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Sapphire 2027 · Render benchmarks

Sapphire 2027: Speed never goes out of style

New render benchmarks put Sapphire 2027 to the test in Premiere, Resolve, and After Effects.

By Brian Fox ·

Up to 77% faster GPU rendering in Resolve, AE & Premiere on NVIDIA and Apple silicon

With Sapphire 2027, we made some significant changes under the hood that deliver killer speed improvements. Naturally, we wanted to see how the numbers stacked up. We put the new release up against Sapphire 2026.5 using some of the most popular Sapphire effects. We tested Premiere, Resolve, and After Effects on Windows and macOS. Linux benchmarks are coming soon!

One result that caught my eye was S_HyperPush. In Premiere on Windows, a render that took 2 minutes and 12 seconds in Sapphire 2026.5 finished in just under a minute in Sapphire 2027. In Premiere on our Mac Studio, S_Beauty went from nearly 13 minutes to 1 minute and 18 seconds. Those are the kinds of differences you notice when you’re waiting on a shot.

Before we look at the rest of the numbers, let’s get into how we tested. With a plugin collection as big as Sapphire, the answer to “How much time will I save?” depends on which effects you use, which host you work in, and which GPU is doing the rendering.

Brian successfully resists the urge to make an AI slop graphic about speed and instead chooses to showcase an epic use of Sapphire Distort by Jesse Newman.

How do you benchmark Sapphire?

Think about two shots on the same timeline. One uses S_Glow to soften the highlights. The other uses S_PrismLens to split and refract the image, add chromatic aberration, and push the distortion. They’re running on the same machine, but each asks Sapphire to do different work. And when you render to disk, the clock includes the time your host spends reading the footage and writing the finished frames. That’s why we timed individual effects and grouped the results by host and GPU.

To keep the tests manageable without tying up all our machines all day, we chose a select group of Sapphire effects. On each setup, we rendered the same shots twice, once with Sapphire 2026.5 and once with Sapphire 2027. For consistency, we used the same list of effects across the setups for each host.

Here’s how to read the charts. If you use After Effects on Windows, look at the After Effects on Windows chart. Each pair of bars shows how long the same comp took to render on the same machine with each version of Sapphire. The Mac project might use the same effect on a shorter clip or footage encoded with a different codec. Comparing those times directly wouldn’t tell you which platform renders faster.

We’d like to run a broader test with the same footage, clip lengths, and settings across hosts and operating systems. For this article, let’s compare apples to apples. Pick the setup closest to yours and see how much render time changed from Sapphire 2026.5 to Sapphire 2027.

We measure performance by how long you wait for a render. If a batch takes 10 minutes in Sapphire 2026.5 and finishes in 4 minutes in Sapphire 2027, you get 6 minutes back. That’s what we mean by 60% less render time. For each setup below, we added up the seconds for the same group of renders in both versions and compared the totals.

If you’re curious about a particular effect, want to deep dive the full data set, or already sick of listening to me ramble on, you can skip ahead to the full results.

Now let’s look at the results. Spoiler alert: Sapphire 2027 is fast.

Combined render time by setup Same effects, same machine, Sapphire 2026.5 vs 2027 · Each row scaled to its own 2026.5 total
Combined render time by setupPremiere, Windows, A5000: 1h 48m 33s (Sapphire 2026.5), 49m 08s (Sapphire 2027), 54.7% less render time. Premiere, M2 Mac Studio: 1h 55m 30s (Sapphire 2026.5), 27m 03s (Sapphire 2027), 76.6% less render time. Resolve, Windows, A5000: 17m 25s (Sapphire 2026.5), 14m 07s (Sapphire 2027), 18.9% less render time. Resolve, Windows, A5000 + A6000: 19m 22s (Sapphire 2026.5), 13m 45s (Sapphire 2027), 29.0% less render time. Resolve, M2 Ultra Mac Studio: 16m 34s (Sapphire 2026.5), 14m 22s (Sapphire 2027), 13.3% less render time. After Effects, Windows, A5000: 1h 28m 36s (Sapphire 2026.5), 1h 19m 36s (Sapphire 2027), 10.2% less render time. After Effects, M4 Pro MacBook Pro: 21m 14s (Sapphire 2026.5), 19m 48s (Sapphire 2027), 6.7% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timePremiereWindows, A50001h 48m 33s49m 08s 54.7% Premiere M2 Mac Studio 1h 55m 30s27m 03s 76.6% Resolve Windows, A5000 17m 25s14m 07s 18.9% Resolve Windows, A5000 + A6000 19m 22s13m 45s 29.0% Resolve M2 Ultra Mac Studio 16m 34s14m 22s 13.3% After Effects Windows, A5000 1h 28m 36s1h 19m 36s 10.2% After Effects M4 Pro MacBook Pro 21m 14s19m 48s 6.7% Combined render time by setupPremiere, Windows, A5000: 1h 48m 33s (Sapphire 2026.5), 49m 08s (Sapphire 2027), 54.7% less render time. Premiere, M2 Mac Studio: 1h 55m 30s (Sapphire 2026.5), 27m 03s (Sapphire 2027), 76.6% less render time. Resolve, Windows, A5000: 17m 25s (Sapphire 2026.5), 14m 07s (Sapphire 2027), 18.9% less render time. Resolve, Windows, A5000 + A6000: 19m 22s (Sapphire 2026.5), 13m 45s (Sapphire 2027), 29.0% less render time. Resolve, M2 Ultra Mac Studio: 16m 34s (Sapphire 2026.5), 14m 22s (Sapphire 2027), 13.3% less render time. After Effects, Windows, A5000: 1h 28m 36s (Sapphire 2026.5), 1h 19m 36s (Sapphire 2027), 10.2% less render time. After Effects, M4 Pro MacBook Pro: 21m 14s (Sapphire 2026.5), 19m 48s (Sapphire 2027), 6.7% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027PremiereWindows, A500054.7%1h 48m 33s49m 08s Premiere M2 Mac Studio 76.6% 1h 55m 30s27m 03s Resolve Windows, A5000 18.9% 17m 25s14m 07s Resolve Windows, A5000 + A6000 29.0% 19m 22s13m 45s Resolve M2 Ultra Mac Studio 13.3% 16m 34s14m 22s After Effects Windows, A5000 10.2% 1h 28m 36s1h 19m 36s After Effects M4 Pro MacBook Pro 6.7% 21m 14s19m 48s

