The HIS Radeon HD 5450 is being what it is - an entry-level graphics card from this generation, suited as a step up from clumsy integrated graphics which can't handle Windows Aero UI, common 3D applications such as Google Earth, Cooliris/Piclens, etc. It can also play any game better than you'd expect this generation's integrated graphics chipsets to. Where stepping up from integrated graphics to the HIS Radeon HD 5450 really shines is with its media features, targeted at silent HTPCs and slim form factor (SFF) cases. It can accelerate full-HD video complete with its own on-chip 7.1 channel HDMI audio which supports audio technologies such as Dolby Digital, DTS 7.1, etc., which could easily be an $80 value considering HDMI sound cards with such features are priced around that point.

Don't expect the moon from the HD 5450 with gaming, but do expect it run slightly older games with acceptable frame-rates at slightly lower resolutions. The 1 GB of memory doesn't seem to help the card in any way with gaming over the 512 MB parts. It unnecessarily adds to the cost, which is where lies the pinch. The 512 MB variant of the same card is priced at around $49.99, which is much cheaper compared to the $69.99 this card asks for. It adds nearly no load on the power supply, runs quiet, and stays cool. If you're looking to dump your integrated graphics to run some basic GPU-intensive tasks which it is not able to handle, look no further than the HIS HD 5450.