The
Tally
So
after digesting all that information, how does the All-in-Wonder stack up?
For
gamers the Rage6C core delivers some stunning visual's and competitive framerates.
Performance in 32bit color is quite good compared to other GPU's and a full OpenGL
ICD richens the experience. However there are a few problems that need to be ironed
out yet. Mostly driver related problems; popping textures in CounterStrike 1.0
and 4X FSAA problems in the 13.7041 drivers. HyperZ is an interesting technology,
and ATI has certainly put it to good use. They were the first video card maker
with HyperZ / Hidden Surface Removal technology, and to their credit, it has experienced
relativity few problems and performs well.
Movie
lovers should give the All-in-Wonder a good look, the Rage6C core provides some
extra features not seen on many other cards. The included Multimedia Center provides
decent DVD, VCD and TV playback abilities. When combined with the excellent TV
out abilities of the Rage Theater the All in Wonder truly becomes a multimedia
card. Playing a DVD or SVCD on the computer and outputting to TV via composite
outputs produces a nice clean image with minimal color bleeding. The hardware
MPEG2 abilities are useful for those with slower computers and who do lots of
MPEG2 editing.
The
Multimedia Center, combined with the excellent video input/output abilities and
feature rich Rage6C is what propels the All-in-Wonder above other video cards.
Currently the 32MB DDR AiW can be had for about $350US, about equivalent in price
to the GeForce Ultra's, but adding so much more to the package.
The
Radeon All in Wonder is what all video cards should be. Earning only the second
Target PC Editors Choice award given out so far in 2001, driver problems aside,
the All-in-Wonder is top notch hardware.
Andrew
Oliver
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