Premiere Performance

One detail matters for these tests. Sapphire 2027 adds support for Adobe’s GPU Suite in Premiere. We ran Sapphire 2026.5 with GPU Suite off and Sapphire 2027 with it on. The results reflect that change along with the version upgrade. And the results were big: on the M2 Mac Studio, our 48 selected effects took almost two hours to render in Sapphire 2026.5 and finished in 27 minutes in Sapphire 2027.

Big gains for Premiere
Big gains for PremiereS_PixelSort, Windows, A5000: 29m 38s (Sapphire 2026.5), 3m 36s (Sapphire 2027), 88% less render time. S_PixelSort, M2 Mac Studio: 15m 24s (Sapphire 2026.5), 1m 55s (Sapphire 2027), 88% less render time. S_Beauty, M2 Mac Studio: 12m 53s (Sapphire 2026.5), 1m 18s (Sapphire 2027), 90% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_PixelSortWindows, A500029m 38s3m 36s 88% S_PixelSort M2 Mac Studio 15m 24s1m 55s 88% S_Beauty M2 Mac Studio 12m 53s1m 18s 90% 051015202530Render time (minutes) Big gains for PremiereS_PixelSort, Windows, A5000: 29m 38s (Sapphire 2026.5), 3m 36s (Sapphire 2027), 88% less render time. S_PixelSort, M2 Mac Studio: 15m 24s (Sapphire 2026.5), 1m 55s (Sapphire 2027), 88% less render time. S_Beauty, M2 Mac Studio: 12m 53s (Sapphire 2026.5), 1m 18s (Sapphire 2027), 90% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_PixelSortWindows, A500088%29m 38s3m 36s S_PixelSort M2 Mac Studio 88% 15m 24s1m 55s S_Beauty M2 Mac Studio 90% 12m 53s1m 18s Render times in minutes

S_PixelSort gave us a good reason to check the clock twice. In Premiere on Windows, it went from 29 minutes and 38 seconds to 3 minutes and 36 seconds. That’s 26 minutes back on a single render. On the Mac Studio, S_PixelSort went from 15 minutes and 24 seconds to 1 minute and 55 seconds, and S_Beauty went from nearly 13 minutes to 1 minute and 18 seconds.

Premiere on Windows NVIDIA A5000 · GPU Suite off in 2026.5 and on in 2027
Premiere on WindowsS_HyperPush: 132.4 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 59.9 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 55% less render time. S_PrismLens: 173.1 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 102.1 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time. S_UltraZap: 138.1 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 83.7 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 39% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 74.4 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 50.4 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 32% less render time. S_FilmBurn: 134.2 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 94.3 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 30% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_HyperPush132.459.9 55% S_PrismLens 173.1102.1 41% S_UltraZap 138.183.7 39% S_UltraGlow 74.450.4 32% S_FilmBurn 134.294.3 30% 050100150200Render time (seconds) Premiere on WindowsS_HyperPush: 132.4 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 59.9 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 55% less render time. S_PrismLens: 173.1 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 102.1 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time. S_UltraZap: 138.1 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 83.7 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 39% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 74.4 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 50.4 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 32% less render time. S_FilmBurn: 134.2 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 94.3 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 30% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_HyperPush55%132.459.9 S_PrismLens 41% 173.1102.1 S_UltraZap 39% 138.183.7 S_UltraGlow 32% 74.450.4 S_FilmBurn 30% 134.294.3 Render times in seconds

On Windows, the 48 selected effects went from 1 hour and 49 minutes to just over 49 minutes, 54.7% less combined render time and nearly an hour saved. The savings showed up on shorter renders, too. S_PrismLens went from 2 minutes and 53 seconds to 1 minute and 42 seconds, and S_UltraZap went from 2 minutes and 18 seconds to 1 minute and 24 seconds.

