X-bit labs

GeXcube ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO Review

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin

[ 12/04/2003 | 08:18 PM ]

The only multimedia combine from ATI Technologies to support both TV and radio is among the tastiest buys for Christmas. Boasting with high performance in 3D applications, dual-display support and VIVO functions, ATI’s ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 9600 PRO is probably a great "bang for the buck". Find out everything you may want to know about the product right here and right now.

Table of contents:

• What Do You Expect from a Multimedia Combo?
  
• GeXcube ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 Pro: Closer Look, Part 1
  
• GeXcube ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO: Closer Look, Part 2
  
• Software
  
• ATI Multimedia Center – Heart of the ALL-IN-WONDER Combo
  
• LaunchPad: One-Click Access to the ATI Multimedia Center
  
• ATI DVD Player
  
• ATI TV Player
  
• ATI FM Radio: Version 8.6 Only
  
• ATI File Player, ATI Video CD Player and ATI CD Player
  
• Gemstar Guide PLUS+, for the USA and Canada Only
  
• MMC Library – Your Multimedia Library
  
• Overclocking and Performance
  
• Peformance in Real Gaming Applications
  
• Performance in 3DMark03
  
• Conclusion
  

As you surely know, graphics processors from ATI Technologies don’t only come to us on gaming graphics cards, but also on multimedia combos under the “ALL-IN-WONDER” brand. Such cards have every right to be called the best multimedia products as they combine excellent performance with numerous extras to transform your PC into a multimedia entertainment center. Our today’s review is devoted to one product of the kind. It is the GeXcube ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO. The manufacturer, GeXcube, is a member of Gigabyte Group.

What Do You Expect from a Multimedia Combo?

Before getting to the product, let us first try to define the basic evaluation criteria for a graphics card with multimedia functions. Some users may want to use an ALL-IN-WONDER as a basis of an inexpensive entertainment center, which is their PC. Others would prefer to install such a card into their office computer.

So, the home user needs:

• High 2D image quality;
• TV-out;
• Reliable hardware and software;
• High performance in games;
• Quality playback of DVD, MPEG-4 and RealVideo formats;
• High-quality TV-tuner supporting such functions of the current TV-sets like “picture in picture”, “freeze frame”, watching multiple channels at once and so on;
• FM-tuner;
• Remote control;
• Video-editing capabilities.

The business user may want:

• High quality 2D image;
• Dual-monitor configurations, the DVI interface desired;
• Reliable hardware and software;
• Quality playback of DVD, MPEG-4 and RealVideo formats;
• TV-tuner with an acceptable image quality;
• FM-tuner;
• Remote control desired, but not mandatory.

Now that we have limited our search criteria, let’s see if the ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 Pro can satisfy the needs of different user groups.