adds to the overall look of the product. The Sapphire logo also graces center of the heatsink's cooling fan. The measurements for the HD 6870 are roughly 10.5" from the tip of the rear bracket to the end of the PCB. Factoring the internal length of the PCB with the fan cover only, and the card is closer to 9.65".
Since this is not a overclocked version of the HD 6870 it uses the reference specifications, with the power requirements at 19W idle and 151W when under full load. Dual 6-pin power connectors supply the proper amount of power to the card. Each 6-pin connector can provide up to 75W of power to the 6870, as can the PCIe lane.
The rear I/O panel of the Sapphire HD 6870 features two Mini-DP connectors that use the new 1.2 standard. This allows them to support HD audio and 3D video, and each port is capable of supporting up to three independent monitors. The new HMDI 1.4a port is the latest version of HDMI with added support for AMD's HD3D technology and support multi-channel 7.1 audio. Two DVI ports round off the connection options. One of the ports uses the Dual-Link connection type that supports resolutions up to 2560x1600 @60Hz, while the other is Single-Link and can support monitor resolutions at or below 1920x1200 pixels.
One of the largest complaints of the new HD 6800 series cards is the lack of 3 and 4-way CrossFire support. Despite this, the 6800 series graphics cards have proven to scale very well in standard CrossFire. Remember this is a mid-range product as it stands, and CrossFire support beyond dual cards will return once the high-end graphics cards featuring the Cayman series GPU are released.
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Sapphire HD6870 is the very same to the Diamond one, which are both nothing else, but the reference cards with different company stickers on card case.
Nothing impressive...
What we have is a core architecture overhaul, uncore enhancements, better crossfire scaling, lower power consumption, and a smaller die size.
For a mid range part this is very impressive, but nothing groundbraking like the 6950/70 will hopefully be. You're expecting a bit much from a mid range part.
If it weren't for fusion AMD likely wouldn't ever retire the brand as it's so recognizable. But if they say "Hey, new AMD processor with ATI graphics integrated" It doesn't make AMD sound like as strong of a brand to the regular joe schmoe as "AMD APU with an AMD cpu and AMD graphics processor". I'm unhappy about the name change but it's completely understandable from a marketing perspective, especially when they're so far behind intel in sales and market share.
As compared to the diamond you're right that it's nothing impressive but it does reaffirm that diamond still makes shittier products than most other ati partners.
For their prices they look very tasty though. Some people severely under estimate the joy in low power consumption.
http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/2/t1588957-powercolor-radeon-hd-6870-costume-photo-contest/
I'm not sure if it'll be a sitewide announcement or not yet.