Sapphire Ultimate HD5550 1GB DDR2 Pro Reviews

The most powerful passively-cooled 5000-series card to date; but it’s overkill for simple video acceleration, yet not quick enough to satisfy most gamers.

The Sapphire Ultimate HD 5550 video card is an interesting card in that it doesn’t have all of the performance of its bigger brother the HD 5870, but still gives a good gaming performance with games as long as you are willing to lower the resolution and settings. The vast majority of video card sales are not made in the $400 5870 range but in the under $100 range and this card makes a perfect fit for the user wanting an inexpensive low-noise replacement for their Intel integrated graphics on their motherboard. This card is not yet available on Newegg, but it should retail near the same as the other HD 5550 which is around a hundred dollars US. This is a great entry level gaming card that won’t break the bank and still perform adequately for light gaming.

A good choice for videophiles demanding a passive yet fully-featured HTPC card, but everyone else will be far better catered for by the identically priced 5670.