Gaming:
Given everything I’ve seen, I think that this card could easily handle some casual gaming. I ran Fraps on the following games to see how it performed.
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
I was remarkably surprised: this card performed very well. These may not be the latest and greatest DX11 Games, but you could sneak in some TF2 at work.
Conclusion:
Overall this is a very inexpensive card with some great versatility. Are you going to be throwing this card into your gaming rig? I hope not. This is a decent card for the intended purpose and I couldn’t find a fault with it. If you’re looking for a workstation upgrade on a budget, this is a great card. In fact, it is “the most cost-effective Eyefinity solution available.” Good job Sapphire!
For an HTPC also used for occasional gaming, this card is awesome – completely silent, 50% better scores than the 5450, and simplifies cabling by routing audio over HDMI. The heat and power use is obviously a bit higher, but I’ve had no problems with the card maxed out. Works as a great stop-gap card for gaming, even at full HD resolution, with enough power that I can play some new games at mid or low detail without a problem.
My biggest reservation is the heatsink clamps. The same extremely thin, worthless springs that didn’t attach the sink at all on the Sapphire 5450, necessitating the upgrade to this card. I’m similarly worried that a knock or a cable getting wedged under will be all it needs to come unglued and overheat the underlying chips. I’m just crossing my fingers that it lasts until the 7000- and 600-series show up.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XLPJNK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=emjay2d-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004XLPJNK
This cards pretty damn good!