Sapphire Radeon HD4550 512 MB DDR3 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 100252HDMI

Product:
Sapphire Radeon HD 4550 512MB Low-Profile Video Card

Computer the part was used in:
Dell Inspiron 531s
AMD Athlon X2 5000+
3GB DDR2 SDRAM
250 Watt PSU
w/Vista Home Premium

Objective:
I wanted to find a suitable video card for my slim-line Inspiron 531s.
LOW PROFILE: Full-size graphics cards are too large for slim cases, which meant the card had to be low-profile. The Sapphire Radeon HD 4550 can be easily converted to low-profile by moving the VGA port from beside the DVI port to below the DVI port. The card comes equipped with everything you need to do this.
POWER SUPPLY: I was also limited by the 250 Watt power supply (most cards require 350w or higher). The 4550 lists a requirement of 300 Watts but even with my PC running full-tilt the total draw should rarely exceed 200 Watts.
PRICE: At ~$50 this card is a great deal for what you pay.

Packaging/accessories:
The...Read more

Purchased this for a home theatre PC. Works perfectly in Windows 7. What I liked the most is the HDMI connector on the board. If you install the full catalyist driver for the card you get up to 7.1 sound in the HDMI connection. One cable to your TV, for audio and video. Fits small form factor and full height exspansion slots. With the low price, HDMI and passive cooling. I don't think you can find a much better Video card for making a HTPC.

I read all the good reviews before buying it and it came on time in good order. It was for a Media Center Computer, not a Gaming machine, since it has an HDMI port. I installed into a new Compaq Win7 machine to replace onboard chip. Everything was fine for two days. Then I turned off the machine, and it would not restart (wouldn't even POST) until I pulled the card. So I put it into an older Compaq XP machine and it was fine for two more days. Then out of the blue, my screen went into a Herringbone pattern and wouldn't display properly until I removed the card.

I'm not a kid (in my 60's.) I have a degree in CompSci and build systems as a hobby. I did all the right things on install and got latest drivers for the card but no joy. Both machines have 400W + power and I conclude the card was defective. Amazon was very good about returning for refund, and I bought an HD 4350 card that works fine.

Every now and then a good company or a good product is defective. I...Read more