Premiere on Mac M2 Mac Studio · GPU Suite off in 2026.5 and on in 2027 · Selected effects
Premiere on MacS_FilmBurn: 91.3 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 32.1 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 65% less render time. S_HyperPush: 166.6 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 68.3 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 59% less render time. S_PrismLens: 220.0 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 104.8 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 52% less render time. S_UltraZap: 59.0 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 28.1 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 52% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 49.1 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 28.9 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_FilmBurn91.332.1 65% S_HyperPush 166.668.3 59% S_PrismLens 220.0104.8 52% S_UltraZap 59.028.1 52% S_UltraGlow 49.128.9 41% 050100150200250Render time (seconds) Premiere on MacS_FilmBurn: 91.3 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 32.1 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 65% less render time. S_HyperPush: 166.6 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 68.3 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 59% less render time. S_PrismLens: 220.0 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 104.8 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 52% less render time. S_UltraZap: 59.0 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 28.1 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 52% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 49.1 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 28.9 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_FilmBurn65%91.332.1 S_HyperPush 59% 166.668.3 S_PrismLens 52% 220.0104.8 S_UltraZap 52% 59.028.1 S_UltraGlow 41% 49.128.9 Render times in seconds

On the Mac Studio, the same 48 effects took 76.6% less combined render time, dropping from 1 hour and 55 minutes to 27 minutes. An S_FilmBurn render that used to take about a minute and a half finished in 32 seconds. S_HyperPush went from 2 minutes and 47 seconds to 1 minute and 8 seconds, and S_PrismLens cut its render time by more than half.

Resolve Performance

In Resolve, we tested 49 effects across three setups. On Windows, we ran an NVIDIA A5000 on its own and tested a dual-GPU setup with an A5000 and an A6000. On Mac, we used an M2 Ultra Mac Studio.

Resolve on Windows, dual GPU NVIDIA A5000 + A6000 · 18-second 4K project · Selected effects
Resolve on Windows, dual GPUS_TextureRidges: 12.47 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 4.87 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 61% less render time. S_HyperPush: 42.51 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 16.94 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 60% less render time. S_DistortRGB: 16.37 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 7.39 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 55% less render time. S_TVDamage: 45.03 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 21.38 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 53% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 26.00 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 13.04 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 50% less render time. S_Beauty: 32.03 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 16.93 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 47% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_TextureRidges12.474.87 61% S_HyperPush 42.5116.94 60% S_DistortRGB 16.377.39 55% S_TVDamage 45.0321.38 53% S_UltraGlow 26.0013.04 50% S_Beauty 32.0316.93 47% 01020304050Render time (seconds) Resolve on Windows, dual GPUS_TextureRidges: 12.47 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 4.87 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 61% less render time. S_HyperPush: 42.51 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 16.94 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 60% less render time. S_DistortRGB: 16.37 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 7.39 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 55% less render time. S_TVDamage: 45.03 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 21.38 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 53% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 26.00 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 13.04 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 50% less render time. S_Beauty: 32.03 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 16.93 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 47% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_TextureRidges61%12.474.87 S_HyperPush 60% 42.5116.94 S_DistortRGB 55% 16.377.39 S_TVDamage 53% 45.0321.38 S_UltraGlow 50% 26.0013.04 S_Beauty 47% 32.0316.93 Render times in seconds

On the dual-GPU Windows system, combined render time dropped from 19 minutes and 22 seconds to 13 minutes and 45 seconds, 29.0% less. S_UltraGlow took 26 seconds in Sapphire 2026.5 and 13 seconds in Sapphire 2027. S_TextureRidges dropped from 12.47 seconds to 4.87, while S_TVDamage went from 45.03 seconds to 21.38.

Resolve on Windows, single GPU NVIDIA A5000 · Selected effects
Resolve on Windows, single GPUS_HyperPush: 33.44 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 14.91 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 55% less render time. S_DistortRGB: 12.91 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 6.92 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 46% less render time. S_TVDamage: 31.94 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 18.43 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 42% less render time. S_Beauty: 28.43 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 16.93 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 40% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 21.45 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 12.91 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 40% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_HyperPush33.4414.91 55% S_DistortRGB 12.916.92 46% S_TVDamage 31.9418.43 42% S_Beauty 28.4316.93 40% S_UltraGlow 21.4512.91 40% 010203040Render time (seconds) Resolve on Windows, single GPUS_HyperPush: 33.44 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 14.91 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 55% less render time. S_DistortRGB: 12.91 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 6.92 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 46% less render time. S_TVDamage: 31.94 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 18.43 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 42% less render time. S_Beauty: 28.43 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 16.93 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 40% less render time. S_UltraGlow: 21.45 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 12.91 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 40% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_HyperPush55%33.4414.91 S_DistortRGB 46% 12.916.92 S_TVDamage 42% 31.9418.43 S_Beauty 40% 28.4316.93 S_UltraGlow 40% 21.4512.91 Render times in seconds

You don’t need a second GPU to see a difference, either. On the A5000 alone, combined render time fell 18.9%, from 17 minutes and 25 seconds to 14 minutes and 7 seconds. S_HyperPush took 55% less render time, S_DistortRGB took 46% less, and S_Beauty and S_UltraGlow each came in around 40%.

