ATI's All-In-Wonder X1900 Performance And DVD Decoding Quality
by Josh Venning on February 10, 2006 8:45 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
The Card
As we've already mentioned, the All-In-Wonder X1900 is based on an X1900 with lower engine and memory clocks. Essentially, the AIW X1900 has about the same clock speeds as the X1800 XL version of the AIW, with just a slightly lower memory clock (960MHz vs 1GHz). What makes the AIW X1900 much faster though is the 48 Pixel Pipelines as opposed to the AIW X1800 XL's 16. Still, the much lower clock speeds of the AIW X1900 will give it significantly lower performance than the regular X1900s, as we will see later on.
As you can see, the familiar purple and gold look is back, but despite the card's name, it bears hardly any resemblance to a standard X1900. The HSF, much flatter than even an X1800 XT, looks identical to the one on the AIW X1800 XL. All of the standard AIW connections and dongles are included, with FM and Cable TV connections above the dual link DVI-I output. The Remote Wonder is back, but has been modified to be much slimmer than previous models. Also, the software bundle includes both Adobe Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements (Photoshop was not included with the recent X1600 based All In Wonder 2006).
Features
The features included with the AIW X1900 are about the same as those of other All In Wonder cards. Because we've covered these features in previous reviews, we will be only offering a recap of what is available. For a more detailed look at the features, take a look at the features section of the All-In-Wonder X1800 XL article.
Obviously, the multimedia features center around the AIW ability to record and play back video from different sources. Along with a standard set of players included in the multimedia center software, there is also the Gemstar GUIDE Plus+ that lets you download program schedules and record upcoming shows in a TiVo-esque way. The Thruview feature is here as well, which allows you to watch video that's opacity has been decreased, allowing the user to perform other tasks like writing email or web browsing at the same time. There is a CD player, DVD player, FM radio tuner and a standard file player all included, as well as the launchpad tool bar that will start up with windows for access to all of these.
The AIW X1900 is very easy to install and setup as well. This has been a consistent trait of all the AIW cards we've tested and is part of why we like these cards so much. Having the ability to record and archive your favorite shows or movies (as well as home movies) and also play the latest games at high resolutions without having to switch cards is a pretty nice feature.
As we've already mentioned, the All-In-Wonder X1900 is based on an X1900 with lower engine and memory clocks. Essentially, the AIW X1900 has about the same clock speeds as the X1800 XL version of the AIW, with just a slightly lower memory clock (960MHz vs 1GHz). What makes the AIW X1900 much faster though is the 48 Pixel Pipelines as opposed to the AIW X1800 XL's 16. Still, the much lower clock speeds of the AIW X1900 will give it significantly lower performance than the regular X1900s, as we will see later on.
As you can see, the familiar purple and gold look is back, but despite the card's name, it bears hardly any resemblance to a standard X1900. The HSF, much flatter than even an X1800 XT, looks identical to the one on the AIW X1800 XL. All of the standard AIW connections and dongles are included, with FM and Cable TV connections above the dual link DVI-I output. The Remote Wonder is back, but has been modified to be much slimmer than previous models. Also, the software bundle includes both Adobe Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements (Photoshop was not included with the recent X1600 based All In Wonder 2006).
Features
The features included with the AIW X1900 are about the same as those of other All In Wonder cards. Because we've covered these features in previous reviews, we will be only offering a recap of what is available. For a more detailed look at the features, take a look at the features section of the All-In-Wonder X1800 XL article.
Obviously, the multimedia features center around the AIW ability to record and play back video from different sources. Along with a standard set of players included in the multimedia center software, there is also the Gemstar GUIDE Plus+ that lets you download program schedules and record upcoming shows in a TiVo-esque way. The Thruview feature is here as well, which allows you to watch video that's opacity has been decreased, allowing the user to perform other tasks like writing email or web browsing at the same time. There is a CD player, DVD player, FM radio tuner and a standard file player all included, as well as the launchpad tool bar that will start up with windows for access to all of these.
The AIW X1900 is very easy to install and setup as well. This has been a consistent trait of all the AIW cards we've tested and is part of why we like these cards so much. Having the ability to record and archive your favorite shows or movies (as well as home movies) and also play the latest games at high resolutions without having to switch cards is a pretty nice feature.
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bldckstark - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
The example shown does not change the overall score of the card. The example shown is for the readers reference to the test, and is not what the test scored from. There may be other reasons someone may not give these tests merit, but this is not one of them. You could maybe rank on the author for this, but not the tests.mpeavid - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
The example shown does not change the overall score of the card.But how do we know that? Take example cadence 2224. According to the text the same item is being compared, yet different frames are clearly shown. If their methadology was more concise, their text is not.
You have to be clear about this or it misleads your readers. Its like doing a 3D test using 2 different scenes to render. Anandtech uses all the same 3D scenes to render right?
rjm55 - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
Other sites did AIW 1900 reviews on January 31st. Why so long for AT? Did ATI pass you over on sending a sample?fishbits - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
By adding more polys, textures, particles, lights, shadows and shaders. You really didn't know this? Call any respected game dev house and ask them if they could possibly come up with a use for more GPU horsepower. The answer will be "Of course genius, we've got code and models we're waiting for capable hardware to run on, it's been that way for years. We'll take every bit of it we can get." Tell Anand I want you to spend this weekend benching EQ2 maxed out and tell us Monday if "we" still "aren't sure."
Anyhow, sounds like a nice card, but I'd rather have a more dedicated gaming card and a seperate TV tuner solution.
Griswold - Monday, February 13, 2006 - link
Of course they want more power so they dont have to write efficient and optimized code. Especially your EQ2 example comes to mind. There are far too few companies that come up with highly optimized code that will run top notch on current hardware and provide extra eye candy on future generations.Backslider - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
The 7800GT used in the test must be stock. The one I purchased came overclocked and performs much better than what the benchmarks are showing.ATI is still too pricy at the moment, I looked up and down for an X1800XL that could come with in price range of the 7800GT that I purchased, and I couldn't find one. I wasn't going to pay $60 over when they perform so identical. The prices were approx.
X1800XL 256 Stock $330
7800GT 256 OC $270
ATI get those prices down.
tuteja1986 - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
I sold my 7800GTX bought a x1900XT and i couldn't be happier :! if G71 fixes some issues like IQ and HDR with AA then i will sell my X1900XT and buy a 7900GTX :) or eles wait for R6XX and G8X.Backslider - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
Having owned an X800xl and a 7800GT, I honestly didn't see an IQ difference. The whole HDR with AA thing, well, you must play a lot of Far Cry.Good luck with keeping up with the latest and greatest though, it's almost a game with in it self. If you sell at the right times, you can upgrade for very little and still have the newest toys.
Happy gaming
MrKaz - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
I have a ati 9700 and geforce 6600gt and ati rendering look better.There are some annoying layers/plates on the nvidia rendering that i dont like.
And just one note: the display is the same on both cards.
DeathByDuke - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
I'd certainly buy one if it was around $299-349, considering it performs closer to a much more expensive X1800XT