Need Some Advice

[Maritime Q-Scout]

was curious if I could get some reviews of what people thought of the ATI All-in-Wonder 7500 video card.

I'm looking to put a video card into my system, just to help make it run a bit smoother (as I currently have an integrated Intel Direct AGP Extreme Graphic 2, with upto 64 MB of Direct Video Memory - reading off the specs sheet )

I don't do much, if any gaming (don't have the time, and I can't afford the time) but I'm under the impression it'll help run video smoother (ie: the videos I have to watch for my online training for work) as well it has a TV in, so I can use my computer as a PVR meaning I don't miss any Flames games (if there are any) and can take key sporting events that I want, as well as transfer my VHS collection over to DVD.

ATI All-in-Wonder 7500 specs

... thoughts?

[BlackArcher101]

Any video card should run a video off your hard drive just fine. If you aren't going to play any games, increasing the power of your card won't help one bit.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

What are your systems specs? Processor, RAM, HD interface will all make a large difference too. To be honest a 7500 is pretty much as obsolete as Cooperalls....

What are you paying for this?

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally posted by I-Hate-Hulse@Sep 2 2004, 11:54 PM
What are your systems specs? Processor, RAM, HD interface will all make a large difference too. To be honest a 7500 is pretty much as obsolete as Cooperalls....

What are you paying for this?

2.6 GHz P4, hyper-threading, 512k cache, 800MHz front side bus

512MB 333MHz DDR SDRAM

80GB 700RPM

16x/48x DVD-ROM

48x/24x/48x CD-RW

3 PCI - 1 AGP

it's a Gateway, I got it on sale (discontinued)

I really want the Video Capture card (to use my computer as a PVR, and transfer files from VHS, put it on my shared drive and burn them to DVD on my room mate's computer)

I figured All-in-Wonder as well it's a graphics card, and a video capture card. Staples has them for $179.99, I didn't really want to pay that much, I guess that's my max, I've been looking around a wee bit. E-bay has them for a dollar :P

[Wookie]

Sadly that card kind of sucks. The AIW part isn't bad, but it's pretty old. I'd be worried about it relative to the newer products.

Look at the TV Wonder, or TV Wonder pro, they're PCI non graphic tuners that will do everything you want and are more new.

Hmmm.. looking around

[Wookie]

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/m...uct_Code=190021

Fantastic card, they ship to Canada, if you ever played games it would be more then sufficiant, it's faster then the plain 9600XT (I think it's 20 to Canada)... I know it's a little more... I'm planning on buying it.

edit: it would cost $26.00 to ship two.. but you're in the east?

$384.00 USD for two

$499.75

$250 each..

bumps your price up a fair chunk and is probably a hassle. but beats the $350 it goes for @ futureshop..

http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/radeon7500aiw/

there is a review from April 2nd 2002. It's pretty much a three year old product. Which is pretty old for a PC comonent, especially spending $150.00 on it. 1/4th of the memory of current mainstream cards..

Comparing the two.. 9600xt vs 7500

9600 has
smartvision
smoothshader
fullstream
Hardware MPEG Encode Assist
1/2 the memory clock
less then half the engine clock
half the pipelines
1/4th of the pixel filtrate
1/4 the geometry rate
no dual vga
no optional YPrPb Out for HDTV
no FM tuner
remote wonder I vs II
no eazylook

http://www.ati.com/companyinfo/glossary/in...html#fullstream = glossary link

[I-Hate-Hulse]

TigerDirect.ca has the same model but is in Canada so you can save some duty there.

Still, I don't know if a 7500 is that great an upgrade. Kinda like moving from a 86 K-Car to a 91 Intrepid. An improvement nonetheless but it's not like moving to a 300C with a Hemi!


I'd at least consider the 9000 AIW. Plus, that remote wonder is awesome.


You should be realistic about results. Video capture is one of the most taxing things to do on your computer. HD speeds and interfaces have a huge bearing in this regard. (even though you have a very good system). Without a fast RAID array, you may find some frames lost here and there. Just so your expectations aren't out of line.

[icarus]

I've had the All-in-Wonder Pro for a few years. Great for video, television, etc. but EA Sports stopped making it compatible with their NHL series. Hopefully this newer one can do that.

[Wookie]

Regarding duty, I called cutoms Canada and they told me their was no duty on electroncis coming from the states. I asked "are you sure" yes they said "really" yes they said, even if it's manufactured in singapore/tiawan/china.. yes they said.

I think you get charged a "brokeridge fee" from UPS or Fedx, but the monarch shipping through US Postal says no brokeridge fee. Interesting because I'm planning on buying all my PC parts through the states now. Call customs and check, I was shocked, and still skeptical.

[Inferno]

I have a TV Wonder PCI and it works pretty good. I dont use the tuner part of if though since I only use it to import video to make DVDs and VCDs.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally posted by I-Hate-Hulse@Sep 3 2004, 01:42 AM
TigerDirect.ca has the same model but is in Canada so you can save some duty there.