Resolve on Mac M2 Ultra Mac Studio · Selected effects
Resolve on MacS_LensFlare: 81.48 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 48.86 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 40% less render time. S_HyperPush: 28.96 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 18.33 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 37% less render time. S_TextureRidges: 4.96 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 3.36 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 32% less render time. S_PrismLens: 55.38 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 39.26 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 29% less render time. S_TVDamage: 32.48 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 23.98 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 26% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_LensFlare81.4848.86 40% S_HyperPush 28.9618.33 37% S_TextureRidges 4.963.36 32% S_PrismLens 55.3839.26 29% S_TVDamage 32.4823.98 26% 020406080100Render time (seconds) Resolve on MacS_LensFlare: 81.48 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 48.86 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 40% less render time. S_HyperPush: 28.96 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 18.33 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 37% less render time. S_TextureRidges: 4.96 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 3.36 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 32% less render time. S_PrismLens: 55.38 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 39.26 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 29% less render time. S_TVDamage: 32.48 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 23.98 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 26% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_LensFlare40%81.4848.86 S_HyperPush 37% 28.9618.33 S_TextureRidges 32% 4.963.36 S_PrismLens 29% 55.3839.26 S_TVDamage 26% 32.4823.98 Render times in seconds

As a Mac fanboy, I was particularly interested in the M2 Ultra results. Across the 49 effects, combined render time dropped 13.3%, from 16 minutes and 34 seconds to 14 minutes and 22 seconds. S_LensFlare was the one that stood out to me. A shot that took 81.48 seconds in Sapphire 2026.5 finished in 48.86 seconds in Sapphire 2027. That’s nearly 33 seconds back on one flare render.

After Effects Performance

In After Effects, we tested 49 effects across two setups. On Windows, we used the same NVIDIA A5000. On Mac, we used my MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip.

After Effects on Windows NVIDIA A5000 · Longer comps · Selected effects
After Effects on WindowsS_HyperPush: 182 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 107 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time. S_PrismLens: 219 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 141 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 36% less render time. S_Beauty: 132 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 95 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 28% less render time. S_UltraZap: 139 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 107 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 23% less render time. S_FilmBurn: 175 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 137 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 22% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_HyperPush182107 41% S_PrismLens 219141 36% S_Beauty 13295 28% S_UltraZap 139107 23% S_FilmBurn 175137 22% 050100150200250Render time (seconds) After Effects on WindowsS_HyperPush: 182 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 107 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time. S_PrismLens: 219 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 141 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 36% less render time. S_Beauty: 132 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 95 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 28% less render time. S_UltraZap: 139 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 107 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 23% less render time. S_FilmBurn: 175 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 137 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 22% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_HyperPush41%182107 S_PrismLens 36% 219141 S_Beauty 28% 13295 S_UltraZap 23% 139107 S_FilmBurn 22% 175137 Render times in seconds

In After Effects on Windows, S_PrismLens went from 3 minutes and 39 seconds to 2 minutes and 21 seconds. S_HyperPush went from 3 minutes and 2 seconds to 1 minute and 47 seconds. Between those two comps alone, that’s more than two and a half minutes saved. Across the 49 selected Windows comps, combined render time dropped 10.2%, from 1 hour and 29 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, exactly nine minutes saved.

After Effects on Mac 16-inch MacBook Pro, M4 Pro, 48 GB · 209 UHD frames per comp · Selected effects
After Effects on MacS_LensFlare: 33.71 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 19.86 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time. S_Aurora: 18.97 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 12.17 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 36% less render time. S_BlurMotion: 23.97 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 15.76 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 34% less render time. S_BokehLights: 29.16 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 21.95 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 25% less render time. S_HyperPush: 34.27 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 26.51 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 23% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Less render timeS_LensFlare33.7119.86 41% S_Aurora 18.9712.17 36% S_BlurMotion 23.9715.76 34% S_BokehLights 29.1621.95 25% S_HyperPush 34.2726.51 23% 010203040Render time (seconds) After Effects on MacS_LensFlare: 33.71 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 19.86 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 41% less render time. S_Aurora: 18.97 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 12.17 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 36% less render time. S_BlurMotion: 23.97 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 15.76 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 34% less render time. S_BokehLights: 29.16 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 21.95 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 25% less render time. S_HyperPush: 34.27 seconds (Sapphire 2026.5), 26.51 seconds (Sapphire 2027), 23% less render time.Sapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027S_LensFlare41%33.7119.86 S_Aurora 36% 18.9712.17 S_BlurMotion 34% 23.9715.76 S_BokehLights 25% 29.1621.95 S_HyperPush 23% 34.2726.51 Render times in seconds

Across the 49 selected effects we tested on After Effects in macOS, combined render time dropped 6.7%, from 21 minutes and 14 seconds to 19 minutes and 48 seconds. S_LensFlare caught my eye, for good reason. It went from 33.71 seconds to 19.86 seconds, or 41% less render time. One caveat here: the S_LensFlare preset matters. This test was based on the default, but I can imagine some of the more complex flares might show different results. S_Aurora dropped from 18.97 seconds to 12.17, and S_BlurMotion from 23.97 seconds to 15.76.

What does that mean for your next render?

For me, it comes back to that S_UltraGlow shot in Resolve. Say I’m working on a neon sign and I want to see how the glow looks hugging the letters, then how it looks spilling onto the wall. In Sapphire 2026.5, one render took 26 seconds. In Sapphire 2027, it took 13. I can put both looks side by side for the same render time I used to spend on one.

That’s why all of us at Boris FX are obsessed with optimizing our products for speed. We want you to be able to look at a shot, think, “What if I pushed it a little further?” and have the time to find out.

Explore Sapphire →

FAQ

Sapphire 2027 performance questions

How much faster is Sapphire 2027 than Sapphire 2026.5?

