Features

RADEON 9800 PRO core

As we mentioned at the outset, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO is based around ATI’s flagship RADEON 9800 PRO VPU. If you frequent our hardware reviews, you’re probably very familiar with this graphics core already, so we won’t rehash all the details. The key highlights are that it’s based largely on ATI’s award-winning RADEON 9700 PRO core. It’s built on a 0.15-micron manufacturing process, which is pretty impressive considering its hefty transistor count.

The graphics core operates at 380MHz, when combined with the RADEON 9800 VPU’s eight pixel pipeline with one texture unit per pixel pipeline architecture, the ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO sports a texture fill rate of just over 3 Gigatexels per second, an improvement of 14% over RADEON 9700 PRO. ATI outfits the ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO with 128MB of DDR memory operating at 340MHz (680MHz effective). When combined with the core’s 256-bit interface to its memory, memory bandwidth tops out at 21.8GB/sec, an increase of 2GB/sec from RADEON 9700 PRO.

As far as we know, ATI has no plans to offer a 256MB variant of the ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO. When you consider the extra heat generated by its DDR2 modules as well as the added board complexity, we doubt a 256MB ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO card will ever see the light of day. After all, integrating a TV tuner and the Theater 200 chip on ATI’s current 256MB board design would not be an easy task. And with ATI’s current asking price of $500 for the RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB, an ALL-IN-WONDER version would be even higher, most likely anywhere from $550-$600. This would put it out of the price range of the vast majority of consumers (the ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO is priced at $450).

Here’s the complete spec list for the ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO:

Cinematic Rendering

128MB DDR memory to generate the most detailed and immersive gaming experiences without sacrificing frame rates

256-bit memory interface delivers bandwidth for real-time 3D visuals and barrier-free performance

8-pixel pipeline architecture doubles the rendering power of any competing product currently on the market

SMARTSHADER™ 2.1 offers complete DirectX® 9.0 support, enabling cinematic quality lighting effects

SMOOTHVISION™ 2.1 delivers the sharpest, clearest textures

Comprehensive AGP 8X/4X/2X support

Redefine Home Entertainment

TV-ON-DEMAND™ records programs on your hard drive, pauses live TV and resumes broadcasts on your schedule

Gemstar GUIDE Plus+™ provides interactive programming guides to select, schedule and record favorite shows

THRUVIEW™ creates live, translucent TV, video and DVD windows for easy desktop access

Radio frequency wireless remote adds the flexibility of a hand held, 30 foot user interface

ATI’s new EAZYLOOK™ full-sized programming grid offers theme controls and single click navigation

MulTView™ enables dual TV tuner capabilities including Picture-in-Picture and independent channel surfing

Create A Video Masterpiece

Bring personal blockbusters to life with video editing and connectivity tools to share with friends and family at home or over the internet

Add effects, transitions and sound to videos with Pinnacle Studio™ software

Save projects to VideoCD and DVD formats or output to digital ready television

VideoSoap™ provides filtering techniques that improve sharpness and smooth blurry motion for high quality personal video

Capture pictures and video at up to 30 frames per second

Output to HDTV ready devices with ALL-IN-WONDER®’s video output component adapter