To ATI or not to ATI?
Written: Oct 12 '01 (Updated Oct 12 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great card, great features, great multimedia for your computer.
Cons: A few minor details to watch out for (shown in this review).
The Bottom Line: I recommend this card - it may be the last video card you will buy for many years.
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| qbprogger's Full Review: ATI Radeon 64MB DDR |
I recently was in the market for a new graphics card. My old Voodoo3 didn't quite have the "oomph" that it used to have, and I was also looking for a graphics card that could hook up to my TV and play DVD's while giving me a great solution for my gaming side (I didn't buy that DVD-ROM and all of those games for decoration, you know).
ATI used to be known as the "Great hardware, horrible software" company. Their drivers were extremely volatile, slow, and didn't quite offer everything the hardware could do in a situation. The Radeon finally brought ATI out of that hole with a card that not only sports some awesome hardware, but also software to back it up. It includes a fully functional DVD player, and full DirectX and OpenGL compatibility.
The multimedia features on this card are impressive to say the least. It includes an S-Video output (connects to an SVHS/S-Video television set) or a standard RCA composite output (will connect to most TV's). In addition to this, an RCA composite -INPUT- is included. You can now enjoy the added convenience of connecting devices such as camcorders, VCRs, and other RCA-connector devices to your computer. You can then show the picture in a window or full screen. Don't worry about buying extra cords because this card includes all the cables you need (as it should for the price of the card). Prepare to unleash the full glory of your PC on your living room TV set!
The card also supports video capture from the RCA input and supports hardware-accelerated DVD playback. The video capture will allow you to store those precious family videos in digital quality on your PC. Never again will bad tapes or bad VCRs threaten to ruin priceless memories. In addition, the DVD acceleration is the best in the industry, sporting crisp MPEG video display. Now your computer can also double as a DVD player for your family, without the mess of an additional box!
**** WARNING ****
TV's are not like monitors - they use different circuitry and display mechanisms and create a smoother analogue image rather than a crisp digital image. Your computer desktop fonts may become unreadable (use large fonts to fix this problem). Also, most TV's support a maximum resolution of 800x600, so don't do anything crazy like try to play a game at 1600x1200. Don't worry, the TV won't break if you try to set a high resolution, the display will merely go blank or become garbled (this is not damaging to the television). ATI also supports dual display options; for instance, you can hook up both your monitor and your TV at the same time (you can remove the monitor when wanting to just use the TV, or vice versa).
Any gamers out there? This card is absolutely ready for gamers. It sports some impressive benchmarks in both 16 and 32 bits-per-pixel modes. John Carmack (the mastermind behind the popular Quake series) has publicly supported the Radeon as a card that will be ready for the next generation of id Software games. This includes full bump-map support (makes 3d graphics look realistic rather than flat), extra skinning features for 3d models (makes 3d characters look more realistic), and FSAA (Full-Screen AntiAliasing creates a smoother image and gets rid of some of the blocky line features). Also, with 64MB of onboard ram, this card will have more than enough space for the future generation of computer games. In addition, you can play with all of these 3d features when the current display is connected to a television! Imagine a session of Quake 3 on a big-screen TV: the possibilities are endless. Another great feature for gamers is, once again, the RCA input. All major game consoles will display to the RCA input (Playstation 2 on your PC? Now it's a reality!). This card will not only be a welcome addition to your PC, but can also reduce the need for multiple TV's in the house.
The pack-in software is included on one CD (which covers International Installation) and sports a DVD player, VideoDisc player, Audio player, and of course, the device drivers.
**** WARNING *****
MAKE SURE A SOUND CARD IS INSTALLED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO INSTALL THE RADEON VIDEO DRIVERS - THIS MULTIMEDIA CARD DEPENDS ON THE EXISTENCE OF A SOUND DEVICE AND WILL HAVE PROBLEMS WHEN ONE IS NOT PRESENT.
The installation will have no problems, unless there's no sound card in the PC. When the reboot is complete, the fun begins! Play around with some of your favorite games, watch some DVD's, play with the options: the Radeon will become a beloved part of the family, and your PC will love you for it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 190
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Epinions.com ID:
qbprogger
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Member: Ryan Broomfield
Location: Lake Forest,CA
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I am a freeware game designer/programmer. I have a passion for playing/making games.
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