Conclusion:
The Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD4670 is definitely well suited to an HTPC installation. No noise, minimal power consumption, and manageable heat output are some of the items that are desirable but sometimes hard to obtain with a card that can perform well. This HD4670 does all of that while offering some decent processing power, DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1 support, a variety of HD audio and video refinements, and of course an integrated HDMI port. This card may not be the best option for those who want to play games at high settings on their HTPC, but it is still a solid option for casual HTPC gamers.
Searching the Internet shows that you might not be able to find this card at some of the more popular online retailers, but that it is available at a handful of stores for quite an attractive price. A search of
Google shows that you can buy the
Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD4670 for about $90 (US, before shipping or tax). That is in the ball park of other HD4670 cards with more traditional coolers, and definitely makes this an appealing option for an HTPC. You aren't sacrificing anything substantial in terms of HTPC performance, but you get quite a good value with this card.
Considering the performance as it relates to HTPC applications and the silence that it does it all in, the Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD4670 earns the Bigbruin.com awards of "Recommended" and "Whisper Quiet". Whisper quiet isn't quite the best way to describe the performance, since it is actually silent, but close enough!
Pros:
» Excellent solution for an HTPC
» Passively cooled - absolutely silent
» Low power consumption
» HDMI port built-in (as well as VGA and Dual Link DVI)
» Under $100
Cons:
» Will get warm without proper case cooling
» Definitely not for serious gamers
Special thanks to
Sapphire for providing the Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD4670 Graphics Card to Bigbruin.com for review!