It depends on your host and hardware. In our tests, combined render time dropped 54.7% in Premiere on Windows and 76.6% in Premiere on an M2 Mac Studio, 13.3% to 29.0% across three Resolve setups, and 10.2% on Windows and 6.7% on a MacBook Pro in After Effects.

Does Sapphire 2027 support Adobe’s GPU Suite in Premiere?

Yes. Sapphire 2027 adds support for Adobe’s GPU Suite in Premiere. In our Premiere tests, Sapphire 2026.5 ran with GPU Suite off and Sapphire 2027 ran with it on.

Which hosts and hardware did you test?

Premiere, Resolve, and After Effects on Windows and macOS. The setups include Windows workstations with an NVIDIA A5000 and a dual A5000 + A6000 system, an M2 Mac Studio, an M2 Ultra Mac Studio, and a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip.

How do you calculate “less render time”?

We add up the render times for the same effects in both versions and compare the totals: (Sapphire 2026.5 seconds − Sapphire 2027 seconds) ÷ Sapphire 2026.5 seconds.

Where can I see the results for a specific effect?

The full results below list 341 side-by-side renders, with the Sapphire 2026.5 and Sapphire 2027 times for every effect on every setup.

Full results

Every effect, every setup

341 side-by-side renders of Sapphire 2026.5 and Sapphire 2027 across Premiere, Resolve, and After Effects on Windows and Mac.

Summary

Combined render time by setup

For each setup, we added up the render times for every effect in both versions and compared the totals. Projects, footage, and clip lengths differ between setups, so compare within a row, not across rows.

Host and setupEffectsSapphire 2026.5Sapphire 2027Time savedLess render time
Premiere Windows, NVIDIA A5000481h 48m 33s49m 08s59m 25s54.7%
Premiere M2 Mac Studio481h 55m 30s27m 03s1h 28m 28s76.6%
Resolve Windows, NVIDIA A50004917m 25s14m 07s3m 17s18.9%
Resolve Windows, NVIDIA A5000 + A60004919m 22s13m 45s5m 37s29.0%
Resolve M2 Ultra Mac Studio4916m 34s14m 22s2m 12s13.3%
After Effects Windows, NVIDIA A5000491h 28m 36s1h 19m 36s9m 00s10.2%
After Effects 16-inch MacBook Pro, M4 Pro4921m 14s19m 48s1m 25s6.7%

Method

How we tested

Like for like

On each setup, we rendered the same shots twice, once with Sapphire 2026.5 and once with Sapphire 2027, on the same machine and in the same host. Each host uses one list of effects across its setups.

How we calculate it

Less render time = (2026.5 seconds − 2027 seconds) ÷ 2026.5 seconds. Setup totals use the summed seconds of every effect, not an average of percentages.

Premiere GPU Suite

Sapphire 2027 adds support for Adobe’s GPU Suite in Premiere. We ran Sapphire 2026.5 with GPU Suite off and Sapphire 2027 with it on, so the Premiere results reflect that change along with the version upgrade.

Premiere Windows, NVIDIA A5000

  • Sapphire 2026.5 with GPU Suite off, Sapphire 2027 with GPU Suite on
Sapphire effect 2026.5 (sec)2027 (sec)Seconds savedLess render time
S_AdvancedDefocus52.2455.00−2.76−5.3%
S_Aurora43.7943.180.611.4%
S_Beauty101.5665.6135.9635.4%
S_Blur34.9630.444.5212.9%
S_BlurMotion43.2341.671.563.6%
S_BokehLights115.5192.6622.8519.8%
S_Caustics1,007.03123.30883.7387.8%
S_Clouds36.2333.912.336.4%
S_DigitalDamage648.79124.03524.7680.9%
S_Dissolve47.0247.03−0.02−<0.1%
S_Distort47.5446.670.881.8%
S_DistortRGB55.7636.3319.4334.9%
S_EdgeBlur47.0732.7614.3130.4%
S_EdgeRays48.1146.981.132.3%
S_Emboss34.4829.754.7213.7%
S_FilmBurn134.2194.3539.8629.7%
S_FilmDamage69.9756.5813.3819.1%
S_Glow39.8436.123.729.3%
S_GradientRadial34.6328.845.7916.7%
S_HalfTone37.2027.739.4725.5%
S_HyperPush132.4359.9572.4854.7%
S_InfiniteZoom78.8254.5924.2330.7%
S_JpegDamage221.90186.8835.0115.8%
S_Kaleido45.4245.51−0.10−0.2%
S_LaserBeam57.7455.871.873.2%
S_LensFlare163.87166.91−3.04−1.9%
S_LightLeak48.4735.2813.1927.2%
S_Median198.17166.3631.8116.1%
S_ParallaxStrips47.8147.440.370.8%
S_PixelSort1,778.33215.871,562.4687.9%
S_PrismLens173.07102.1570.9341.0%
S_RackDefocus51.2255.70−4.49−8.8%
S_Rays53.8754.43−0.56−1.0%
S_Shake36.4933.393.108.5%
S_Sharpen4.374.53−0.15−3.5%
S_Streaks57.4148.249.1716.0%
S_TextureRidges47.7331.8215.9133.3%
S_TVDamage99.6167.8231.8031.9%
S_UltraGlow74.4050.4024.0032.3%
S_UltraGrain32.9231.361.564.7%
S_UltraZap138.1383.7054.4339.4%
S_Vignette39.8027.7312.0730.3%
S_VintageColor2Strip37.3628.368.9924.1%
S_WarpBubble52.6755.54−2.87−5.5%
S_WarpChroma39.1034.544.5611.7%
S_WarpPuff47.1947.67−0.48−1.0%
S_WhipLash40.9332.548.3920.5%
S_Zebrafy35.0030.714.2912.3%
Total, 48 effects6,513.362,948.203,565.1754.7%

