AIW9000orAIW9600

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Paul ONeill

Hello, I am new to the ATI video cards, soon to be crossing over from
NVIDIA. I am running a Abit KT7A motherboard with Athlon 1300 processor with
768 megs ram. My question is which AIW card would serve me best. I'm looking
at the 9000 and 9600. Is the 9600 too much card for my system? Is the
9000AIW just a stripped down 8500. Any feedback would be greatly
appreciated. Thanks Paul
 
Paul ONeill said:
Hello, I am new to the ATI video cards, soon to be crossing over from
NVIDIA. I am running a Abit KT7A motherboard with Athlon 1300 processor with
768 megs ram. My question is which AIW card would serve me best. I'm looking
at the 9000 and 9600. Is the 9600 too much card for my system? Is the
9000AIW just a stripped down 8500. Any feedback would be greatly
appreciated. Thanks Paul
Click to expand...

Look at Compusa's site they have the 9600 Pro for $129 after rebate($50 instant
$20 mail-in). They are sold out, but it looks like the deal may be available at
their local stores too & you can check the stock on the site.

g'day
youth
 
youth said:
Look at Compusa's site they have the 9600 Pro for $129 after rebate($50 instant
$20 mail-in). They are sold out, but it looks like the deal may be available at
their local stores too & you can check the stock on the site.
Click to expand...
I think Paul is looking for an AIW version of the 9600 Pro. That ad you
quoted is for the non-AIW version.

Paul, I just purchased the 9600 AIW myself. I'm running it with an Asus
CUSL2-C/P3 933MHz/512 MB RAM, so it's a fairly old system. However, I'm very
happy with the card. The dual VGA output is what really sold me on it, and
it has more than enough 3D horsepower for the latest games. Max Payne 2, for
example, really utilizes the card's onboard T&L - more than doubling the
framerate provided by CPU T&L alone (for my CPU at least). Of course I
can't vouch for your system, but I purchased the card from a dealer with a
good return policy just in case of compatibility issues. Good luck.
 
Dual VGA output - does that mean it has 2 monitor connectors on the
card?
Click to expand...

It doesn't have any monitor connectors directly on the card, it has a
special connector with a cable that has two VGA connectors. From my
viewpoint its major disadvantage (other than the possible fragility of
that cable and the special connector, which is similar to one on the
8500DV that was horribly fragile--they've added a couple of screws
which may fix it or may just mean that it breaks beyond repair) is that
it has no DVI connector. I haven't decided yet whether to go with a 9800
AIW or ditch the All-In-Wonder concept altogether, but that was a
showstopper for the 9600.
 
Thanks for responding...I purchased a 9000AIW at circuit city for 129 after
rebate. Still haven't opened it and was wondering if spending the extra $ on
the 9600AIW would be a better choice in the long run?
 
Granny said:
Dual VGA output - does that mean it has 2 monitor connectors on the card?
Click to expand...

No, it has a single proprietary connector. However, the card comes with a
special breakout cable which includes two VGA monitor connectors. Right now,
I'm only using one monitor but the picture quality is excellent. I plan to
add a second monitor soon, so I'll post an update if necessary.
 
Paul ONeill said:
Thanks for responding...I purchased a 9000AIW at circuit city for 129 after
rebate. Still haven't opened it and was wondering if spending the extra $ on
the 9600AIW would be a better choice in the long run?
Click to expand...

I think so. You'll get better performance with later games plus get an FM
tuner, dual VGA outputs, double the memory, and a coupon for a free copy of
Half Life *and* Half Life 2 (at least I did). It will cost you a lot more
than the 9000 though, so 3D gaming and/or the use of two computer monitors
should be somewhat of a priority. (As a 2D card, or a video capture/editing
card, I'm not sure it has any advantages). The 9600 is also fully DX9
compliant unlike the 9000, which is essentially a crippled 8500. In fact
every Radeon 9xxxx, below 9500 is really a DX8.1 card.

My only concern would be its compatibility with your system (just being a
newer card with an older VIA chipset). But assuming Circuit City has a good
return policy, and those features are appealing to you, I would consider it.
The Circuit City near me takes back unwanted cards, even when opened,
provided I keep the packaging, receipt, and return it within two weeks.

Good luck
 
what about the remote wonder and rw2 coupon? I thought that card included
them as well. It better, that was one reason I paid the extra for the
9600pro aiw...

Mike
 
Thanks for responding...I purchased a 9000AIW at circuit city for 129 after
rebate. Still haven't opened it and was wondering if spending the extra $ on
the 9600AIW would be a better choice in the long run?
Click to expand...

If you plan to play modern games, yes... the 9600 would be quite a bit
better.

Are you planning on upgrading your computer soon anyways? Then you'll
get even more from the card.

Video Rendering is also a lot faster with a 2000+ mhz CPU (AMD or
intel - if you do this a lot, get the Intel P4)
 
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