A wonderful card that will satisfy gamers and digi-artists
Written: Feb 01 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful, Smooth Graphics, Excellent software support
Cons: Driver upgrades difficult, MASSIVE POWER DRAIN
The Bottom Line: It is absolutely worth the money if you are going to use everything, however, if you don't need all the inputs and outputs, don't bother getting the All-in-Wonder.
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| anatole1030's Full Review: ATI All-In-Wonder® 9800 PRO, (128 MB) AGP Vid... |
This is THE card if you are both a gamer and a multimedia enthusiast. This card is more expensive, though, than you might want to spend if you don't have to be on the bleeding edge. If you are a low key gamer (i.e. you won't have to play Half-Life 2 or Doom 3) then grab a cheaper card (ATI Radeon 9600). Also, don't buy the All-in-Wonder unless you know you are going to use it.
However, if you are going to use it, it is a god-send. Allow me to briefly describe the card. First, digital vga output. This is completely compatable with analog monitors (adapter included) but if you have a digital LCD, you will notice the difference, and never want to go back. Second, Co-axle input. Typically this is where you attach your cable or house antenna. The card has a build in TV tuner, and the ATI multimedia center is fabulous (more on software later). Third, S-Video/RCA input. Included is a dongle (and a 4ft length cord) that take RCA (that Red, White and Yellow cable) or S-video (common output from laptops and camcorders). The software support for this: again, fabulous. Fourth (and finally) is the second output. The card comes with cables to output to RCA video, S-video and (my favorite) Component Video. Output audio is routed into your sound card's input. If you already have a device attached their, you'll need to buy a Y-cable, but I am not having any troubles with this arrangement.
This does add a bunch of cables to the back of you computer, but it's worth it.
That's the hardware. All the cables are included, and it is fairly easy to install. However, something to take note of: This card with suck the wattage right out of your power supply. If you have more than one hard drive, and/or one optical drive (CD, DVD, etc.) then a 300 W power supply will not do. I need a 400W and even then I'm pushing my limits (if the 500W just didn't cost so much...). Also it comes with an ATI Remote Wonder... all write a review for that one too.
On to the software:
It comes bundles with Pinnacle Studio 8, Matchware Mediator 7.0, muvee AutoProducer, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowing, and Guide Plus+. It's a lot of software, and in the 3 months I've owned this card, I've only really been able to use the Guide Plus+ a bunch. It basically allows you to add TiVo like functions to your computer (video on demand, hard-drive recording, etc.).
My biggest complaint about the ATI card is the drivers. Don't get me wrong, the Catalyst drivers are GREAT. It's the upgrading that is a pain. Uninstall the old, reboot, install the new, reboot. It doesn't seem to bad, but sometimes it requires a reinstall of the ATI software. And if you forget to uninstall the old first, you are in a world of pain.
So, in summary, this is an absolutely fabulous card that comes from a line of great cards (the Radeon line) and is combined with the ever better All-in-Wonder feature.
This is the card that nVidia can't beat at this price, and that's why I'm sticking with ATI.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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Epinions.com ID:
anatole1030
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Reviews written: 5
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