ATI's X1800 XL All-In-Wonder: Performance and TV in One Package
by Josh Venning on November 21, 2005 12:30 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
The X1800 All-In-Wonder is supposed to hit shelves today, and we suspect that some will have been waiting anxiously to get a hold of one of these cards. What we have here is a very unique graphics card that combines high-end 3D performance with multimedia capabilities. The different features available like TV recording/editing, as well as the Tivo-like interactive programming with Gemstar's GUIDE Plus+ are nice, and little extras like the Thruview feature, which let you watch TV in the background while doing something else on your PC add to the package.
We were particularly pleased with how easy it was to have everything installed and working so well without hardly any confusion about how to use the different features of the card. Setting up this type of graphics hardware might well seem daunting to someone without much knowledge in multimedia hardware, and the fact that this is not the case here is one of the reasons we liked this product as much as we did. The simple plug-and-play aspect of the X1800 XL A-I-W would be reason enough for some to appreciate this card in spite of the price.
The X1800 XL A-I-W is not for everybody though. With about a $430 retail price, it isn't cheap, and regardless of what the market does, it will always be more pricey than a standard X1800 XL. Whether the features of the A-I-W are worth the extra price is very difficult to determine, even after the card has been on shelves for a while. If you are a gamer, and want the best performance possible, but you also must have the ability to watch and record TV on your computer, then this card has everything you need and will have you watching in no time. However, if you are more interested in the TV capabilities of the card and don't care so much about high-end gaming performance, then the one of the older, less powerful multimedia cards might be more suitable.
For a TV focused PC who's primary use will be at the center of a home theatre, a full media center PC would be a better fit than just shoving an A-I-W card in the box. This is the kind of solution for someone who mainly wants to use their computer as a computer with a little TV functionality on the side in a window on a computer monitor or recording shows in the background to archive them or watch them later.
This card is fairly specialized and as we said, whether it will ultimately be worth the price once it's been on the shelves is subjective and therefore depends on the consumer and his or her needs. The X1800 XL All-In-Wonder is almost like having two separate types of cards in one neat package, and the fact that it's specialized will obviously add to the cost. But the features it claims are all there and accessible, and with regard to video and graphics, All-In-Wonder is more or less a fitting name for the product. It's true that this card doesn't break much new ground on the video and graphics side of things, but having this level of graphics power for gaming in an All-In-Wonder card is a first and will add to the desirability factor. There are other solutions for watching and recording TV on your computer, and many will be forced to pass on the X1800 XL A-I-W because of the high price. But for those lucky enough to be able to afford it, they will find it more than acceptable for gaming and multimedia solutions.
The X1800 All-In-Wonder is supposed to hit shelves today, and we suspect that some will have been waiting anxiously to get a hold of one of these cards. What we have here is a very unique graphics card that combines high-end 3D performance with multimedia capabilities. The different features available like TV recording/editing, as well as the Tivo-like interactive programming with Gemstar's GUIDE Plus+ are nice, and little extras like the Thruview feature, which let you watch TV in the background while doing something else on your PC add to the package.
We were particularly pleased with how easy it was to have everything installed and working so well without hardly any confusion about how to use the different features of the card. Setting up this type of graphics hardware might well seem daunting to someone without much knowledge in multimedia hardware, and the fact that this is not the case here is one of the reasons we liked this product as much as we did. The simple plug-and-play aspect of the X1800 XL A-I-W would be reason enough for some to appreciate this card in spite of the price.
The X1800 XL A-I-W is not for everybody though. With about a $430 retail price, it isn't cheap, and regardless of what the market does, it will always be more pricey than a standard X1800 XL. Whether the features of the A-I-W are worth the extra price is very difficult to determine, even after the card has been on shelves for a while. If you are a gamer, and want the best performance possible, but you also must have the ability to watch and record TV on your computer, then this card has everything you need and will have you watching in no time. However, if you are more interested in the TV capabilities of the card and don't care so much about high-end gaming performance, then the one of the older, less powerful multimedia cards might be more suitable.
For a TV focused PC who's primary use will be at the center of a home theatre, a full media center PC would be a better fit than just shoving an A-I-W card in the box. This is the kind of solution for someone who mainly wants to use their computer as a computer with a little TV functionality on the side in a window on a computer monitor or recording shows in the background to archive them or watch them later.
