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ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT Review April 07, 2004 Brandon Sandman Bell |
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Summary: ATI's ALL-IN-WONDER line are widely considered to be the finest all-in-one multimedia cards on the market. Whether you want to watch TV and DVDs, play games, or get some work done, there's no task ALL-IN-WONDER can't handle. ATI's latest AIW card, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT, is based on a faster version of the RADEON 9600 XT VPU with a faster core and memory. The card also supports dual VGA, REMOTE WONDER II, and FM tuning. See how this card compares to previous ALL-IN-WONDER cards, as well as the slower desktop RADEON 9600 PRO and 9600 XT, in addition to the changes ATI has implemented in its new remote control unit. We've also got some shots of Acura's new RL prototype inside!
 Introduction | Page:: ( 1 / 17 ) |
A month ago we reported on ATI’s mainstream multimedia solution, ALL-IN-WONDER 9600, but in addition to the AIW 9600, ATI introduced a faster, more feature complete ALL-IN-WONDER, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT. Before we get into the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT however, let’s rewind back to the premise behind these cards and what makes them so special.
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ATI’s ALL-IN-WONDER line is meant to address the needs of multimedia mavens and video enthusiasts. Whereas ATI’s desktop RADEON line lacks video input capability, the ALL-IN-WONDER line boasts video-in and much more, making them perfect for connecting A/V devices like digital camcorders to make or edit home movies. In more recent years, ATI has also added TV tuning capability, timeshifting, and, beginning last summer with the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO, FM tuning. ATI has even announced an HDTV variant of ALL-IN-WONDER.
The ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT is meant to replace the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO, which will slowly begin to disappear thanks to the introduction of the AIW 9600 XT and AIW 9600. In fact, a quick glance of Newegg and Zipzoomfly’s websites reveals that neither company has the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO in stock, suggesting that AIW 9600 PRO is drying up quickly. Fortunately, ATI’s ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT is designed to deliver more performance thanks to its faster RADEON 9600 XT graphics core, and ships with all the features found in ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO, including REMOTE WONDER II. These are the only two ALL-IN-WONDER cards in ATI’s current multimedia lineup that support this feature in particular.
Enhanced 9600 XT graphics core
Just what makes up an ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT? As we just stated, at the heart of the AIW 9600 XT is ATI’s newer RADEON 9600 XT graphics core, originally codenamed RV360. RV360 is based on the same four pixel pipeline architecture as the original RADEON 9600 PRO, only its manufacturing process has been enhanced to deliver higher clock speeds thanks to the addition of low-k dielectric material. ATI clocks the desktop variant of the RADEON 9600 XT graphics core at 500MHz, for the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT the core frequency has been increased to 525MHz, delivering more performance.
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In addition to the new core clock frequency, ATI has also increased the memory clock speed from 300MHz in RADEON 9600 XT (600MHz effective) to 325MHz in ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT (650MHz effective).
The RADEON 9600 XT was often criticized for its lack of memory bandwidth. At 500MHz the RADEON 9600 XT’s core was hungry for more bandwidth. The ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT’s 650MHz memory increases peak memory bandwidth to 10.4GB/sec, an improvement of 800MB/sec and thus does a better job of keeping the graphics core fed with data.
On the video side, ATI continues to rely on its THEATER 200 chip. THEATER 200 adds a new adaptive 2D 3-Line comb filter, which is responsible for delivering sharper picture when working with composite signals. THEATER 200 also adds more powerful 12-bit analog-to-digital converters for increased audio fidelity.
For TV and FM radio tuning, a stereo tuner from Philips is used on the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT.
SIDEBAR: ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT Product Webpage
| Board analysis | Page:: ( 2 / 17 ) |
Rather than adopt the RADEON 9600 XT cooler, or modify the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO’s heatsink/fan unit, ATI has adopted an entirely new cooling system for the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT. Like ATI’s RADEON 9800 XT on the desktop, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT relies on ducted cooling for enhanced performance.
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ATI starts with a large aluminum heatsink, which actually is so large it covers portions of the memory modules on the top of the board. The heatsink is painted gold for added flair and is composed of numerous long, thin fins for added surface area. As you can see, the fan is located offset of the RV360 graphics core, along the upper half of the card’s PCB just across from the Philips tuner.
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By moving the fan offset of the core, the fan has more room to work its magic within the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT’s ducted design. This also helps the fan’s motor, as it isn’t located directly above the graphics core, which can get hot under load. Besides dust, excess heat is one of the primary culprits for killing fan motors prematurely, so this offset design helps to ensure the longevity of the card’s fan. The top and sides of the duct’s enclosure are vented, allowing the hot air to escape the enclosure.