Premiere M2 Mac Studio

  • Sapphire 2026.5 with GPU Suite off, Sapphire 2027 with GPU Suite on
Sapphire effect 2026.5 (sec)2027 (sec)Seconds savedLess render time
S_AdvancedDefocus53.4331.1122.3241.8%
S_Aurora34.6214.4920.1358.1%
S_Beauty772.5177.85694.6589.9%
S_Blur28.949.5119.4267.1%
S_BlurMotion43.8516.7327.1361.9%
S_BokehLights139.4881.8057.6841.4%
S_Caustics508.6346.00462.6391.0%
S_Clouds29.936.3023.6479.0%
S_DigitalDamage211.2228.12183.1186.7%
S_Dissolve35.346.9228.4280.4%
S_Distort69.7530.4939.2656.3%
S_DistortRGB60.7420.7140.0365.9%
S_EdgeBlur32.4012.1020.3162.7%
S_EdgeRays39.4612.7626.7067.7%
S_Emboss29.695.1024.5882.8%
S_FilmBurn91.3332.0959.2464.9%
S_FilmDamage64.7739.0025.7839.8%
S_Glow29.7411.5218.2261.3%
S_GradientRadial29.374.4924.8884.7%
S_HalfTone32.214.7027.5185.4%
S_HyperPush166.5968.3298.2859.0%
S_InfiniteZoom1,833.39161.681,671.7191.2%
S_JpegDamage104.6541.0363.6360.8%
S_Kaleido61.1930.6530.5449.9%
S_LaserBeam44.8214.8629.9666.9%
S_LensFlare110.8776.9333.9530.6%
S_LightLeak34.4412.3922.0564.0%
S_Median185.18144.6640.5221.9%
S_ParallaxStrips155.6147.73107.8769.3%
S_PixelSort923.87115.46808.4187.5%
S_PrismLens219.99104.80115.1952.4%
S_RackDefocus62.4135.2827.1343.5%
S_Rays40.6820.3420.3550.0%
S_Shake39.099.8729.2274.8%
S_Sharpen2.722.700.020.8%
S_Streaks42.1718.6023.5755.9%
S_TextureRidges38.879.8829.0074.6%
S_TVDamage109.1045.0364.0758.7%
S_UltraGlow49.1428.9020.2441.2%
S_UltraGrain29.267.1822.0875.5%
S_UltraZap59.0028.1330.8752.3%
S_Vignette30.414.9225.4983.8%
S_VintageColor2Strip16.0310.036.0037.4%
S_WarpBubble58.6531.7726.8745.8%
S_WarpChroma37.0511.7025.3568.4%
S_WarpPuff69.1730.4338.7456.0%
S_WhipLash40.8812.6028.2869.2%
S_Zebrafy27.735.1722.5781.4%
Total, 48 effects6,930.361,622.785,307.5776.6%

Resolve Windows, NVIDIA A5000

Sapphire effect 2026.5 (sec)2027 (sec)Seconds savedLess render time
S_AdvancedDefocus19.4716.912.5613.2%
S_Aurora8.937.411.5217.0%
S_Beauty28.4316.9311.5040.5%
S_Blur5.425.410.000.1%
S_BlurMotion102.9585.9317.0216.5%
S_BokehLights34.4226.947.4821.7%
S_Clouds6.934.452.4835.8%
S_DigitalDamage22.4222.93−0.51−2.3%
S_Dissolve3.913.500.4110.4%
S_Distort8.946.912.0322.7%
S_DistortRGB12.916.925.9946.4%
S_EdgeBlur8.916.931.9822.2%
S_EdgeRays10.437.452.9828.6%
S_Emboss4.913.911.0020.4%
S_FilmBurn44.9430.9314.0131.2%
S_FilmDamage26.4121.994.4216.7%
S_Glow7.405.921.4820.0%
S_GradientRadial5.413.921.4927.6%
S_Grain9.918.401.5115.2%
S_HalfTone6.403.442.9646.3%
S_HyperPush33.4414.9118.5355.4%
S_InfiniteZoom19.9113.416.5032.7%
S_Kaleido8.406.421.9923.6%
S_LaserBeam13.4510.403.0422.6%
S_LensFlare105.9493.0912.8412.1%
S_LightLeak11.918.942.9725.0%
S_Median102.92102.520.400.4%
S_OCIOTransform8.448.410.030.3%
S_ParallaxStrips9.417.991.4215.1%
S_PixelSort39.9535.434.5111.3%
S_PrismLens63.4640.4822.9836.2%
S_RackDefocus9.9010.44−0.54−5.4%
S_Rays10.418.921.5014.4%
S_RomanTile51.4564.05−12.60−24.5%
S_Shake5.924.581.3422.6%
S_Sharpen15.4314.920.513.3%
S_Streaks9.916.922.9930.1%
S_TextureRidges9.905.983.9339.7%
S_TVDamage31.9418.4313.5242.3%
S_UltraGlow21.4512.918.5439.8%
S_UltraGrain4.954.910.040.8%
S_UltraZap26.9319.007.9329.5%
S_Vignette5.913.922.0033.8%
S_VintageColor2Strip5.904.021.8831.9%
S_WarpBubble10.418.921.4914.3%
S_WarpChroma6.924.932.0028.9%
S_WarpPuff8.516.432.0724.4%
S_WhipLash6.614.911.7025.7%
S_Zebrafy5.444.141.3023.9%
Total, 49 effects1,044.55847.43197.1218.9%

