XFX Radeon HD4650

Full Review

The XFX Radeon HD4650 might not be the best performer out there but it proves itself to be a card suited to an HTPC thanks to its low power consumption and low temperature and noise levels.

Specs & Design

The HD4650 comes with 512MB of RAM, a core clocked at 600MHz, 320 shaders and uses a 128-bit memory interface. It connects to a display using a DVI or a VGA port. The XFX card sports a good design and has a heat-sink and fan embedded in it. As a result it runs noiselessly and cool. The HD4650 is also a small card and requires no additional power and is ideal for an HTPC.

The XFX card sports a good design and has a heat-sink and fan embedded in it. As a result it runs noiselessly and cool.

Performance

We tested the card on a system made up of an Intel Core i7 870 processor clocked at 2.93MHz, 2GB of Kingston HyperX DDR3 RAM, an Intel DP55KG Extreme Motherboard, an Intel X25-M 80GB SSD and running Windows 7 64-bit. Our benchmarks consisted of the 3D Mark ’06 and 3D Mark Vantage suite of tests and temperature and audio level tests. For gaming we tested the card using Crysis, Far Cry 2 and Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. at 1280x1024 and 1024x768 resolutions.

As I mentioned at the very outset, the HD4650 is no performer. It still manages to eke out respectable figures. In 3D Mark ’06 and 3D Mark Vantage (Entry Level) the XFX card scores 4,530 and 10,155 points respectively. In Crysis at 1280x1024, 4xAA and Very High, the HD4650 just managed double figures with 10fps and in Far Cry 2, that number rose up to 16. In H.A.W.X., the XFX managed 17fps.

Bottom Line

The XFX Radeon HD4650 costs Rs. 3,250 and although its performance leaves a lot wanting, if you are looking for a card for an HTPC, this is a good buy.