Overall the new cooler does a good job of keeping the graphics core cool, although do keep in mind that the RADEON 9600 XT core runs fairly cool to begin with. Also, with ATI’s current CATALYST 4.3 driver, ATI’s OVERDRIVE feature is disabled on the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT. So if you want to overclock your ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT, you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way for now.
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Other than the new cooler, the rest of the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT’s board design is unchanged from the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO. The layout and board component circuitry is identical on both boards, right down to the same Samsung DDR modules, which are good for operation at up to 350MHz. ATI also shares the same video connector and module for the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT’s dual VGA capability. Simply plug the module into the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT, and you can power up to two VGA displays. (DVI capability isn’t available.)
The entire ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 line supports this feature and is a first for the ALL-IN-WONDER family. ATI also addressed one of the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO’s chief complaints: the lack of an antenna for radio tuning. ATI now includes an antenna in the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT’s packaging in addition to the purple VIVO module they’ve provided in the past, but the real big news is REMOTE WONDER II.
SIDEBAR: Dave Orton will be replacing KY Ho as ATI’s CEO this summer.
| REMOTE WONDER II | Page:: ( 3 / 17 ) |
Remember the day you upgraded from a Toshiba TheaterView TV to a Cinema Series? Or perhaps, for you Sony fans, from the regular Sony TV to an XBR? If so, one of the first differences you probably noticed was the enhanced remote control unit. ATI’s newer REMOTE WONDER II unit reminds us of this same upgrade experience in a lot of ways.
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REMOTE WONDER II is a lot more than just a cosmetic upgrade, distance is increased to over 60 feet, and in addition to the six programmable buttons (also found on the original REMOTE WONDER) ATI adds four auxiliary buttons.
The new remote control unit has a finish that’s much less glossy, sporting a dull grey instead. This gives the remote a more professional look that’s more at home on the couch with the rest of the remotes in your home theater system. Physically the new remote is longer, yet thinner than the original REMOTE WONDER and the buttons themselves on REMOTE WONDER II are much less spongy than the buttons on REMOTE WONDER. In fact ATI has discrete buttons for channel and volume control, this change, along with the redesigned Mute button makes it harder to accidentally hit the mute button while adjusting channels or volume level.
One of the other drastic changes is the new thumbpad for mouse control. The thumbpad on REMOTE WONDER II provides more tactile feedback than its predecessor, making manipulation slightly easier, although to be honest you still have to learn how to adjust to the mouse movement. ATI has also adjusted the position of the left and right mouse buttons in order to make room for the dedicated channel and volume selectors.
In our opinion, the open setup menu (located just below the “9” key on the keypad) and mulTView buttons (located below the “7” key on the numeric keypad) are located too close to the “7” and “9” keys on the keypad. These buttons were located in the same area on REMOTE WONDER, but more space was present between them on the older unit. Now the buttons are so small and located so close to each other that it’s easy to press both simultaneously on accident, especially if you have a large thumb.
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ATI probably should have shifted that bank of buttons further down on the remote control unit as there’s plenty of dead space on the bottom of the remote. We feel the same way about the programmable buttons C, D, E, and F, which are located very close to the rewind, fast forward, play and pause buttons on REMOTE WONDER II. On the original REMOTE WONDER unit, the programmable buttons were much further apart from these buttons.
One very cool aspect of the new REMOTE WONDER II unit are the four auxiliary buttons. These buttons can be used to control whatever devices the user defines and, as an added bonus, are backlit for viewing in the dark.
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The other notable difference between REMOTE WONDER and REMOTE WONDER II is the size of the USB breakout box, which interfaces with the REMOTE WONDER II unit. Whereas the original REMOTE WONDER featured a fairly small pod, REMOTE WONDER II’s USB pod is massive and will eat up more space on your desk. On the top of the unit is a short, yet sturdy antenna.
SIDEBAR: The ATI button located in the upper center of the remote is used to launch MultiMedia Center.
| TV viewing | Page:: ( 4 / 17 ) |
Setting everything up isn’t difficult. Once the card is installed you merely need to hook up your TV, FM, video, and audio connections and ATI does the rest. Simply plug in your monitor(s), FM antenna, cable (or antenna) TV connection, and speakers, then install ATI’s software, and everything will be up and running. The whole process is seamless and shouldn’t require any extra effort if you’re familiar with installing hardware in your PC. The hard part is literally waiting for everything to get installed (which can take roughly between 5-10 minutes, depending on the speed of your hard drive).
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Once that’s done, you’ll use ATI’s MultiMedia Center to launch applications such as the TV, DVD, and FM players.