Resolve Windows, NVIDIA A5000 + A6000

Sapphire effect 2026.5 (sec)2027 (sec)Seconds savedLess render time
S_AdvancedDefocus15.4812.502.9819.2%
S_Aurora9.956.373.5735.9%
S_Beauty32.0316.9315.1047.1%
S_Blur5.215.000.214.0%
S_BlurMotion104.9289.9115.0114.3%
S_BokehLights44.9933.9111.0824.6%
S_Clouds7.403.923.4847.0%
S_DigitalDamage20.3918.901.497.3%
S_Dissolve4.603.880.7215.7%
S_Distort10.036.403.6336.2%
S_DistortRGB16.377.398.9854.8%
S_EdgeBlur9.886.453.4334.7%
S_EdgeRays13.598.485.1137.6%
S_Emboss4.873.920.9519.5%
S_FilmBurn53.4531.8821.5840.4%
S_FilmDamage29.4719.4310.0434.1%
S_Glow8.375.363.0236.0%
S_GradientRadial6.013.912.1035.0%
S_Grain13.009.903.1123.9%
S_HalfTone7.473.883.5948.1%
S_HyperPush42.5116.9425.5760.1%
S_InfiniteZoom25.9215.3810.5340.6%
S_Kaleido9.396.442.9631.5%
S_LaserBeam15.9211.424.5128.3%
S_LensFlare105.8883.9221.9520.7%
S_LightLeak12.958.894.0631.4%
S_Median110.87104.935.945.4%
S_OCIOTransform5.895.870.020.3%
S_ParallaxStrips10.527.393.1329.7%
S_PixelSort46.3936.909.4920.5%
S_PrismLens78.9247.3931.5340.0%
S_RackDefocus11.3910.391.008.8%
S_Rays12.948.924.0231.0%
S_RomanTile38.5437.361.193.1%
S_Shake7.013.983.0343.2%
S_Sharpen17.3813.923.4619.9%
S_Streaks11.906.395.5146.3%
S_TextureRidges12.474.877.6060.9%
S_TVDamage45.0321.3823.6552.5%
S_UltraGlow26.0013.0412.9649.8%
S_UltraGrain4.904.370.5210.7%
S_UltraZap33.4820.3613.1139.2%
S_Vignette6.473.852.6240.5%
S_VintageColor2Strip7.413.883.5347.6%
S_WarpBubble12.999.903.0823.7%
S_WarpChroma8.064.383.6845.6%
S_WarpPuff10.935.954.9845.6%
S_WhipLash7.474.363.1041.6%
S_Zebrafy4.873.920.9419.4%
Total, 49 effects1,161.83824.98336.8429.0%

Resolve M2 Ultra Mac Studio

Sapphire effect 2026.5 (sec)2027 (sec)Seconds savedLess render time
S_AdvancedDefocus25.4923.492.007.8%
S_Aurora4.564.370.194.1%
S_Beauty24.3722.352.028.3%
S_Blur3.733.650.082.2%
S_BlurMotion217.58191.0426.5412.2%
S_BokehLights61.6355.366.2710.2%
S_Clouds2.612.350.269.9%
S_DigitalDamage10.498.861.6415.6%
S_Dissolve2.332.35−0.02−0.8%
S_Distort8.998.380.626.8%
S_DistortRGB8.536.362.1725.4%
S_EdgeBlur4.434.370.071.5%
S_EdgeRays4.603.870.7416.0%
S_Emboss2.332.35−0.02−0.7%
S_FilmBurn26.4719.846.6325.0%
S_FilmDamage9.498.860.646.7%
S_Glow3.603.86−0.26−7.2%
S_GradientRadial2.862.350.5117.8%
S_Grain4.413.890.5211.9%
S_HalfTone3.081.831.2540.6%
S_HyperPush28.9618.3310.6336.7%
S_InfiniteZoom43.9943.870.120.3%
S_Kaleido8.998.350.647.1%
S_LaserBeam7.576.021.5620.6%
S_LensFlare81.4848.8632.6240.0%
S_LightLeak5.975.370.6110.2%
S_Median96.5196.86−0.35−0.4%
S_OCIOTransform2.132.33−0.20−9.5%
S_ParallaxStrips38.0137.870.140.4%
S_PixelSort19.9719.970.000.0%
S_PrismLens55.3839.2616.1229.1%
S_RackDefocus14.9914.850.130.9%
S_Rays5.985.350.6310.6%
S_RomanTile31.5131.87−0.36−1.1%
S_Shake3.913.380.5213.4%
S_Sharpen9.999.860.121.2%
S_Streaks5.524.850.6712.1%
S_TextureRidges4.963.361.6032.2%
S_TVDamage32.4823.988.5026.2%
S_UltraGlow10.8410.190.656.0%
S_UltraGrain2.612.88−0.27−10.2%
S_UltraZap14.5613.371.198.1%
S_Vignette2.862.410.4515.6%
S_VintageColor2Strip4.032.741.2932.0%
S_WarpBubble9.998.981.0110.1%
S_WarpChroma4.063.550.5112.5%
S_WarpPuff9.007.991.0111.2%
S_WhipLash3.893.380.5213.3%
S_Zebrafy2.612.130.4718.2%
Total, 49 effects994.32861.96132.3613.3%

