As the years go by, the size of graphics cards does not stop increasing and at this rate, soon we will need larger PC cases than the current ones, at least if the trend continues and continues to focus on offering greater performance leaving size aside, although we will always find exceptions like the new ASRock graph.
A few days ago we talked about how a YouTuber had reduced the size of a Intel Arc A380 double slot into a low profile one that only occupies one slot, replacing only the cooling system with that of the A310 model with a fan and using a thermal pad that helps dissipate the heat it generates so it can be used inside a Minisforum mini PC.
Without deviating too much from the topic, we have to talk about the new graphics card that the manufacturer ASRock has just presented. We talk about the RX 550 Low Profilea graphics card that is based on the Polaris GPU that has been on the market for 7 years, just when AMD was already developing the RDNA architecture which is found in the most modern graphics of this manufacturer.
ASRock RX 550 low profile graphics card
The Radeon 550 graphics card used GCN 4.0 architecture and was available in 2 and 4 GB versions. GDDR5 memory. This new model uses the same architecture and is only available in a version with 4 GB of VRAM memory, also GDDR5, with a low-profile design that occupies two slots and is compatible with DirectX 12.
This model includes a double fan system and has dimensions of 13.1 cm wide by 17 cm long. As for connectivity options, this includes a port HDMI 2.0 and a port DisplayPort 1.4 supports video output up to 5,120 x 2880 at a maximum of 60 Hz, eliminating the DVI connection that was included in this model.
Makes sense?
This new ASRock model uses a fabrication process 14 nm, very far from current 3 nm processes. It really does not offer any attraction that makes it a graphics card that can currently be recommended unless we are talking about old equipment where this graphics card can be useful, as long as the latest generation games are not run.
With the launch of AMD’s RDNA architecture, Polaris architecture graphics were left far behind in terms of performance. The only reason why ASRock makes such a risky bet on this model may be because it wants to free itself from stock that it has accumulated and which it does not know how to dispose of, so its price must be more than attractive.
If we search low profile graphics, Intel offers us the Arc 310 which occupies a PCI slot and offers greater performance than ASRock’s RX 550 or even the dual-slot Arc 380. Although Intel graphics cards were not a good option at their launch, as this manufacturer has worked on the drivers, these models have considerably improved their performance, although they are still a step behind amd and NVIDIA.