The ATI Radeon HD 4550 is being billed as AMD's low-cost option and the competition for the Nvidia GeForce 9400 GT. Price-wise, both cards are coparable, which should make for an interesting battle as the two battle at the bottom rung of the graphics ladder.
Entry-level graphics cards rarely blow us away with their benchmark scores, so we weren't expecting above-average performance from the HD 4550 at high-quality settings. We were still a bit surprised, however, that it produced less-than-playable frame rates in Compay of Heroes, World in Conflict, and Crysis at medium-quality. What it can do, though, the 4550 does in cool silence, thanks to its passive cooling.
Overall, the Radeon HD 4550 isn't a bad card, so long as your expectations are in line with its price tag. But when you consider the ongoing improvement of integrated graphics, it become apparent that IGP could easily catch up to this card in no time. In other words, the 4550 needs to work a little harder to impress us.
by Joanna Safford
Computer Power User January 2009
December 06, 2008
AMD ATI Radeon HD 4550
September 10, 2008
AMD Phenom X4 9350e
AMD Phenom X4 9350e
With the release of the Phenom X4 9350e (and its little sibling, the 9150e), AMD has produced a set of CPUs to complement its 780G chipset. Together, they complete an energy-efficient, low-power, low-noise platform for home-theater or SFF PCs.
Clocked at 2GHz and with a TDP of only 65W, the 9350e is designed for energy efficiency, not performance, yet it did well in benchmark tests. For instance, I was a bit surprised to see that the 9350e scored playable frame rates on Crysis, even at a high-quality setting.
This processor is powerful enough to satisfy any home-theater needs, and it can handle DX10 gaming,too. Yet it stays cool enough to keep the case fans inactive most of the time. Pair the 9350e with the 780 chipset's impressive integrated graphics and low power draw, and you've got yourself a "cool" 'n' quiet" and solidly performing HTPC rig for very little dough.
Nice one,AMD.
by Seth Colaner.
Specs: Socket AM2+; Clock speed: 2GHz; HyperTransport Link: 3.6 MB he, 2MB L3 cache; 65W max TDP.
source: Computer Power User October 2008.
www.amd.com
AMD Phenom X4
AMD Phenom X4
9950 Black Edition
The Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition is currently AMD's fastest processor, and on its own merit, it's a nice CPU. It's inexpensive yet sports some quality features, such as a 4GHz HT link and stock 2.6GHz clock speed. and although the 9950 BE is not an overclocker's dream by any means-good luck pushing it musc past 3GHz-it has an unlocked multiplier, which affords the OC-minded more options.
However, if you're the owner of a 9850 Black Edition and fear you should've waited for the 9950, fret now; you're not missing out on much. The two diffe only in that the former is a touch faster (2.6GHz compared to 2.5GHz) and has a 140w TDP vs. the 9850's 125W TDP. Granted, the 9850 is about to be locked down, so kiss the Black Edition and its unlocked multiplier goodbye. But if you already have a 9850 BE, the 9950 BE is not a significantly better CPU.
Bottom line: The 9950 is a decent processor, but it offers no substantive improvements over the 9850 BE. The 9950 is now the fastest Phenom on th emarket, outstripping the rest of them by a step or two, but it's really just the 9850 BE with a better haircut.
by Seth Colaner
Specs:
Socket AM2+; Clock speed: 2.6GHz; HyperTransport Link: 4GHz; 65nm process; Cache: 2MB total dedicated L2 cache, 2MB L3 cache; 140W max TDP.
source: Computer Power User October 2008.
www.amd.com
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