After Effects Windows, NVIDIA A5000

Sapphire effect 2026.5 (sec)2027 (sec)Seconds savedLess render time
S_AdvancedDefocus92103−11−12.0%
S_Aurora575611.8%
S_Beauty132953728.0%
S_Blur767156.6%
S_BlurMotion8790−3−3.4%
S_BokehLights14613974.8%
S_Caustics8690−4−4.7%
S_DigitalDamage9396−3−3.2%
S_Dissolve929111.1%
S_Distort888711.1%
S_DistortRGB898544.5%
S_EdgeBlur847689.5%
S_EdgeRays888622.3%
S_Emboss737034.1%
S_FilmBurn1751373821.7%
S_FilmDamage102891312.7%
S_Glow86741214.0%
S_GradientRadial626111.6%
S_Grain928755.4%
S_HalfTone777079.1%
S_HyperPush1821077541.2%
S_InfiniteZoom115922320.0%
S_JpegDamage6570−5−7.7%
S_Kaleido878522.3%
S_LaserBeam999544.0%
S_LensFlare223213104.5%
S_LightLeak878078.0%
S_Median211199125.7%
S_ParallaxStrips938677.5%
S_PixelSort210199115.2%
S_PrismLens2191417835.6%
S_RackDefocus908822.2%
S_Rays908822.2%
S_RomanTile19819352.5%
S_Shake808000.0%
S_Sharpen106921413.2%
S_Streaks928666.5%
S_TextureRidges76651114.5%
S_TVDamage1381083021.7%
S_UltraGlow1641333118.9%
S_UltraGrain737300.0%
S_UltraZap1391073223.0%
S_Vignette82691315.9%
S_VintageColor2Strip82701214.6%
S_WarpBubble10696109.4%
S_WarpChroma797811.3%
S_WarpPuff98851313.3%
S_WhipLash817567.4%
S_Zebrafy747045.4%
Total, 49 effects5,3164,77654010.2%

After Effects 16-inch MacBook Pro, M4 Pro

Sapphire effect 2026.5 (sec)2027 (sec)Seconds savedLess render time
S_AdvancedDefocus20.1514.525.6428.0%
S_Aurora18.9712.176.8035.9%
S_Beauty43.6443.83−0.20−0.5%
S_Blur20.1015.114.9924.8%
S_BlurMotion23.9715.768.2134.3%
S_BokehLights29.1621.957.2024.7%
S_Caustics23.7325.27−1.55−6.5%
S_DigitalDamage22.4517.994.4619.9%
S_Dissolve19.0614.484.5724.0%
S_Distort20.8816.694.1820.0%
S_DistortRGB16.0016.06−0.05−0.3%
S_EdgeBlur20.6517.483.1715.4%
S_EdgeRays20.8717.753.1214.9%
S_Emboss15.1514.710.442.9%
S_FilmBurn36.6132.793.8210.4%
S_FilmDamage16.7715.111.669.9%
S_Glow16.7317.57−0.84−5.0%
S_GradientRadial9.7015.20−5.51−56.8%
S_Grain14.1714.54−0.37−2.6%
S_HalfTone16.2515.780.472.9%
S_HyperPush34.2726.517.7622.6%
S_InfiniteZoom90.5790.76−0.19−0.2%
S_JpegDamage10.068.931.1311.2%
S_Kaleido20.9522.01−1.07−5.1%
S_LaserBeam16.6718.26−1.59−9.6%
S_LensFlare33.7119.8613.8541.1%
S_LightLeak15.2016.85−1.65−10.9%
S_Median33.6633.390.270.8%
S_ParallaxStrips18.5818.71−0.13−0.7%
S_PixelSort64.7265.30−0.58−0.9%
S_PrismLens87.8682.805.075.8%
S_RackDefocus17.1317.19−0.05−0.3%
S_Rays18.5818.000.593.2%
S_RomanTile76.8080.25−3.45−4.5%
S_Shake15.4718.35−2.88−18.6%
S_Sharpen28.7029.14−0.44−1.5%
S_Streaks17.6019.74−2.14−12.1%
S_TextureRidges16.2617.12−0.86−5.3%
S_TVDamage30.9931.06−0.07−0.2%
S_UltraGlow38.8235.932.897.4%
S_UltraGrain17.1116.510.603.5%
S_UltraZap30.6127.063.5511.6%
S_Vignette19.2516.053.2016.6%
S_VintageColor2Strip9.999.800.191.9%
S_WarpBubble16.6716.150.523.1%
S_WarpChroma17.6515.921.739.8%
S_WarpPuff17.9216.741.186.6%
S_WhipLash19.0014.754.2522.4%
S_Zebrafy13.7810.523.2623.7%
Total, 49 effects1,273.571,188.4185.176.7%

Source: Boris FX internal render tests comparing Sapphire 2026.5 and Sapphire 2027. Times are wall-clock render times in seconds. Your results will vary with project, footage, settings, and hardware.

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