ATI Radeon HD 4550 @ DH

Zardon · Oct 6, 2008, 02:06 PM

Read The Review Here
_______________________

Today's review subject, the Radeon HD 4550, which sits nicely between the 3450 and 4650 in ATIs product catalogue and competes directly against the GeForce 9400 GT. In this review we will be comparing those two cards in a selection of the latest games as well as seeing how each fairs in some high definition playback tests.

Erroneus · Oct 6, 2008, 05:03 PM

7.1 sound support via HDMI sounds great (no pun intended), but who will use a 7.1 sound signal to a TV?

macbiter · Oct 6, 2008, 05:39 PM

good looking media card although im really put off by ATI atm as my laptop keeps giving BSOds with the 3450 when watching MKVs. Dont have much faith in ATI drivers.

**temeteus82** · Oct 6, 2008, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macbiter

good looking media card although im really put off by ATI atm as my laptop keeps giving BSOds with the 3450 when watching MKVs. Dont have much faith in ATI drivers.

What codec was used on those .mkv media files? It does sound like a codec issue not a driver issue.

macbiter · Oct 6, 2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

What codec was used on those .mkv media files? It does sound like a codec issue not a driver issue.

its part of the CCCP codec pack, and no its not the codec, the same codec works fine on Nvidia cards, and has done for years. you seen the thread in the ATI forums about this?

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/vista-ra...ing-error.html

Hardly a codec issue just crap drivers.

mkk · Oct 6, 2008, 07:06 PM

What a cute little cooler that low profile card has. While the HD4670 performs much better in games for not much more, the maximum power consumption of 20W can certainly put the HD4550 in favor for special builds. Like perhaps in a small form Intel build where the integrated graphics doesn't quite cut it.

Try Media Player Classic HomeCinema instead of any codec pack. Just my general recommendation for playing todays video formats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erroneus

but who will use a 7.1 sound signal to a TV?

While there are some TV's with various inventive surround methods that bounce the sound against the walls, the main reason is that there's simply no meaning in providing less than the standardised 7.1 today.

***Veridian3*** · Oct 7, 2008, 01:36 AM

For the 7.1 audio the main reason is that you pass HDMI into your audio receiver/amp and that takes the sound signal and passes the video out to the TV. A lot of the high spec amps have HDMI in/out.

Erroneus · Oct 7, 2008, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veridian3

For the 7.1 audio the main reason is that you pass HDMI into your audio receiver/amp and that takes the sound signal and passes the video out to the TV. A lot of the high spec amps have HDMI in/out.

Ah neat, well then it makes sense.

Thanks

Cow_160483 · Oct 7, 2008, 08:48 AM

sweet card am glad Ati is finally having some really competitive cards out there! makes life for the consumer much much better as competition creates better prices for us.

sammorris · Oct 10, 2008, 07:10 PM

20W power usage, that's PicoPSU territory.
FWIW, I've never had a BSOD playing back HD video with:
X800 Pro AGP
X1600 Pro
X1900XT
HD3870
HD4870
HD4870X2
various drivers, OSes, you name it.

Oct 6, 2008, 02:06 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	ATI Radeon HD 4550 @ DH Read The Review Here _______________________ Today's review subject, the Radeon HD 4550, which sits nicely between the 3450 and 4650 in ATIs product catalogue and competes directly against the GeForce 9400 GT. In this review we will be comparing those two cards in a selection of the latest games as well as seeing how each fairs in some high definition playback tests.

Oct 6, 2008, 05:03 PM	#2
Erroneus Get off my lawn! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 13,417 Rep Power: 119 System Specs	Re: ATI Radeon HD 4550 @ DH 7.1 sound support via HDMI sounds great (no pun intended), but who will use a 7.1 sound signal to a TV? __________________

Oct 6, 2008, 05:39 PM	#3
macbiter DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 81 Rep Power: 0	Re: ATI Radeon HD 4550 @ DH good looking media card although im really put off by ATI atm as my laptop keeps giving BSOds with the 3450 when watching MKVs. Dont have much faith in ATI drivers.

Oct 7, 2008, 01:36 AM	#7
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,026 Rep Power: 181	Re: ATI Radeon HD 4550 @ DH For the 7.1 audio the main reason is that you pass HDMI into your audio receiver/amp and that takes the sound signal and passes the video out to the TV. A lot of the high spec amps have HDMI in/out.

Oct 7, 2008, 08:48 AM	#9
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,813 Rep Power: 299 System Specs	Re: ATI Radeon HD 4550 @ DH sweet card am glad Ati is finally having some really competitive cards out there! makes life for the consumer much much better as competition creates better prices for us. __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Oct 10, 2008, 07:10 PM	#10
sammorris HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Brentwood or York, UK Posts: 178 Rep Power: 26 System Specs	Re: ATI Radeon HD 4550 @ DH 20W power usage, that's PicoPSU territory. FWIW, I've never had a BSOD playing back HD video with: X800 Pro AGP X1600 Pro X1900XT HD3870 HD4870 HD4870X2 various drivers, OSes, you name it. __________________ Speakers: Logitech Z-2300 & Philips MC-70 [homebrew surround via ATEN CS1782 KVAM] for HTPC. Logitech Z-5500 for gaming PC. I/O: Razer Diamondback Magma, MS Intellimouse Optical, MS Sidewinder X6, Saitek Eclipse II, Pertelian X2040 USB Display DVD: As little as Possible (LG GH20NS15) Networking: Netgear GS105, GS605, GS608, WRN2000, Linksys WRT54GL [Tomato], DrayTek Vigor 120, yards of CAT6