ATI Radeon HD 4550

Graphics Processor: ATI Radeon HD 4550
Core Clock: 600MHz
Graphics Memory: 512MB DDR3
Interface: PCI Express x16
Onboard Ports: DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI
Bundled Adapters: None
DirectX Support: 10.1

The ATI Radeon HD 4550 offers superb video-playback quality, multiple monitor support, and usable if unimpressive 3D performance at an entry-level price. This compact card is a perfect addition to a home theater PC, particularly if you want to play back HD video, but gamers should consider the next card up in ATI’s lineup.

The compact HD 4550 draws all of its power from the PCI Express (PCIe) x16 slot it plugs into, making it a good choice for PCs with smaller power supplies that don’t offer a six-pin PCIe power cable. AMD says the card uses just 20 watts of power in operation. The card is passively cooled and completely silent, using a large metal heat sink instead of a fan.

The card we tested featured a dual-link DVI connector, as well as both HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. The HD 4550 can drive any two of these outputs simultaneously. There’s onboard eight-channel sound when using the HDMI output, which is more convenient than Nvidia’s HDMI-equipped cards that require you to run an audio cable to your motherboard. Cards from some OEM manufacturers may include a combination of DVI, VGA, and analog output, and/or a cooling fan in place of the setup of our reference card.

Along with 512MB of DDR3 RAM, the card has all the features of the other Radeon 4000-series cards, including DirectX 10.1 (DX10.1) 3D support and the excellent Unified Video Decoder (UVD) 2, which accelerates decoding of both DVD and high-definition or Blu-ray content. This takes the decoding load off the computer’s processor, allowing smooth playback of video content on inexpensive, midrange computers, even at 1080p resolution. Both HD video and upscaled DVD content played back flawlessly, with vibrant color and no visual artifacts, on a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo test system.

The card’s 3D performance is nothing to get excited about, but the HD 4550 at least makes recent games playable if you turn down the details and resolution a bit. It manages 24 frames per second (fps) in our 1,280x1,024 F.E.A.R. test with the details cranked to maximum, and dropping the details or resolution a bit gets the score to 30fps or more. Last year’s Radeon HD 3450 card, by comparison, only scored a slide-show-like 11fps in the same test. However, the Radeon HD 4670, which costs just $24 more, more than doubles the HD 4550’s performance, turning in 66fps on the same test. And the HD 4670 makes DX10 games playable without turning down the details, unlike the HD 4550. The HD 4550 scored just 18.2fps in our 1,280x1,024 Company of Heroes test; the HD 4670 clocked in at 40.1fps. World in Conflict was even slower at 11fps on the HD 4550, while the HD 4670 managed a playable 32fps. With a CrossFireX-capable motherboard, you can pair the card with another HD 4550 to get a performance boost.

The Radeon HD 4550’s excellent video-playback support and silent operation make it an excellent choice for home theater PC usage, general productivity, and the occasional casual game. But if you spend much time at all playing 3D games, you’d be far better served by the Radeon HD 4670, which offers more than double the 3D performance, with a price difference that’s half the cost of a single game.

Price (at time of review): $55

author : Denny Atkin