Introduction
«Wonders never cease…» That saying must have been going through the mind of someone from a well-known Canadian company, judging by the result. Just weeks after releasing the All-in-Wonder RADEON 8500 DV, ATi is adding even more wonder to its product line — the ATi All-in-Wonder RADEON 7500.
Instead of using the fast R200 chip, this card is based around the smaller RV200. The RV200 is really nothing more than the original RADEON chip, manufactured on an 0.15µ process with additional Rage Theater functionality incorporated. With the All-in-Wonder, however, this functionality is handled by an extra Rage Theater chip. Of course, the newer card also carries a different feature list than its bigger, more professional sibling. Instead of using a modern chip-tuner, the AIW 7500 still employs an analog component by Philips.
The IEE1394 (Firewire) port was also dropped, most likely for cost reasons. The two cards do share some components, though: the 5nx Samsung memory and the ATi Rage Theater chip, responsible for video capturing and recording, can be found on both boards. While the 64MB RAM on the AIW 7500 is only clocked at 360MHz (DDR), the AIW 8500 DV’s memory runs at a full 380MHz (DDR). The R200 chip itself runs at 260MHz.
Card Comparison
| Graphic Card Comparison | ||||
| Chip Name | ATI AIW RADEON |
ATI AIW RADEON 7500 | ATI AIW RADEON 8500 DV | NVIDIA Personal Cinema |
| Core | — | RV200 | R200 | NV 11 (MX400) |
| Manuf. Process | 0.18 Micron | 0.15 Micron | 0.15 Micron | 0.18 Micron |
| Chipclock | 166 MHz | 260 MHz | 230 MHz | 200 MHz |
| Memoryclock | 333 MHz (DDR) | 360 MHz (DDR) | 380 MHz (DDR) | 166 MHz |
| Memory Type | SDRAM/SGRAM | SGRAM | SGRAM | SDRAM |
| Memory Bus | 128Bit DDR | 128Bit DDR | 128Bit DDR | 128Bit SD |
| Memory Size | 32 MB | 64 MB | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| RAMDAC (S) | 350 MHz | 2x 400 MHz | 2x 400 MHz | 1x 350 MHz 1x 150 (?)Mhz |
| Businterface | AGP 1x/2x/4x | AGP 1x/2x/4x | AGP 1x/2x/4x | AGP 1x/2x/4x |
| T&L | 2nd. Generation | 2rd. Generation | 3rd. Generation | 2rd. Generation |
| DirectX Generation | DX7 | DX7 | DX8 | DX7 |
| Pixel Shader | No | No | Yes | No |
| Vertex Shader | No | No | Yes | No |
| Truform | No | No | Yes | No |
| Render Pipelines | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Texturen per Pipe | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| TV-Tuner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video In / Out | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TV-Out DualView | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IEEE 1394 Firewire | No | No | Yes | No |
| Remote Controll | No | Yes (RF) | Yes (RF) | Yes (IR) |
| Price | Pricegrabber | Official: $199 | Pricegrabber Official: $399 |
Pricegrabber |
We’ve already covered the hardware features of both the R200 and the RV200 chips in detail in previous articles. The RV200’s video features are completely identical to those of the old RADEON («Video Immersion»). The R200 (RADEON 8500) uses the extended «Video Immersion II».
Connectivity
All connectors are mounted on the slot bracket of the card. The NTSC antenna connector accepts anything, from standard aerial input to cable or satellite-receiver signals. Since the card lacks an audio processor of its own, the stereo signal is passed on through to the sound card’s line-in, either externally or via an internal cable (which ATi does not include). The third possibility is to output the signal digitally to a Dolby Digital decoder, using the S/PDIF. The Video-Out leaves nothing to be desired either, including S-VHS and composite output. The connectors for the video and audio output can be found on a separate break-out box, which comes with adhesive pads and can be stuck to a surface such as the desk, for example. The cable length of 1.50 meters should be sufficient. ATi also thought to include two short cables, one each for S-VHS and composite video.
Although, theoretically, all RADEON cards support dual display modes in hardware, AIW cards are limited to the use of only a single monitor at a time. This can be either a digital monitor connected by DVI or a conventional analog CRT (using an adapter). So, in this case, the dual display feature is limited to the TV-Output (e.g. monitor + TV-Out).
Remote Control
The most remarkable thing about the new ATi All-in-Wonder generation may very well be the wireless remote control. Aside from offering the typical TV functions, this smart little device can also emulate a two-button mouse. This comfortable feature will be very popular with couch potatoes, as it lets you control your PC from your TV room. Since the remote control is radio-based, you don’t even need a line of sight to the USB receiver. This design does have one inherent weakness, though. ATi failed to provide a way to change the radio frequency used by the remote control. This could lead to problems in apartment houses with several residents or in busy office environments where more than one AIW board are in use. ATi assured us that they are working on a solution, however.
