So, is it full speed?
Well, we can say for sure that is, if it turns out to have anything like the raw performance of its graphics-card-only cousin, the Sapphire RADEON X1800 XL 256MB – a product that is currently selling at SCAN Computers for £275. To get the full technical low-down, see our 15-page write up and comparison with the XFX GeForce 7800 GT 256MB.
Suffice it to say for the moment that, unlike most all previous incarnations of ATI All-In-Wonder products - which have had crippled VPU and memory clocks or high-latency graphics-memory timings - the new PCIe All-In-Wonder X1800 XL looked at here, runs at the identical frequencies as its 3D-graphics-only brethren. That’s a full-speed 500MHz graphics engine coupled with a 500MHz memory clock-powering super-quick GDDR3 graphics memory.
The rather less
picturesque flip-side of the card
What DOES
"non-qualification sample" mean?
For those who like a bit
of detailIf you are of a mind to, also check out our allied initial technology discussion about the RADEON X1800 XT and, by inference, the RADEON X1800 XL. Also not to be missed if you’re a nuts-and-bolts kind of person is our discussion on Avivo, the ATI technology that underlies many of the advanced claims for the latest-generation ATI graphics processors.
What all this means – if you don't fancy a lot of technotalk – is that the card will be right at home in any hardcore gamer's PC. No less important - given the feature-set and bundled software – it should provide the grunt needed to help the rendering go smoothly in the latest generation of video editing programs.
Now for the extras. These, of course, include multi-monitor connections with up to three screens attached, including an HD TV set but, oddly, it would seem, not a configuration that includes two digital PC monitors.
We've mentioned that there's a tuner but not what sort. Well, ATI has integrated an analogue/digital jobbie covering TV and radio. On the analogue side it will receive the usual terrestrial TV stations, plus FM radio. More interestingly, it offers the multi-channel (and high-quality) benefits of digital terrestrial TV - on which there are also numerous radio stations.
The tuner and allied software act together as a very crafty personal video recorder, too. It's possible not only to schedule recordings but also to do a bunch of seriously clever stuff as well.
If you've not seen it before, the real gob-smacker is being able - with one click of the mouse (or handset button) - to pause a TV program you are watching and then restart it where you left off whenever you manage to get back in front of the PC.
At that point you can jump
back to where you left off or go forward at
high speed to the present part of the transmission, or jump around at
high speeds (or low) anywhere in between.
The card also has the
ability to record from S-video or composite video
to range of MPEG formats – including MPEG-2 that's compatible
with the DVD Video standard. We tried the S-video side and it works
well. We even burned a couple of DVDs and they came out just fine
– though the process involved was rather tedious as we
describe
further on.
