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Ultra low-end graphics cards are not something we often review here at Legion Hardware and in fact they are not something we really review at all. The problem with ultra low-end graphics cards is that we see very little purpose for such a product, especially for our readers. The way we categorize ultra low-end graphics cards is by their retail value, which is $50 US or less... Despite our opinion on ultra low-end graphics cards there are quite a number of them currently available supporting GPUs such as the Radeon HD 4350, GeForce 8400 GS, GeForce FX 5500/5200, GeForce 9400/9500 GT and GeForce 210. These sub $50 US graphics cards all have one thing in common, they are bloody slow!  They are so slow in fact that they are next to useless when it comes to playing the latest and greatest video games, regardless of quality settings. These graphics cards are all very slow as for one reason or another they are very memory bandwidth limited. Whereas today’s typical mid-range gaming graphics cards, such as the Radeon HD 5750, has a memory bandwidth of over 70GB/s, the graphics cards mentioned above are all limited to bandwidths below 20GB/s, many less than just 10GB/s. Of course not everyone can afford to dish out hundreds of dollars for a graphics card and we understand why these cheaper alternatives exist. However the primary reason most users purchase an add-in graphics card is to game. Otherwise purchasing a motherboard that supports an integrated-graphics platform (IGP) makes far more sense. Alternatively the only other reason a low-end graphics card might be purchased is for an office computer that requires support for multiple monitors, which is not something all IGPs support. The point is, if you are not buying a graphics card for gaming, then gaming performance does not really matter, and if that is the case just about any ultra low-end graphics card will do. For example, the GeForce 8400 GS supports dual 30” (2560x1600) displays, as does the GeForce 9400 GT, so you might as well buy the 8400 GS as it's cheaper. So when AMD told us they are releasing a new affordable graphics card using Radeon HD 5000 series technology, we did ponder for a moment what this could mean. Make no mistake, the new Radeon HD 5450 which we are introducing today is blistering slow for gaming purposes, with a memory bandwidth of just 12.8GB/s due to a very limited 64-bit wide memory bus, coupled with low frequency DDR3 memory. In terms of specifications the Radeon HD 5450 is very similar to Nvidia’s GeForce 9400 GT, which currently costs around $50 US. However the GeForce 9400 GT is a slug and the Radeon HD 5450 is no different. Therefore, regardless of the price tag, this product is no good for gamers, unless of course they are only playing titles released prior to 2003. In fact, mid-range graphics cards of 2003 would give the Radeon HD 5450 a real run for its money. The more advanced graphics cards in the Radeon HD 5000 series feature a technology called “Eyefinity” which supports multiple-displays, three to be precise. AMD has told us that select Radeon HD 5450 graphics cards from their partners will support this technology. Therefore we expect that only premium models will support Eyefinity, while typical Radeon HD 5450 graphics cards will be left with standard dual monitor support. Without this technology we are keen to learn how the new Radeon HD 5450 differs from previous models such as the Radeon HD 4650, which is a more powerful budget graphics card on paper. At this stage we are unsure as to how AMD will price the Radeon HD 5450, though we are aware that it will become available in 512MB and 1GB variants sporting either DDR2 or DDR3 memory. Given the underwhelming specifications, we estimate that the 512MB version will cost about $50 US, while the 1GB cards, which we suggest you avoid, will cost $60 US plus, but at this stage we are just speculating. |
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Threefeet |
Posted on: 02/16/2010 03:12 AM
I actually really enjoyed reading that review, weirdly enough. Why on earth did they send it to you Steve?! |
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Steven Walton Posts: 104 Joined: 2010-02-08 |
Posted on: 02/16/2010 10:07 AM
Well we cover all new products, even the unexciting ones  |
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johnMarsh Posts: 2 Joined: 2010-02-19 |
Posted on: 02/20/2010 05:29 AM
If you've been paying attention to the recent Radeon launches, then you know there's a lot more to like than just gaming performance: the Eyefinity multi-monitor support and Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio over a protected audio path features mentioned above actually carry over across all members of the 5000-series seen thus far. Anyone excited by those value-adds thus far will be happy to see that they are once again exposed on today's replacement of the Radeon HD 4350 and 4550 cards. Let's take a closer look at the new Radeon HD 5450 and draw some conclusions about how well it serves that low-end discrete audience. We know it's not a gaming card, but we cant help ourselves; we'll even check out gaming performance for the sake of being thorough. |
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Steven Walton Posts: 104 Joined: 2010-02-08 |
Posted on: 02/20/2010 07:00 AM
Thanks for the feedback John. I have been paying attention to the recent Radeon launches as I have covered them all and will be covering the new Radeon HD 5830 this week in fact. The conclusion did discuss the benefits of the ATI Radeon HD 5450 such as Eyefinity on certain models. While both Eyefinity and Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio over HDMI are nice features I still felt that the Radeon HD 5450 was far too expensive. I give my honest opinion to try and protect the reader/potential buyer. |
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Gayle |
Posted on: 04/07/2010 12:26 AM
It would be good if you could include benchmarks for the current onboard graphics when doing these low end card reviews. It would be usefull to get a baseline - what do you get for your $50-60 over the onboard graphics. Otherwise good review. |
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Mel |
Posted on: 05/22/2010 12:59 PM
I'm shopping for a new home computer. I'm not a gamer, but I am looking at computers which have one of these low end graphics cards included as part of the preassembled package. I found your review helpful because it confirmed what I had expected, that these cards are too slow for today's games but probably won't add much of anything to a non-gamer's experience. I suspect including these cards is more of a marketing tool, to suggest to buyers that they are getting a more sophisticated computer because it has a seperate graphics card rather than integrated graphics. Anyway, thanks for the review. It was very useful to me. |
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Dave |
Posted on: 06/29/2010 10:33 PM
I just bought this 5450 card for my new Dell. I bought a splitter for the monitor but for some reason I can't get it to *spread the screen* over both of them. It simply outputs the same on both monitors. I can't find any help anywhere. Any thoughts, since you guys seem like experts? Thanks. |
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Supacon Posts: 1 Joined: 2010-07-14 |
Posted on: 07/14/2010 07:32 AM
I'm really curious as to weather the card that you reviewed (with VGA, DVI, and HDMI) actually can support three displays. I know that officially, only models with a displayport support Eyefinity, but I just want to connect three independent monitors for office use - not for gaming. I'd like to pass audio through from the HDMI port to an HDTV, while using a DVI and VGA monitor at the same time. Thus far NOBODY that has reviewed one of these cards has tested this! |
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Steve V |
Posted on: 10/14/2010 03:16 PM
I bought the ati radeon hd 5450 and i can say im quite happy with it. I play alot of video games that i have purchased off of steam. It runs borderlands, left for dead 2, street fighter 4 ,star wars the force unleashed, and mass effect 2 all with no problems what so ever ..I wouldnt call this a crappy gaming card, maybe not the best out there but damn good for the cash and if u would want to go bigger you could always crossfire! |