Why it matters to you
Gigabyte’s two new overclocked RX 550 video cards might be an ideal solution for gamers at a reasonable price.
Gigabyte unveiled a couple of new additions to its line of RX 500 series video cards. The Radeon RX 550 D5 2G and the Radeon RX 550 Gaming OC 2G are both aimed at gamers on a budget, but could be very compelling options for anyone aiming to assemble a new rig without breaking the bank.
The OC 2G boasts a core clock speed of 1,219 MHz, while the D5 2G is capable of 1,195 MHz. Both are slightly overclocked compared to the stock models, which made their debut in April.
One area where these video cards excel is cooling capacity. Both are outfitted with Gigabyte’s Windforce technology, which is comprised of anti-turbulence inclined fans, an ultra-quiet pulse-width modification fan, and a pure copper heat pipe.
The company claims that its patented Blade Fan design and its accompanying 3D active fan technology offer up an air flow improvement of up to 23 percent compared to traditional alternatives. The fans can be deactivated when the system is operating at lower temperatures, and will only start turning once the GPU is under strain.
Both cards are built with Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable manufacturing construction, which refers to their solid capacitors and metal chokes, according to a report from Tom’s Hardware.
In keeping with other cards that are part of the Radeon 500 series, the OC 2G and the D5 2G both support bridgeless CrossFire, FreeSync, and AMD’s Eyefinity technology, which simplifies the process of hooking up a gaming PC to multiple monitors. The Aorus Graphics Engine software utility is also bundled with both models, offering up one-click overclocking functionality to help novice users get up and running quickly, and fine control over clock speeds, voltage, power targets, and fan profiles for experts.
The Radeon RX 550 D5 2G is priced at $80, while the Radeon RX 550 Gaming OC 2G retails for $90. Both are available now.