This card is fairly specialized and as we said, whether it will ultimately be worth the price once it's been on the shelves is subjective and therefore depends on the consumer and his or her needs. The X1800 XL All-In-Wonder is almost like having two separate types of cards in one neat package, and the fact that it's specialized will obviously add to the cost. But the features it claims are all there and accessible, and with regard to video and graphics, All-In-Wonder is more or less a fitting name for the product. It's true that this card doesn't break much new ground on the video and graphics side of things, but having this level of graphics power for gaming in an All-In-Wonder card is a first and will add to the desirability factor. There are other solutions for watching and recording TV on your computer, and many will be forced to pass on the X1800 XL A-I-W because of the high price. But for those lucky enough to be able to afford it, they will find it more than acceptable for gaming and multimedia solutions.
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LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
Until ATI adds HARDWARE ENCODING (from all I know, the Theater 200 does not) of at least MPEG/MPEG-2 (better MPEG-4), the extra money doesn't justify buying an All-In-Wonder. I'd rather spend my money on a Hauppauge WinTV PVR card, or something else that does that job so I can encode video and free my CPU for other things I might be doing.Tewt - Saturday, November 26, 2005 - link
No Theater 550 chip and outdated Gemstar Guide will keep me from buying another AIW card. BeyondTV is ok but it is too buggy/incompatible(esp with ATI AIW cards) and accesses the internet waaaayy too much. Though I liked the automatic download, I had switched to the Gemstar Guide because it didn't access the internet so much and take a lot of CPU usage while just operating in the background. But Gemstar feels old in that I cannot set an automatic download(for instance, once a day check for updates at 9pm) and it cannot get all the channels/programs listed correctly. Not to mention, I've never had a satisfying experience with ATI's multimedia center. Tivo has been out so long, why can't ATI, Hauppage or Snapstream get it right when it comes to ease of use/installation/update?(Yes I know its PC versus consumer electronics but I hope you get my point).For now the best I can hope for is my Hauppage/BeyondTV combo.
ElJefe - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - link
I know this is now an old thread, but I have to add some things:550 chip has been rated as being LESS clear in picture quality than the 200. yes it has been by all in wonder reviewing sites as well as me personally. For regular tv cleaning up the picture type of function, 200 actually does it better. 550 has some synthetic cleaning procedures for fuzz and such, but sometimes it degrades the picture.
200 actually is where it is at.
But the non hdtv is mad gay.
Leper Messiah - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
Maybe the picture quality is better, but ATi has really stagnated in this market. nVidia needs to get serious in this market and force some competition!NullSubroutine - Monday, November 21, 2005 - link
again, i think there are alot of people like me who have 19" LCD's who run 1280x1024. seeing who the fastest in 1600x1200 really isnt helpful. i request to have 12x10 with 4x 8x restored in all future benchmarks.huges84 - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
I second that. The high resolutions are nice for some people, but 1280x1024 with some AF and AA should be a standard test. This helps a lot bigger section of your audience make a decision than 1200X1600 does.g33k - Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - link
Looking at the 16x12 4aa benchmark it would seems like ATi would be the way to go for 12x10 with 4aa/8aa. Their cards suffer less of a performance hit with AA enabled.AaronAxvig - Monday, November 21, 2005 - link
I have the X600 AIW, and I must say that ATI has dropped the ball on its software. 3 times I have tried getting the TV software to run decently, but I never can. Just last night I tried, on a clean install of XP Pro, with the newest drivers from ATI's website. I thought all was going well, and recording some TV. Then BANG, it freezes. 1/2 hour of recording is gone, and the TV program is stuck there. This is the same thing that has always happened to me. You can't use task manager to end the program; the only way is with a hard reboot. Can't even shut down. So, until ATI does some hardcore fixing (or I find out how to fix it), this card will remain a novelty to me.quasarsky - Monday, November 21, 2005 - link
i'm getting really sick of ati not adding the theatre 550 chip. c'mon ati. get it together! :(quasarsky - Monday, November 21, 2005 - link
oh and at's comment about the card will always be more expensive than a 1800xl regular card? hamy x800xt aiw card was cheaper than alot of x800xt cards, and it was $275 shipped brand new from buy.com :-D