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Gaming Tests Due to the specs of this card, I am not expecting a whole lot in terms of gaming. However, it is our solemn duty to put this card through its paces, and by golly we are going to do just that. For the purpose of this test, we have cranked the E8600 back to 4GHz to see how good we can get to. First up, let's take a quick look at the good ol' standby, 3DMark06: 3DMark06:
A score of 3751 pretty much confirms our suspicions, putting this card at around one fifth of the score of a 4870X2, and that is just at 1280x1024. Next, we will take a look at a couple Vantage scores. 3DMark Vantage "Entry":
3DMark Vantage "Performance":
The Entry score shows some promise, however the card tanks pretty hard in the Performance preset. Considering that the 4850 scored a P6995, that does not bode well for gaming performance on the 4550. Next up, we will take a look at a real time gaming bench. Far Cry 2: In order to test the capabilities of the 4550 in a realistic gaming situation, we used the built-in benchmark in Far Cry 2. For both runs, we used 0xAA, and all settings at Medium. The first run was tested at 1024x768, and the second run used 1280x1024:
The first test shows an average framerate of 33.68, a minimum of 27.32, and a maximum of 47.65.
The second run showed an average framerate of 25.34, a minimum of 19.86, and a maximum of 39.12. This is about the limit of playability for this card in Far Cry 2. Conclusion Reading the gaming benchmarks might leave one to believe that I am disappointed in this card; however this could not be further from the truth. Make no bones about it, this card is NOT a gaming card. However, for HTPC applications this card is absolutely perfect. The excellent decoding for both VC-1 and H.264 is very impressive, as well as the relative lack of noise from the fan and the small overall size of the card. Add in the HDMI 7 channel audio capability, and you have the perfect home media solution. Pros:
Cons:
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