Getting specs to build a computer. So far I have decided Intel 830 CPU
and Asus P5 Mboard. Taking into account what I can afford, I am looking
at two video card/tv tuner options below:

(a)One friend says to get the ATI 9600 All in Wonder card.

(b)Another says to get a Geforce 256mb 6600 video card and Leateck tv
tuner.

Couple of questions:

1 - Is having an all in one card better than having a separate video
card and tv tuner?

2 - Ati vs Geforce. If I was to go with a separate video card and tv
tuner versus the All in One, is an ATI or Geforce video card better
(and why).

Thank you.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Getting specs to build a computer. So far I have decided Intel 830 CPU
> and Asus P5 Mboard. Taking into account what I can afford, I am looking
> at two video card/tv tuner options below:
>
> (a)One friend says to get the ATI 9600 All in Wonder card.
>
> (b)Another says to get a Geforce 256mb 6600 video card and Leateck tv
> tuner.
>
> Couple of questions:
>
> 1 - Is having an all in one card better than having a separate video
> card and tv tuner?
>
> 2 - Ati vs Geforce. If I was to go with a separate video card and tv
> tuner versus the All in One, is an ATI or Geforce video card better
> (and why).
>
> Thank you.

Go for the Geforce and separate tuner card. That Geforce is a much better
card than the 9600 for gaming. If you get an All-in-Wonder the drivers and
software are nothing but hastle. If you lose the driver disc then future
installs of software are a problem as some components insist on you putting
the original driver disc in the drive despite the fact that you clearly have
an All-in-Wonder and the drivers should be able to detect it. I have a 9700
and its a decent card but my next one will be Nvidia for sure. ATI have a
shitty idea of what comprises good software. They are trying to get their
customers to use a new Control Panel for the drivers that uses around a
100mb of memory. ATI did have the edge of Nvidia when Nvidia produced the
very poor FX range but since then Nvidia are back on top with better cards
and simpler drivers that do all you need.

On 11 Dec 2005 19:45:14 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Getting specs to build a computer. So far I have decided Intel 830 CPU
>and Asus P5 Mboard. Taking into account what I can afford, I am looking
>at two video card/tv tuner options below:
>
>(a)One friend says to get the ATI 9600 All in Wonder card.
>
>(b)Another says to get a Geforce 256mb 6600 video card and Leateck tv
>tuner.
>
>Couple of questions:
>
>1 - Is having an all in one card better than having a separate video
>card and tv tuner?

All-in-one card keeps traffic off the PCI bus, otherwise
it's not any better and usually the more important factors
are the options you have in choosing a different card with a
software interface and features you like (I have a couple
AIW and seldom use their TV /capture due to disliking the
software). Plus, with the separate PCI tuner/capture card
you have it available for reuse if/when you want to upgrade
the video card again.


>
>2 - Ati vs Geforce. If I was to go with a separate video card and tv
>tuner versus the All in One, is an ATI or Geforce video card better
>(and why).

Both have offerings with reasonable performance at any given
price point, though I tend to like nVidia drivers more and
woud even take a 5-10% performance hit for this reason.

Depends on the budget though, find a target budget for the
card and seek some benchmarks to find out what's available
in that price range. 6600 cards (DDR2 or GT models) are both
attractive options in the mid-low range price point and
considering what you'd listed, are problem what I'd go for,
unless there will be no gaming needed and then you might
just get cheapest alternative with suitable features.

I agree with the other posters about Ati drivers. I have a Radeon 9800
Pro and it has NEVER worked in Linux with me for anything other than
generic drivers, despite my best efforts to get hardware acceleration.

I feel betrayed as an Ati customer. The next graphics card I get will
be an Nvidia one.

As an example, let's compare the the ATI RADEON 9600 XT against the
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra. The ATI takes up less space in the system case,
produces less heat and noise and requires no additional power.

The GeForce FX 5700 Ultra may be interesting to people who are not much
into gaming as well as for those who want to have a graphics card with
two DVI-I outputs. If you love NVIDIA, you may find the GeForce FX 5700
Ultra a good card for $200.

Gary Hendricks
http://www.build-your-own-computers.com
Learn to build your very own desktop PC!

On 12 Dec 2005 18:17:06 -0800, "Gary Hendricks"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>As an example, let's compare the the ATI RADEON 9600 XT against the
>GeForce FX 5700 Ultra. The ATI takes up less space in the system case,
>produces less heat and noise and requires no additional power.
>
>The GeForce FX 5700 Ultra may be interesting to people who are not much
>into gaming as well as for those who want to have a graphics card with
>two DVI-I outputs. If you love NVIDIA, you may find the GeForce FX 5700
>Ultra a good card for $200.


FX5700 Ultra, unlike a regular 5700, is a bit long for
compatiblility with many systems, most often those with
limited space due to mATX format motherboards, or in some
small OEM cases.

That doesn't make it an issue for most people, it isn't that
hard to fit nor particularly power-hungry compared to more
modern cards, but only a gamer would choose one (back when
it was a current-generation card, or even today), a there
are less expensive cards with dual DVI now.

Fast forwarding to today, a 6600GT is under $140 and
faster, as well as some ATI cards. If you love nVidia,
you'll choose one of their modern cards or an older one for
lower cost, not an older one at a (now) disproportinately
high $200 price... same goes for past-generation ATI cards.