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ATI All-In-Wonder X1800 XL Review
Timmus writes "With the release of the X1800 series last month, it was only a matter of time before ATI announced a new All-In-Wonder card that took advantage of it. Today Firingsquad has a review of the new board, the All-In-Wonder X1800 XL. The card features all the multimedia capabilities of previous AIW cards, giving you TV viewing and recording, timeshifting, and of course gaming. Video capture shots are provided as well."
Then everything from the previous generation sees a massive price slash. THAT's where the deals are.
I still wouldn't mind an AIW, though. It'd be like my current card, but with lots of video in video out options.
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."
More cost up front? Maybe, but my ATI TV Wonder is still working *years* after its purchase.
MrRogers(2)
Will it run Linux, or will I be just as screwed on it as I've been with the ATI-TV (ISA), AiW 128 Pro, AiW 7500, AiW8500DV? I'm sure it runs great on Windows, which is great and all, only I want to punt Windows from my system and not have a dual-boot configuration.
Also what is up with offering only analog/NTSC reception on this side of the pond? NTSC broadcasts are supposedly dying soon, so why don't they offer HDTV-capable cards yet? They advertise high-definition output, which is just wonderful, but what's so great about an upsampled NTSC picture?
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Why havent they supported HDTV and CableCard specification?
There's no reason to get this card considering it will be obsolete in a year or two.
So long as ATI refuses to recognize that there are other OSes that consumers use besides MS Windows Latest & Greatest(TM), I shall continue to avoid purchasing their products. NVIDia is barely better, what with their binary drivers which always seem to be one or more kernel releases behind the times.
I do (really!) hate to have my comments modded to flamebait, but there are actually "OTHER OSes" besides x86 GNU/linux (really, there is!). Without reasonably complete source code drivers available, PPC||MIPS||ARM||other GNU/linux as well as *BSD, Solaris will never stand a chance against the WIntel behemouth.
Barring the possibility of obtaining source code drivers for the latest video cards (or other geeky kit), rather complete hardware documentation should be made available so that the F/OSS community can "roll their own" drivers. Major vendors appear to be so concerned about providing any insight to their hardware designs to their competition that they are forsaking a growing segment of the consumer market.
Recent news regarding MS Windows "rootkits" showing up in heavily DRMed product should illuminate the dangers of reliance upon one convicted monopolistic company "owning" a nearly ubiquitous portion of the market. Those companies that band together in support of a single platform risk alienating their consumer market when "extremely bad things" crop up to destroy that market.
Alternative OSes exist; alternative sources of media/content exist; and alternative hardware exists -- when consumers start voting (in droves) with their cash, the current industry "leaders" will likely be caught by surprise. I suspect that those most surprised will not survive.
I hear the 6800 GS is the best value for money right now. (Just as as fast as the plain 6800, but cheaper.)
Personally I just bought a 6600GT because 150 euros is all I can afford, and my Radeon 9100 isn't cutting it any more.
I have an ATI AIW 9600 Pro
I love it. I suggest more people take a look at this card. It has served me almost 3 years now. It does have Linux support. MythTV even has support for the great video in/out stuff.
On that note: Go fock yourself.
On another side note: Do you even -have- linux?
I might add something to this:
Heat is bad for the card, yes. Bad for the inside of the case yes. Adding fans controls is yes... but you must factor many other things.
a) Where does the heat come from: Electricity, generally being wasted, and therefore upping your power bill
b) Where does the heat go: In the summer my main machine if left on overnight would noticable raise the temperature in the room. Over a few days it would become sweltering. Getting the heat out of the case doesn't always get rid of the overall problems of heat.
Personally, I'd like to see cards rated for heat emissions along with FPS etc. How about "average temperature after a game of Quake IV?" Fan noise would be another nice thing to factor in.