ATI Radeon HD 5450 & HD 5570 Review
Conclusion
Radeon HD 5450
The Radeon HD 5450 has proven that DX11 is not just for the high-end gamer but for everyone. While very much suited for HTPC use, the HD 5450 is able to deliver some decent gaming performance on a strict budget.
Pros:
- Price!
- DX11
- Decent performance @ 1680×1050 or lower
- Very low power consumption
- Low profile design
- HTPC recommended
- Runs fairly cool
- Runs rather quiet
- Eyefinity technology
- Onboard HDMI audio processor
Cons:
- Not suitable for high resolution gaming (1920×1200 and higher)
Without hesitation I give the HD 5450 the Recommended and Great Value Awards.
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Radeon HD 5570
The Radeon HD 5570 has brought with it both an amazing price/performance ratio as well as superb performance/watt. With an $80 price tag, it is sure to become a hit among budget gamers.
Pros:
- Price!
- DX11
- Good performance @ 1440×900
- Decent performance @ 1680×1050
- Low power consumption
- Low profile design (remains an option for HTPC)
- Does not run hot
- Whisper quiet
- Eyefinity technology
- Onboard HDMI audio processor
Cons:
- Not suitable for gaming above 1680×1050 resolution unless details are reduced
Without even thinking twice about it, the HD 5570 easily gets three awards from this editor: Recommended, Great Value and Editor’s Choice. It is a really kick-ass card for $80.
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Leon Hyman
Senior Editor
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The 5570 consumes 69 watts more power under load and 40 watts more in idle? No way, something must have gone wrong here. The results on other sites are in a different league – single digit watt difference in idle and ~30 watts under load.
Thanks for your comment Howitzer. The fact is exactly as I stated, this is the power draw on the *entire* system. Other sites may have the tools such as power meters that can measure the video card power draw at the slot level. I am only privy to a Kill-A-Watt unit.
The major factor in this is that the 1100W PSU that powers my system has driven up the idle power load quite a bit. Now the difference in the figures will also take into account any additional power draw from the CPU also being under load along with other smaller components like hard drive(s) spinning up and so on.
We do hope to continue improving our testing with better equipment, as our very limited resources will allow.
Thanks for your time. =)