Software
ATi’s «Multimedia Center 7.5» is the command center for all AIW activities. It differs from its predecessor in design and the aforementioned remote control function. All programs can be conveniently started from the quick start menu or the task bar.
- ATi-TV — The suite’s TV playback and video recording software offers MPEG-2 capturing and timeshifting.
- ATi-DVD — ATi’s software DVD player
- ATi-VCD — plays video CDs
- ATi-CD — plays audio CDs
- File-Player — lets you view video clips
- Library — management software for videos, pictures, etc.
The programs can also be started from the remote control.
Gemstar’s TV-Guide+ (http://www.gemstartvguide.com) lets those of you in the U.S. download the current TV programs for your region and switch directly to the desired channel. The program can also be used to program the video capture software to record a program at a later time.
The gaming bundle seems a bit out of place. Considering it consists solely of the short and rather aged game Expendable, dropping it altogether and lowering the card’s price would have been the more logical choice, as far as I’m concerned.
Test Setup
| Hardware Socket 423 |
|
| CPU | Intel Pentium 4 1800MHz MHz 400 MHz QDR FSB |
| Motherboard | ASUS P4T Intel i850 |
| Memory | 256MB 400MHz RDRAM (2x128MB) |
| Hard Disk | Seagate 12GB ST313021A UDMA66 5400 U/min |
| Graphics Cards | |
| ATI All In Wonder RADEON 32MB |
Chip Clock: 166 MHz Memory: 64 MB DDR-SGRAM Memory Clock: 166 MHz Driver w9x: V4.17.7202 Driver wXP: v4.13.10.3286 |
| ATI RADEON 7500 | Chip Clock: 290 MHz Memory: 64 MB DDR-SDRAM Memory Clock: 230 MHz Driver w9x: V4.17.7202 Driver wXP: v4.13.10.3286 |
| ATI All In Wonder RADEON 7500 |
Chip Clock: 260 MHz Memory: 64 MB DDR-SGRAM Memory Clock: 180 MHz Driver w9x: V4.17.7202 Driver wXP: v4.13.10.3286 |
| ATI RADEON 8500 | Chip Clock: 275 MHz Memory: 64 MB DDR-SDRAM Memory Clock: 275 MHz Driver w9x: V4.17.7206 Driver wXP: v4.13.10.3286 |
| ATI All In Wonder RADEON 8500 DV |
Chip Clock: 230 MHz Memory: 64 MB DDR-SGRAM Memory Clock: 190 MHz Driver w9x: V4.17.7206 Driver wXP: v4.13.10.3286 |
| Visiontek Xtasy Everything (Personal Cinema) | Chip Clock: 200 MHz Memory: 64 MB SDRAM Memory Clock: 166 MHz Driver w9x: v23.11 Driver wXP: v23.11 |
| Driver and Software | |
| DirectX Version | 8.1 |
| OS | Windows 98 SE, Version 4.10.2222 A Windows XP Prof, Version 2002 |
| Benchmarks and Settings | |
| Quake3 | v1.17 OpenGL with HW Transformation Support (Demo001) |
| Aquanox | DirectX 8 Game |
| 3DMark 2001 | Synthetic DirectX 8 Benchmark |
Benchmarks
The All-in-Wonder line is targeted primarily at multimedia applications. Nonetheless, I was also interested in its gaming capabilities. To get an impression of its performance, I tested it against the competition as well as its TV-less brethren. The following mix of benchmarks should offer some insight into how this card rates among the competition.
Quake 3
In Quake 3, the All in Wonder Radeon 7500 lies not far behind its big and tuner-less sister but clearly in front of the old All In Wonder Radeon card.
Aquanox
Aquanox shows both 7500 version pretty close together. Interesting: The R8500 runs a bit faster under Windows XP than in Windows 98SE
3D Mark 2001
The lower clockrates of the AIW 7500 shows only marginal drawback in 3D Mark 2001 compared to the normal card.
Conclusion
The «little» All-in-Wonder card is meant to be one thing before all others — $200 cheaper than its bigger sibling. Let me qualify that statement to put it in perspective. While it does deliver on the lower price, this remains the card’s only real advantage over the 8500 DV. Not only does the AIW 7500 lack a firewire port, but its 3D performance is also markedly lower than that of the bigger model. And yet, the competition’s GeForce2 MX based «Personal Cinema» solutions (for example, the Visiontek «XTASY Everything 5564» for $180, V I S I O N T E K) still rank at least a class below the ATi card, in performance as well as in features.
For everyday use, the conventional TV-tuner isn’t the disadvantage it initially seems to be. Quite the opposite; it runs a lot cooler than that of the 8500 DV. In this respect, at least, the AIW 7500 is the better choice. Still, all things considered, the RADEON 8500 DV retains the title of optimal multimedia board hands-down, leaving the AIW 7500 to play the role of the bargain model.
