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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 87 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
The good: Excellent 3D performance; integrated TV tuner; TV time-shifting; video-capturing and editing capabilities; RF remote control; digital-audio output.
The bad: Pricey; integrated FireWire (IEEE 1394) DV port can be problematic; TV and video-capture features aren't supported under Windows 98 SE or earlier operating systems.
The bottom line: If you want a fast gaming card that also provides excellent TV viewing and video capturing, the All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV has the most and the best, but similar products can be had for half the price.
Specifications: Graphics Processor / Vendor: ATI Radeon 8500; Max Resolution (external): 2048 x 1536 / 85 Hz; Video Memory Installed: 64 MB / 64 MB (max); See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 02/19/2002
A slew of goodies
The plethora of good stuff that spills out of the $339 All-in-Wonder 8500DV box is impressive. Besides the card itself, there's a breakout cable housing all of the video and audio ports, a heavy-duty composite-video cable, an S-Video cable, a FireWire cable (6-pin to mini 4-pin), a DVI-to-analog converter, and a full-sized RF remote for controlling the card's Multimedia Center software. The RF remote is especially cool, as it frees you from the line-of-sight shackles of infrared-based remotes. ATI also bundles the Half Life: Counterstrike game, Ulead's VideoStudio 5 for editing your video captures, and the ATI's HydraVision multimonitor-control software. The card sports only a single DVI output, but you can drive a secondary display via the composite or S-Video outputs.
Outside of attaching the video and audio cables from your stereo, VCR, TV and so on to the All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV's breakout cable, physical installation is the same as it is with any other graphics card. The brief, multilingual manual is helpful to a point; it covers installation and cable layout but lacks a better-than-basic troubleshooting section. Software installation is the standard couple-of-clicks-and-reboot affair. ATI recommends that you remove any previous graphics drivers and revert to Windows' standard VGA driver before installing the card. Based on our past experiences with the company's cards, we recommend the same. The card's TV and video features are compatible with only Windows Me, 2000, and XP; Windows 98 users need not apply.
FireWire fix
One of the coolest features of the All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV--the FireWire DV port--was a bit problematic. Our performance-test system refused to boot with the DV port enabled. ATI admitted to a conflict between the FireWire port and some older BIOSs; flipping a dip switch on the card disabled the DV port and restored functionality to our test unit. If you have problems using the DV port, a BIOS upgrade may solve the problem.
Good 2D and 3D scores
The All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV turned in some impressive scores in CNET Labs' tests, aided by its 64MB of DDR memory. Though it couldn't compete with a dedicated GeForce3 Ti500 gaming card such as the VisionTek Xtasy 6964, it easily outpaced its lesser sibling, the ATI Radeon 7500, on most tests. In the Quake III competition, the All-in-Wonder 8500DV posted a high 158 frames per second (fps) at a resolution of 1,024x768 with 32-bit color and an acceptable 76.7fps at a more-demanding 1,600x1,200 resolution. Both MadOnion.com's and eTesting Labs' 3D tests also placed the All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV's performance squarely between that of the VisionTek 6964 and the ATI Radeon 7500. The one area where the All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV lagged behind the other boards was in 2D graphics; its score of 231 on eTesting Labs' Business Graphics WinMark 99 2.0, while still plenty fast, is much slower than the Xtasy 6964's 382 and the Radeon 7500's 370. But you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference with the naked eye.
Performance is but a small part of the Radeon All-in-Wonder 8500DV picture; it really shines in its extras and software. The ATI Multimedia Center software handles TV time-shifting (TV on demand); video capture and editing; and CD, DVD, and VCD playback. The All-in-Wonder performed perfectly in our Athlon XP 1800+ test system; however, if you're running at less than 900MHz, you may drop frames while recording DVD-quality video. A nice treat is the Guide Plus software, which lets you select and record programming via an online TV guide (think cable-preview channel). We love all the capabilities of the software, but accessing each function from a launch bar is not as simple as using the fully integrated functions of a standalone TiVo player. Continue reading
User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 87 reviews
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