Currently running a Sapphire 4850 Toxic in my HTPC. I don't game so think its a bit OTT. Looking at the Gigabyte 4550. Will this be sufficient for HTPC duties or would I run into any issues with HD playback with this card?
The 4550 should be fine for running all manor of HD content in a HTPC.
Alistair (08-02-2009)
Probably don't even need that, a HD2400pro or similar will still do the job.
Oddly, my "spare" 3870 wouldn't play The Dark Knight Blu-ray well, which is the first disc it's coughed on.... bought a nice little Sapphire 4550 (fan cooler, silent though) and it doesn't bat an eyelid at anything I've thrown at it so far.
Maybe bit rate of The Dark Knight in the first IMAX scene at the start is a bit heavy, but the 3870 was a no go at all and had jumpy/choppy playback. Can only assume the 3870 wasn't doing full HD decode offload for some reason, whereas the 4550 on the same hardware with the same driver set works perfectly.
4550 recommended though.
How much are you likely to get for the 4850?
And how much is a 4550?
If I'm honest I'd consider it too much a palaver to change, and if my 4850 is to go by, for little tangible reward.
The 4850 is energy efficient, quiet, and packs a punch. What more do you want?
If you wanna offload that 4850, keep me in the loop![]()
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