While the Radeon HD 5550 may not be a new card, the inclusion of GDDR5 is. This should add a small boost in performance over the GDDR3 and DDR2 models while retaining the low-power profile, perfect for inclusion in a Home Theater PC (HTPC) build.
Introduction
The Radeon HD 5550 is an entry level card aimed at the HTPC market. The most notable features are it’s very low power draw (39W maximum) and hardware acceleration for video. If you throw a Bluray Disc Drive in with it, then you can also stream the uncompressed audio directly to your receiver without the need for another audio card. All in all, the specs add up to a decent option for a HTPC and possibly even worthy of a low end gaming computer with it’s DirectX 11 support. When you consider this card has a MSRP of $75, it begins to look even better.
NOTABLE TECHNOLOGIES
- ATI Stream technology – hardware acceleration for video
- ATI Eyefinity technology – run up to 3 monitors off one card
- Bitstream Audio – pass uncompressed audio from Bluray Discs straight to a receiver via HDMI
Posts