The TV tuner supports up to 125 stations (70 if you use the antenna) while the FM tuner supports frequencies ranging from 75.9MHz to 108MHz. The radio player itself supports up to 10 radio station presets. The FM player also comes with built-in alarm and sleep settings, just like your standard alarm clock in your bedroom.
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The TV player can perform all the standard functions you normally associate with a TV, including the ability to preview all television stations (which are presented as small thumbnails) and, if you drop in a second TV tuner, you can have picture-in-picture support. ATI refers to this feature as mulTView. The TV player can also do some really cool things, such as THRUVIEW, which literally transforms your desktop into the TV program you’re watching! You can then work on a Word document while the TV literally sits underneath your work. The level of transparency can be adjusted to suit your eyes.
GUIDE PLUS+
Integrated seamlessly into ATI’s MultiMedia Center software is Gemstar’s GUIDE PLUS+ electronic programming guide. GUIDE PLUS+ provides all the programming data you’d associate with your local TV guide. Not only does GUIDE PLUS provide basic programming information such as date and time, it also provides data on the individual episodes (where available) such as the storyline and actors featured in that episode.
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You can also use GUIDE PLUS+ to search for specific television shows, genres, or actors. Simply type in the show you’re interested in and GUIDE PLUS+ will show you all channels and times that show will appear for that week. With SCHEDULE+ you can then record all those episodes, or an entire season’s worth of programming. GUIDE PLUS+ is integrated directly into the TV player, so if you want to record a particular show, simply press the record button and the show you selected will be recorded to your hard drive based on a quality level you can predefine.
The ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT can also timeshift, just like a TiVo unit. Timeshifting allows you to pause live TV, step away from the TV to run errands, and then return without missing a minute of television programming. Just press the pause button on your REMOTE WONDER II unit while watching TV and the AIW 9600 XT will automatically save the data to your hard drive. You can then playback what you missed, and fast-forward through the commercials, or if you’d like, you can jump back to live TV.
SIDEBAR: Another difference between REMOTE WONDER and REMOTE WONDER II is that the newer unit requires only three batteries, whereas REMOTE WONDER required four. Batteries are included in the packaging.
| Test conditions | Page:: ( 5 / 17 ) |
System Setup
AMD Athlon 64 3400+
ASUS K8V Deluxe
512MB OCZ EL PC3200 (DDR400) SDRAM
ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT
ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB
ATI RADEON 9700 PRO
ATI RADEON 9600 XT
ATI RADEON 9600 PRO
Driver version CATALYST 4.3
30GB IBM Deskstar DTLA 307030 ATA/100 Hard Drive
Windows XP Professional SP1
DirectX 9.0b
Benchmarks
Lock On: Modern Air Combat (Mig-29 custom demo)
Call of Duty (demo0032 custom demo)
Quake III: Arena version 1.32 (fscrusher demo)
Unreal Tournament 2004 (T3 custom demo)
IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles (The Black Death track)
Splinter Cell (FS custom demo)
Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (Beyond3D custom demo)
Halo: Combat Evolved (stock benchmark)
SIDEBAR: ATI’s front page mentions that they have what we want. Hmm, wonder what that could be?
| Call of Duty | Page:: ( 6 / 17 ) |
Call of Duty – OpenGL
SIDEBAR: ATI provides a 3-year warranty for the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT.
| IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles | Page:: ( 7 / 17 ) |
IL-2 Sturmovik: FB - OpenGL
SIDEBAR: Maddox recently announced the follow-up to IL-2, which will take place in the Pacific theater.
| Quake III 4xAA 8xAF | Page:: ( 8 / 17 ) |
Quake III - OpenGL
SIDEBAR: Pretty hard to believe its been nearly five years since Quake 3 first came out.
| Splinter Cell | Page:: ( 9 / 17 ) |
Splinter Cell – Direct3D
SIDEBAR: Hopefully Pandora Tomorrow has built-in benchmarking support, I haven’t had the chance to look at it yet.
| Tomb Raider | Page:: ( 10 / 17 ) |
Tomb Raider – Direct3D
SIDEBAR: We enabled depth of field for Tomb Raider testing (V49).
| Lock On: Modern Air Combat | Page:: ( 11 / 17 ) |
Lock On: Modern Air Combat – Direct3D
SIDEBAR: Lost one PSU during the course of testing.
| UT 2004 4xAA | Page:: ( 12 / 17 ) |
Unreal Tournament 2004
SIDEBAR: Currently UT 2004 benchmarking is a major pain on both ATI and NVIDIA cards, you have to restart the game after each run (the game crashes).
| UT 2004 4xAA/8xAF | Page:: ( 13 / 17 ) |
Unreal Tournament 2004
SIDEBAR: Earlier this week Epic and Microsoft released new Onslaught maps for UT 2004.
