ATI PVR card is a radio star

Posted Jul 1st 2005 2:38PM by Kevin C. Tofel
Filed under: News, Microsoft, Media Center Edition

ATI Product Marketing Engineer, Pamela Lee (no, not THAT one) is on tap to describe one of ATI's multimedia graphics cards via an internet radio program. "Let's Talk Computers" radio has Lee scheduled for the July 2nd show to discuss the All-In-Wonder 2006 card from ATI.

The All-In-Wonder 2006 is an AGP card sporting the Radeon graphics chip and 256 megabytes of memory. PVR functionality is provided on the card, allowing you to pause, record and rewind live television without paying a subscription service. Included is Gemstar's GUIDE Plus + Interactive Programming Guide to help you timeshift programming on your XP or Media Center Edition (MCE) computer.

Reader Comments

(Page 1)

1. I've always "wondered" about these ATI all-in-wonder cards. I'm possibly interested in MCE compatible devices, but currently I have and enjoy my Radion 9800 Pro. Could this card do as well as my 9800 Pro when it comes to gaming? Or is this a "Jack of all, master of none" type device? I wouldn't want to sacrifice power of the 9800 pro for an all-in-one card if it wasn't as good.

Regards,
Bryan

Posted at 3:13PM on Jul 4th 2005 by Bryan Nystrom

2. Good question Bryan. If you're a hard-core gamer, it's likely that the 9800 PRO is your better bet. You will gain PVR functionality with the All in Wonder series, but it will come at an expense for your gaming and graphics intensive apps. For example, the 9800 PRO runs on faster DDR2 memory with a 256 bit interface. The All in Wonder 2600 runs on DDR1 memory and a 128 bit interface. Another key specification difference: The 9800 PRO sports a 350Mhz engine with a 3.04 Gigapixelsecond fill rate. The All in Wonder 2006 runs on a 200Mhz engine with a 1.3 Gigapixelsecond fill rate.

Bryan, the All in Wonder 2006 is not a bad card at all. However, it all depends on your gaming needs vs. your PVR needs on the PC.

One last tidbit: To compare up to three ATI cards, check out their comparison page at: http://apps.ati.com/ATIcompare/

Posted at 6:00PM on Jul 4th 2005 by Kevin C. Tofel

3. Kevin,

Thanks for the very clear feedback. It looks like I should either look for a dedicated PVR card, or better yet just delegate a whole new machine for the task and leave the high end gaming to my workhorse.

Posted at 1:06AM on Jul 6th 2005 by Bryan Nystrom

4. What if we don't need a TV tuner in our MCE, but rather just something to get a nice HD signal off a satellite reciever?

Posted at 3:54PM on Jul 13th 2005 by Tony

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