Pros & Cons
ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro Specs
| GPU Engine Clock Speed: | 380 |
| Graphics Memory: | 128 |
| Memory Clock Speed: | 340 |
Consumers will never be completely comfortable with the PC as a permanent living-room multimedia component until the killer application and hardware arrive that will make the computer a true entertainment hub—media hubs too often cut features to cut price. The ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro graphics card could change that. ATI has combined solid hardware, a blazingly fast 3-D GPU, and a suite of polished media apps, leaving almost nothing out. The price tag is a stiff $499 list, but if you're looking to build a well-appointed living-room PC that can function as a TV, TiVo-like personal video recorder (PVR), digital VCR, and system for current and upcoming games, read on.
The new All-in-Wonder card uses the same version of ATI's latest GPU, the Radeon 9800 Pro, used on the 128MB Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card. The processor has a 380-MHz engine clock, a 340-MHz memory clock, eight pixel pipes, four vertex pipes, and support for DirectX 9.0 Pixel Shaders 2.0. In the
EazyLook, ATI's new enhanced full-screen UI, makes a PC feel a bit more like a media appliance when operating the All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro through a TV screen. This is a welcome addition, and is the single most useful new feature.
But Wait, There's More
The ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro bundle also includes:
How We Tested
Our evaluation system is built on the Intel 865PERL motherboard (
Because the All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro is based on the same GPU with the same clock rate as that in the 128MB Radeon 9800 Pro, we ran only a few 3-D tests to verify that these results aligned with our earlier findings. For more details on the game-test results, see the
We also evaluated the All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro for suitability as a PVR, assessing the new EazyLook UI. And we looked at the All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro's EPG (electronic program guide) for its usefulness and programmability.
EazyLook: A Step in the Right Direction
When running ATI's DVD player in full-screen mode, information pops up whenever you touch a remote button, telling you what chapter you're currently playing, how many total chapters the DVD has, and the title of the DVD. If you stop DVD playback, though, EazyLook presents this generic screen (below), which gives you no idea what app you're currently running or what the status is of the DVD you were playing. At the very least, there should be some indication that you're currently running the DVD player.
EazyLook does provide useful information when using ATI's TV app. For example, when you switch to a new channel, you'll get the channel's info, the name of the program that's currently on, and either the channel's call letters or the name you've assigned it. Unfortunately, the All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro EPG app isn't integrated into the EazyLook UI. Doing so would provide a very TiVo-like interface that would allow for easy one-touch recording and more seamless integration between the EPG listings and the TV app.
On the plus-side, the GuidePlus+ app still does a decent job of presenting your local programming grid, and access to weekly listings is free, which is not the case with TiVo, for which you pay a monthly fee to download program listings. ATI would do well, though, to integrate GuidePlus+ into the TV app with EazyLook and make these apps interoperate seamlessly.
As a PVR, ATI's TV app does a good job of allowing you to enable and disable time-shifting, letting you run to the kitchen to nuke some microwave popcorn while your favorite program continues. You can then use the remote to travel back in time and catch what you missed. ATI's codec options include MPEG-2, and the higher quality settings produce clean recordings.
3-D Test Results
We reran three game tests: Serious Sam SE, UT 2003, and Comanche 4 to verify that the All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro performance was in line with that of the standard Radeon 9800 Pro. The scores all aligned as expected, with little or no variance. We ran our verification tests at 1,600-by-1,200 resolution with 4X anti-aliasing and 8X anisotropic filtering enabled.
Serious Sam SE:
AIW 9800 Pro: 35.4
Radeon 9800 Pro: 36.9
UT 2003:
AIW 9800 Pro: 21.8
Radeon 9800 Pro: 21.1
Comanche 4:
AIW 9800 Pro: 27.44
Radeon 9800 Pro: 25.03
As you can see, the results show essentially no variation between the two GPUs. The Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB will post slightly faster scores on some tests, owing to its faster memory clock (350MHz), and because high-resolution 1,600-by-1,200 tests with 4X AA can actually cause textures to be pushed into AGP memory when running on a 128MB frame buffer, which induces a performance hit.
Even with a few remaining rough edges, the All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro is as close to the complete package as you can get—solid media apps, a well-designed RF remote, free program listings, and blistering 3-D performance are all blended together to produce a well-rounded product. We're still waiting for HDTV support and a better way to capture content coming in via a satellite receiver, but if you're looking for a single product to power your ideal living-room-ready PC, then the ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro could be the add-in card you've been waiting for.
For more tests results and a deeper look at the technology behind the AIW 9800 Pro, check out
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Final Thoughts