| Halo | Page:: ( 14 / 17 ) |
Halo
SIDEBAR: Still waiting on that Halo patch that provides demo recording and playback.
| Overclocking | Page:: ( 15 / 17 ) |
Quake 3
Unreal Tournament 2004
SIDEBAR: We used Rage3D Tweak to overclock the AIW 9600 XT.
| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 16 / 17 ) |
Pros
All-in-one capability: Thanks to its integrated FM/TV tuner and video input support, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT can do it all. From editing home movies recorded on your camcorder to watching TV and DVDs, and now, thanks to the FM tuner, listening to the radio, ATI’s latest ALL-IN-WONDER card is equipped to perform a wide variety of functions.
ATI tops the package off with its Multimedia Center software. Multimedia Center is the hub that connects everything together, whether it’s GUIDE PLUS, the TV player, or the multimedia library. Basically, if you’re familiar with Windows XP, think of Multimedia Center as the “Start” button. ATI has rolled everything around Multimedia Center. The software is a breeze to install (unlike NVIDIA Personal Cinema, which requires multiple CDs) and functions reliably. ATI has also integrated new features to add to its appeal such as EAZYVIEW (ATI’s 10-foot interface) and EAZYSHARE.
Performance: ATI’s RADEON 9600 XT core would have provided a solid basis for the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT, but ATI has enhanced its memory and core clock speeds for even more performance. The core clock frequency has been bumped up 25MHz, to 525MHz, while the memory effectively operates at 650MHz, an increase of 50MHz over the stock RADEON 9600 XT.
This gives ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT users bragging rights over RADEON 9600 XT owners. The faster memory modules also give ALL-IN-WONDER users more headroom for overclocking, while the new cooler relies on a ducted design for enhanced cooling.
REMOTE WONDER II: While there are some aspects we don’t like about ATI’s latest REMOTE WONDER unit, specifically referring to the narrow spacing between a few buttons and the larger USB pod, we still feel it’s a nice improvement over its predecessor. The buttons on the new unit don’t have the spongy feel of REMOTE WONDER, while the new thumbpad for mouse control provides more tactile feedback. These changes are a step up in our opinion, although we do realize that this is a little subjective.
Everyone will love REMOTE WONDER II’s four auxiliary buttons though. They’re completely programmable and backlit, we also like the redesigned channel and volume control buttons.
Dual VGA: Like the other ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 cards, the AIW 9600 XT supports dual VGA displays. This is a feature ALL-IN-WONDER users have been asking for the past few years, so we have a feeling ATI made quite a few people happy with this feature. It’s just a shame you lose all DVI capability in the process.
Price: At $299 MSRP, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT certainly isn’t cheap at first glance, but factor what you’re getting with this card: First, the RADEON 9600 XT officially retails for $199, add on top of this the $49 price tag of the remote control unit (note, this is the price of the REMOTE WONDER remote control unit, not REMOTE WONDER II, which isn’t available for sale from ATI yet) and you’re already up to $250. Now include the FM and TV tuning capabilities of the card, we’ll assume $50 for a typical TV tuner card such as the TV WONDER VE and you’re right at $300. We still haven’t discussed the card’s software bundle, which includes Gemstar GUIDE PLUS+, Pinnacle Studio 8 (a bit outdated, but still an expensive program), muvee AUTOPRODUCER, Matchware Mediator 7, and Real One Player. This puts you well above the $300 list price of the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT.
Cons
Price (in relation to AIW 9700 PRO): While we just argued price in favor of the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT, at the same time we also realize that older, more powerful ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO cards can still be found on the market for only a few dollars more than the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT. Sure, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO doesn’t offer dual VGA capability, the integrated FM tuner, or REMOTE WONDER II, but we’d still pay the extra $40-$50 for the ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO’s 256-bit memory interface and faster 8 pixel pipeline R300 graphics core. The ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT just isn’t in the same league as ATI’s 9700 PRO if you’re a gamer. Of course, if you don’t plan on playing a lot of games with your ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT, or find yourself playing more strategy titles such as Warcraft III, consider this a moot point.
No Half-Life 2: Just to clear up any confusion, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT doesn’t ship with a voucher for Half-Life 2. If you want a copy of Valve’s upcoming shooter, you’ll have to get a graphics card based on ATI’s RADEON 9800 XT VPU. As of January 2004 ATI no longer ships their 9600 XT cards with Half-Life 2 vouchers.
SIDEBAR: RV360 is built on TSMC’s 0.13-micron manufacturing process.
| Final Verdict | Page:: ( 17 / 17 ) |