Still, I don't know if a 7500 is that great an upgrade. Kinda like moving from a 86 K-Car to a 91 Intrepid. An improvement nonetheless but it's not like moving to a 300C with a Hemi!


I'd at least consider the 9000 AIW. Plus, that remote wonder is awesome.


You should be realistic about results. Video capture is one of the most taxing things to do on your computer. HD speeds and interfaces have a huge bearing in this regard. (even though you have a very good system). Without a fast RAID array, you may find some frames lost here and there. Just so your expectations aren't out of line.

so would it be better to tape to VHS then transfer? I don't know a whole lot about what I'm doing, I'd just like to make life easier

Also I have a rack filled with VHS tapes from hockey games (still not what other have) but I'd like to transfer it to DVD and take up less room.

Since both my TV, and my roommate's are TV/VCR combos, video taping to VHS isn't a hassle whatsoever.

Would it be fair to say that I when I first get it, try PVR, and VHS to tape and compare?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally posted by Maritime Q-Scout@Sep 3 2004, 08:57 AM

Also I have a rack filled with VHS tapes from hockey games (still not what other have) but I'd like to transfer it to DVD and take up less room.

Since both my TV, and my roommate's are TV/VCR combos, video taping to VHS isn't a hassle whatsoever.

Would it be fair to say that I when I first get it, try PVR, and VHS to tape and compare?

Yup, experimentation is the name of the game, as is playing around with different codecs, software and compression rates.

Keep in mind that with a resolution of only 480 lines, NTSC pictures can look pretty crappy on your average computer monitor that's running at 1028x768 (or more). It'll look better on your TV when you output it through there.

[Wookie]

Originally posted by Maritime Q-Scout@Sep 3 2004, 08:57 AM

so would it be better to tape to VHS then transfer? I don't know a whole lot about what I'm doing, I'd just like to make life easier

No..

Streaming the VHS tape to your PC then putting it onto a DVD is going to be worse quality then a recording with a TV wonder (best buy this weekend $99.00) or with a newer AIW card.

You can record in mpg4 DVD qulaity resolutions with those cards and even the 7500. your computer is decent enough to handle it.

But recording onto VHS proir to recording on PC when you can eleminte the VHS tape is a waste of time and a downgrade of quality.

Keep that quality for backing up crappy old tapes..

[BlackArcher101]

Not to mention that you will probably need more hard drive space if you plan on taking an entire VHS tape and digitize it.

I don't think your computer is up to snuff for digitizing video. You'll find that it will pause and stutter a lot because of dropped frames.

[Wookie]

Originally posted by BlackArcher101@Sep 3 2004, 12:19 PM
Not to mention that you will probably need more hard drive space if you plan on taking an entire VHS tape and digitize it.

I don't think your computer is up to snuff for digitizing video. You'll find that it will pause and stutter a lot because of dropped frames.

BAH!

That computer should be fine for doing any video stuff.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally posted by Wookie@Sep 3 2004, 05:19 PM
BAH!

That computer should be fine for doing any video stuff.

Mine is similar to his, but with 1 GB of ram. It's not up to par for doing any digitizing. I need a faster data transfer rate on my hard drive and perhaps a firewire connection for video.

[Wookie]

Originally posted by BlackArcher101+Sep 3 2004, 03:30 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (BlackArcher101 @ Sep 3 2004, 03:30 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Wookie@Sep 3 2004, 05:19 PM
BAH!

That computer should be fine for doing any video stuff.

Mine is similar to his, but with 1 GB of ram. It's not up to par for doing any digitizing. I need a faster data transfer rate on my hard drive and perhaps a firewire connection for video. [/b][/quote]
Seriously?

I had 512, and both a 1700xp and 2400xp and a crappy A7V133 MB (133 fsb) and a K7S5A board (crappy 266) and it worked fine. Miniumal frame loss, lag, choppyness

a 2.6 800FSB 512 should do just fine.. Seriously.. go to any vid forum and people will think it's a decent system

Think about the systems that original 7500 AIW was built to run on.. 3 years ago... His sytem would SLAY those..

[browna]

Ok.
I'm looking to get a new comp..I had a Vaio, until the system kep crashing...with the recovery on a partiton of the hard drive, when the comp wouldn't boot in any mode, I returned it.

What are the minimum requirements for transfering VHS onto DVD? Or, maybe what is my best bet for a system like I've listed below.

Hp makes a standalone VHS to DVD that needs no comp (but can be attached to one for basic editing before burning) that I have been looking at.

Save that, what should I be looking for?

I prefer Pentium, would like Firewire for fast transfer...but for decent speed and video (just copying some VHS and as I have a DV capable video camera I may want to do basic video edit.

Past that, what should I be looking for? And where should i be looking?

[Wookie]

Originally posted by browna@Sep 3 2004, 07:29 PM
Ok.
I'm looking to get a new comp..I had a Vaio, until the system kep crashing...with the recovery on a partiton of the hard drive, when the comp wouldn't boot in any mode, I returned it.

What are the minimum requirements for transfering VHS onto DVD? Or, maybe what is my best bet for a system like I've listed below.

