ATI All-In-Wonder X800 XT Video Card Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This card loses one star because of the work required to make it functional.
YOU MUST USE CATALYST 5.13, MMC 9.08, AND REMOTE WONDER II 3.03.00 WITH THE X800XT ALL IN WONDER. For the older ones, go to ATI's site, Drivers, XP, to the left side under drivers, XP, Radeon (or All In Wonder, doesn't matter), and Previous Drivers & Software in order to find them. All newer drivers are unstable with the x800xt AIW and have made TV On Demand a permanent service running in the background. They're really designed to cater towards the new PCIE 1800 series cards. Hyperthreading and dual core processing should be turned off whenever using TV streaming. Always turn off anti-spyware and anti-virus software in the background. If you have previous drivers, use the uninstall software, restart, use Driver Cleaner Pro (follow the instructions fully), delete the ATI/NVIDIA folders, then restart again before beginning.
If at anytime after a restart you get dual device sharing error messages, simply cancel out of them, restart the computer, and continue onto the next step. In those cases your computer just needs two restarts instead of one to configure properly.
Install Cat 5.13.
Restart.
Allow WDM drivers to install fully.
Restart.
MMC 9.08 part 1.
Restart.
MMC 9.08 part 2.
Restart.
MMC 9.08 part 3.
Restart.
Install Gemstar off your original driver CD.
Restart.
Install Remote Wonder II 3.03.00.
Restart.
Run Gemstar for setup, but don't let it set up TV tuner yet.
Upon Gemstar's completion (you stopped the TV), Restart again.
Open Gemstar and let it initialize your TV tuner and scan for channels.
This procedure works for me, with the TV even showing up in Gemstar. Occasionally there are still freezes when something else is running in the background, but they are usually associated with me doing something I shouldn't be. I've even had TV running in the background while using X-Plane's Planemaker. When using the PVR, never rename a recording in the middle of the recording process. Let it save in the pre-designated folder (you can change this prior to recording in setup). Stop it and go into that folder to rename and move it somewhere else. If you encounter persistent problems with crashes, the remote not being recognized, or anything else, then clean out everything and try again. You may need to uninstall the remote in Device Manager, unplug it, restart, plug it in, and restart again before installing the drivers in some of these cases. Some games/simulations also do not like MMC and Remote Wonder's software. So you may need to turn them off on the Taskbar before entering such programs.
The frame rates I get on this card are as good or better most of the time than the NVIDIA 7800 GS OC AGP I tried two weeks ago, and it runs much cooler when idle. I can overclock this to 520/560 with Tray Tools and still get great stability. That makes it essentially a Platinum level 800 series card. Add to that VIVO, TV Tuner, PVR, custom aspect ratios, cropping, zooming, etc, and it's very impressive. The radio tuner isn't very sensitive, but that might have more to do with the bundled antenna.
The ATI Rage Theater chip is the best DVD decoder I've ever come across. I have an imported Pioneer Elite SACD/DVD-A Player, and this card blows it away. Superior dynamic range in all colors, including the reds...which the Pioneer and many other players crush, destroying subtlety. With 848x480 widescreen mode, widescreen selected in the MMC options, S-Video "more sharpness", and default ATI picture settings, this card is downright reference grade through its dongle outputs to my Akai Interlaced Widescreen TV. This TV was calibrated by service technicians as close to the NTSC standard as they could. I could master DVDs on this system. And if you have a hidef TV, it will upsample; progressive scan TV, it will do that, too. Stunning quality.
Even though I can't do stereo 3D on very many titles because the Winx3D universal stereo drivers are being sat on by the company that bought them out (Opticality...curses be on you!), I refuse to buy NVIDIA anymore to remedy my stereo situation. Why? Because they're unstable gamer cards that have terrible picture quality. That 7800 was garbage. I have an eMagin head mounted display, and yet I'm giving up on 3D for most everything I use simply because this ATI card looks that good and runs that fast. Now, if Opticality would get off its rear-end and release Winx3D back to the public again (it was freeware before David C. Qualman sold out...more curses!) this ATI card would be unquestionably the best AGP card ever made. I think right now it still probably is, possibly the last great AGP card that will ever be made. Right now ATI's lack of their own stereo drivers is a handicap (even more so is their lie that stereo drivers are impossible pre-1800 series...Winx3D proves it), but it's not enough for me to give up this beauty for NVIDIA crapulence.
If you have PCIE, I guess the 1800 AIW is the way to go.
If any of you are interested in 3d stereo and have an ATI card, check out the DirectZ drivers and utility. They're just about the only version of Winx3D you can find on the net anymore and, though they aren't supported actively by the company, they do work on some titles...Draken, for instance.


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This new multimedia add-in video card brings innovative solutions for home theater, video editing and gaming enthusiasts. Turn your computer into a personal video recorder, DVD player, 3D game machine, radio jukebox and more. You can enjoy new levels of entertainment on your PC monitor, TV or HDTV display with the included output connections. This is the first video card to feature DVI-I and VGA monitor connectivity plus a TV and FM Radio tuner in a single slot device. It's also the first All-in-Wonder to feature new input and output block connectors that provide easy access to peripheral devices.Ports -DVI-I, 15-pin VGA, Stereo audio, S-video, composite video inputs and outputs, External stereo connections to sound card's line input and output Dolby digital stereo audio output (S/PDIF), YPrPb Output Includes Remote control System requirements -Windows XP/2000, Intel Pentium 4/Celeron, AMD Athlon or compatible with AGP 8X (0.8V) or 4X (1.5V) slot, 128MB of system memory (256MB+ recommended), CD-ROM drive, DVD playback requires DVD drive, Interactive Program guide requires internet connection for listing updates, Remote control receiver requires available USB port All-in-Wonder X800 XT requires connection to your PC's internal power supply for operation. A 300-watt power supply or greater is recommended to ensure normal system operation. A 350-watt power supply may be required in some fully-loaded PC systems where a number of other internal devices are installed 3-year labor and parts warranty

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