Radeon HD 2600 vs Radeon HD 5450

Speed and memory

The Radeon HD 2600 and the Radeon HD 5450 are within a few percent of each other for gaming in our model, so you will not see a difference in play.

The Radeon HD 2600 has shared GB of video memory and the Radeon HD 5450 has 1 GB. That is a small difference and unlikely to decide anything.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Red Dead Redemption 2 (2 against 1 fps), and the smallest is in Grand Theft Auto V Legacy (7 against 5 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon HD 2600 is rated at 45 W and the Radeon HD 5450 at 19 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 450 W for the first and 450 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon HD 2600 cost $99 and the Radeon HD 5450 $49. Per dollar, the Radeon HD 5450 gave more performance (0.6 points per $100 against 0.3). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon HD 2600 if you want the faster card, and you can accept 0 GB of memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon HD 5450 if the price gap matters more than the small speed difference, and you value the extra video memory. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.