{"id":19389,"date":"2010-07-02T01:29:16","date_gmt":"2010-07-02T00:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=19389"},"modified":"2010-07-04T00:19:38","modified_gmt":"2010-07-03T23:19:38","slug":"axle-amd-ati-radeon-hd-5450-video-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/axle-amd-ati-radeon-hd-5450-video-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Axle AMD ATI Radeon HD 5450 Video Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Introduction-->A lot of you might not have heard of Axle. They are big in Asia and have recently started expanding their business in North America. They are a certified Nvidia and AMD\/ATI partner, so you can expect video cards from them on both sides of the aisle. Axle sent AlienBabelTech their entry level video card from the red camp, the HD 5450 for us to review.<\/p>\n<p>For those not familiar with AMD\/ATI\u2019s HD 5xxx series, here\u2019s a recap. AMD\/ATI launched the HD 5xxx series with the HD 5870 and the HD 5850 in September, last year. The video card that we are reviewing, the HD 5450, represents the least expensive model in this HD 5xxx series. It features the same DX11 features as the rest of the HD 5xxx cards and also supports ATI Eyefinity technology. The fact that this card supports Eyefinity essentially means that you can use a 3 LCD multi-monitor setup on a $40-$50 card which is downright awesome! Although you may not be able to game comfortably with this card on those three monitors; you can use this feature to increase your productivity.<\/p>\n<p>Compared to the 627 million transistors that make up the codenamed \u201cRedwood\u201d chip used in the HD 5670 that we <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=18441\" target=\"_blank\">reviewed<\/a> last month, the \u201cCedar\u201d chip used in this video card comprises of a relatively modest 292 million transistors. The \u201cCedar\u201d chips features a 64-bit wide memory interface and 80 stream processors. Here are some other specs:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/HD5450Specs1.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"HD5450-Specs1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/HD5450Specs1_thumb.png?resize=550%2C463\" border=\"0\" alt=\"HD5450-Specs1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For a more detailed analysis on the architecture, please check our launch review on the HD 5450 <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=15431\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I am going to present this review in a new format. We typically really on images to convey our data and the card features. In this review, I will be presenting our findings in a full-HD video hosted on youtube and embedded here. Instead of posting charts comparing the performance to other video cards, I played through the games and recorded the gameplay along with FRAPS showing the FPS counter. Please let us know in commments, if you like this new experimental format.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Test Setup, Closer Look & Performance--><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Test Setup<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Intel Q9450 @ 3.2 GHz<\/li>\n<li>GIGABYTE EX-38 DS4 F5 BIOS<\/li>\n<li>GEIL 4 GB ( 2x 2GB ) Dual Channel RAM @ 800 MHz<\/li>\n<li>Windows 7 Ultimate x64<\/li>\n<li>ATI Catalyst 10.6<\/li>\n<li>Cooler Master Sniper Case<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Test Notes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>All Catalyst control panel settings were at default.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Closer Look<\/h2>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"549\" height=\"334\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/Uhdzidyak5g&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"549\" height=\"334\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/Uhdzidyak5g&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<h2>Performance<\/h2>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"549\" height=\"334\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/CD7T9nbBemo&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?hd=1\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"549\" height=\"334\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/CD7T9nbBemo&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?hd=1\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p><object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"549\" height=\"334\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/HzsT7nOLYWg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?hd=1\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"549\" height=\"334\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/HzsT7nOLYWg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?hd=1\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Conclusion--><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>As I mentioned in the unboxing video, I was pleasantly surprised that the Axle HD 5450 uses passive cooling. As a video card that caters to the HTPC crowd, I believe that a passive cooling solution is the most important factor when a user buys a video card for HTPC use because it is completely silent. I was also quite pleased with the design of the heatsink. The HD 5450 has more going for it including its low power consumption and some light gaming as evident from the performance videos.<\/p>\n<p>I believe that if you want to game on this video card, you should not expect stellar performance in the latest games, however in the huge older game catalog on PC platform you can expect some reasonable performance even at higher image quality settings. We had to turn down some image quality settings in some of the latest  games.<\/p>\n<p>The arrival of Flash 10.1 has enabled GPU acceleration for flash videos and we saw an example of this as the Axle HD 5450 video card was able to very smoothly accelerate Toy Story 3 1080p trailer on Youtube. You can also expect GPU acceleration for your Blu-ray movies with the right software, which really lends credence to the use of this card in a HTPC.<\/p>\n<p>I would highly recommend the Axle HD 5450 to anyone seriously considering a HTPC setup and I would like to award it the ABT \u201cRecommended\u201d award.<\/p>\n<p>Pros-<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Silent because of the passive cooling solution<\/li>\n<li>Low cost of ownership<\/li>\n<li>Half height<\/li>\n<li>Low power consumption<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Cons-<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>None<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Recommended.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px\" title=\"Recommended\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Recommended_thumb.png?resize=150%2C251\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Recommended\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=19389\"><img decoding=\"async\" align=top title=\"Author:MrK\" src=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/frontpage.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7814,7],"tags":[72,73,2777,3068,238],"class_list":["post-19389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-technology","tag-amd","tag-ati","tag-axle","tag-hd-5450","tag-radeon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}