Hp makes a standalone VHS to DVD that needs no comp (but can be attached to one for basic editing before burning) that I have been looking at.

Save that, what should I be looking for?

I prefer Pentium, would like Firewire for fast transfer...but for decent speed and video (just copying some VHS and as I have a DV capable video camera I may want to do basic video edit.

Past that, what should I be looking for? And where should i be looking?

Hmmm.. Let me make some coffee!

Okay for starters I'm an AMD fan.

Right now, overall my understanding for CPU (only) intensive applications such as video encoding and ripping and compiling Intel's fastest chip's are on par, or slightly better then AMD.

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040601/...art_concept.gif

Red and green are athlon.
Blue is intel

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040601/...art_studio9.gif

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040601/.../chart_divx.gif

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040601/.../chart_xvid.gif

Two of the Audios Athlon wins, the benchmarking apps go both ways, and in most of the games the Athlon CPU's trounce the INTEL ones

Now any difference between all the victories of one CPU over the other that are marginal show you how close some comparisons are. But price/performance ratio the AMD CPU's will win.

Basically any sytem you want to buy for video stuff is Processor/Ram/Motherboard then Hard drive fianlly video card.

You'll want lots of space. Which isn't such a big deal anymore because 160GB HDD's are $150.00 or less. Make sure it's a 7200 RPM and has 8mb cache. When shopping or reading you may hear SATA or PATA or NCQ (native command query) those are all beneficial technologies, however they have yet to offer any substatial improvments in HDD speed. the ATA and SATA would help except the drive can only turn 7200 or 10,000 RPM's so the theoretical bandwidth that these interfaces can use isn't even able to be used by the speed of the drive. Next the NCQ is going to be a good technology, yet only 1 motherboard supports it.

RAM get 1024 MB's. It's not that expensive, and it's a great start.

Video card, well read above about what people have said with the video capture cards or Video All in wonder cards that are APG cards and capture cards in one. I really like the ATI AIW cards.

Your biggest delimma should be the CPU Motherboard combo.

I'd say go AMD. Which leads to two choices. 754 platform, or 939.

The 754 platform is over a year old and AMD's first 64 bit desktop series. The 939 is the next version.

don't ask why would I need 64 bit when it's not available because it's an added bonus. The CPU's outperform their INTEL equivalents (IMO, and others) at 32 bit functionality and are cheaper, before the 64 bit comes into play.

The CPU uses an integrated memory controller called hypertransport. http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/200...lon_64-10.html which has come a long way since that article from last year. The 754's give you:

1600MHz system bus w/ HyperTransport™ technology
- up to 9.6GB/sec total processor-to-system bandwidth

and the 939:
2000MHz system bus w/ HyperTransport™ technology
Up to 14.4 GB/s

VS the FSB of 800 with the intel.. althought their new CPU might be higher.. going to look. Nope their $1249.00 top of the line CPU is 800FSB.

The memory for 754 is single channel which means you can use 1/2/3/4 sticks of varying sizes.

The memory for 939 is dual channel which means you can use /2/4 sticks of equal sizes (or maybe just one alone.. not really sure I've never owned a dual channel system)

Honestly, you'll get decent performance out of both. But what I really like is the upgrade path for 754 and 939.

Right now 754 you can get a sempron 3100 athlon 2800, 3000, 3200, 3400, 3700+ 64 bit CPU's. as well as rumors of 3900, 4000, and 4100 or 4200. So buying the cheapest one gives you a great CPU with 64 bit upgradability path and a long line of CPU's to upgrade too.

What's pretty sweet is the 939's currently supported by the 3500 3800 and the Athlon FX-51 FX-53 and more coming as well as the 939 sempron which is a value CPU (same with the 754) they have the 64 bit disabled. and half the cache.. Anyway what's exciting is the new Motherboards coming out are said to liekly support the Dual-core CPU's that will be coming out within a year by AMD.

A dual core is pretty much a dual cpu in one. Which would be pretty sweet, and would rock any benchmark...

Okay, I could go on forever. IMO AMD 939 is the best way to go if you have the cash.

followed by amd 754

followed by Intel P4's 3.0+ CPU's

followed by Athlon XP's.

Anyone feel free to correct any of my mistakes because I'm not an expert these are just the conclusions I've drawn from reading stuff online and being a dork..

Okay, I noticed I forgot a lot of your questions.

Firewire - just make sure it's an accesory on your motherboard. I'ts good for hooking up digital cameras. as for going vhs to PC you'd use a video in connection that came with the TV tuner, vga, composite... etc..

A machine that does VHS to DVD as a signle unit (asking wrong person) I have no experience with those..

[Wookie]

Forgot to add, if you want a PC for doing something specific get a build done from a white-box vendor...

memoryexpress.. oemdepot or somewhere like that.

Buying a package from F/S, Dell, staples usually gives you a basic we'll do everything okay, but if you want soemthing speicfic done well you'll find out why we were able to give you this PC for so cheap, and good luck upgrading me for cheap out of the store without voiding your warranty.