Budget 4K graphics card

[kyrcy]

I am looking for a budget 4K graphics card to be used with a monitor supporting AMD's FreeSync. I am currently using Intel HD Graphics 4600. I am not interested in games, but I want to be able to use the maximum resolution possible. What do you suggest?

[KarMa]

RX 550, comes with H.264/VP9/HEVC @4k decoding chips and can output 4k over HDMI 2. Should be able to play most games but you might have to drop quality on certain titles for playable FPS. My RX 460 plays 4k just fine.

[kyrcy]

Is the RX 550 better or worse than the most expensive RX 560 and should I choose a 2GB or 4GB model?

[KarMa]

RX 550 is the cheapest of the RX 5xx line and so the worst when it comes to game play. But the decoders and encoders are the same across the entire RX 5xx line and maybe the same as the Rx 4xx line. So there should be no difference between a 550 to a 580 when it comes to decoding 4k content as they share the same chips. As far as 2GB vs 4GB, I just went with the 2GB RX 460 with no problems on the decoding side. That memory is mostly needed for gameplay and storing visual game data. I remember awhile back someone saying that the video encoder that came with the Rx 4xx needed extra video ram on the GPU but I have never had a problem with my 2GB RX 460 encoding HEVC 1080p@60fps while also playing modern games. But maybe they were talking about encoding 4K. In your case, for simple decoding, 2GB should be all you need.

If you are not even using your video card for decoding videos then the 4GB cards matter even less.

[kyrcy]

The RX 560 is only 20 € more expensive than the RX 550 and I am thinking if it would be better to get that even if I don't need it.

[KarMa]

The RX 560 is only 20 € more expensive than the RX 550 and I am thinking if it would be better to get that even if I don't need it.

Nothing wrong with that. It's just a slightly updated version of my RX 460. With the RX 560 at 100% peak load it uses around 100 watts (12v 4Amps), so just have to make sure you have a power supply with plenty of wattage to cover that extra 12volt load.

[DeJay]

100 watts (12v 4Amps)

12 volts at 4 Amps is 48Watts. 100 Watts is 12V at 8.3Amps.

[KarMa]

100 watts (12v 4Amps)

12 volts at 4 Amps is 48Watts. 100 Watts is 12V at 8.3Amps.

You are totally right, that was dumb. I was thinking of the 100watt limits mentioned at the top of the site (link below).

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-560-4gb,5254-14.html

[kyrcy]

The minimum recommended power supply for an RX 550 or an RX 560 is 400 watts, which is what I currently use should be sufficient since I don't play games. I am wondering though if I should try the on-board Intel HD Graphics 4600 before buying a new card. 4K is supposed to be supported at 24Hz through HDMI, but how does this perform and look?