ati 8500 vs 8500dv?

[jerets]

can anyone explain to me the differences between the two? i was thinking about bying the Ati 8500 128mb but then wasn'tsure after i saw the 8500dv...?
thanks
jerets

[ofbarea]

You must be talking about the ATI all in wonder 8500DV.



ATI has 3 8500 video cards:

1. Radeon 8500. Video card only. No video capture.
2. All-in-wonder 8500. Video card+tv+video capture
3. All-in-wonder 8500dv. Video card+tv+video capture+firewire port

Otto.

[jerets]

whats the difference between these two:

2. All-in-wonder 8500. Video card+tv+video capture
3. All-in-wonder 8500dv. Video card+tv+video capture+firewire port

as far as captures and gaming? and how can you tell the difference between the 8500 that does capture and the one that doesn't when your buying it?

Thanks
jerets

[ofbarea]

The all-in-wonder 8500dv has a firewire port. Firewire is also know as IEEE 1394 and is used for video transfer or for connecting high speed stuff like two PC's, fast external hard disk, DVD drive, burner or high end sacnners, to name some. It works like a high speed USB port, but this one is optimized for point to point data transfers, whereas USB is not.

For games the all-in-wonder version of the card is not recommended because it uses a slower chip to reduce the overall cost of the card. So if games are your thing, choose the plain Radeon 8500 (or get the Radeon 9500 Pro ). If you want TV or video capture in your PC go for the all-in-wonder 9500 and if you have a digital video camera go for the 8500dv for digital captures.

Also Creative Audigy sound cards have a firewire port, so if you have one of those you will not need the 8500dv.

[jerets]

im not sure i need a firewire port. the only thing ill be using my card for (as far as captures go) is for tv purposes. i have my satellite receiver connected through s-video (satellite is supposed to be a digital signal). the card im currently using is a PCI 16mb AIW Rage 128 card. Its been good over the years but can't capture much and can't play many newer games. i am into both games and capturing... im trying to find a happy medium. i capture in vdub (w/ huffy codec and uncompressed audio) and seem to get great results now... im hoping to decide on a card that will improve my abilities for capturing that much further (yet also keeping up w/ the newer games).

you all seem very knowledgeable here. if you point me in the right direction and give some points why id be better off w/ one card than another, id greatly appreciate it... but as of know its all a little confusing. is their a radeon 8500 that captures? what is the advantages of 8500dv? and theres also a 8500 that does not capture (how can i tell it from the one that can when im in the store)?

thanks guys. you've all been a great help. i really appreciate the responses
jerets

[ofbarea]

The 8500 that captures is the all-in-wonder 8500 (without the dv). That's the one you should get if your are into ATI stuff. Remember to look at the reviews of this card before buying it.

I thing you do not seems to be needing the all-in-wonder 8500dv.

[sherman01]

I think there is not much $ diff between AIW 8500 with or without DV. Without the DV you can to get the AIW 7500 cheaper. Lesser graphics for gaming, but video encoder the same (per another poster here). The DV version is definitely more available. If you get the AIW 8500DV just a few comments:

• 1) Load drivers and MMC from ATI site and not out of the box.
  2) If getting retail box, find one with latest Ulead VideoStudio 6 instead of version 5.
  3) I had to disable DV switch on graphics card because it interfered with NIC (Network IRQ), I have only heard of this problem with Dell pc’s. If I get a Firewire device I will call Dell support.
  4) May be disappointed with TV reception (poor source signal, or AGP slot closer to RF interference hardware inside pc case, or bad tuner, etc...). If TV is only consideration, a pci slot device may be better. The AIW's do much more.

If you are determined to gat an ATI then www.rage3d.com is a forum with several ATI specific topics. Can get additional info there.

[jerets]

thanks guy for the replys! lots of helpful info

On ATIs site these are the 8500 models that they had listed:

ALL IN WONDER RADEON 8500
ALL IN WONDER RADEON 8500DV
RADEON 8500LE 64MB

When you guys were talking about the 8500 that wouldn't do tv capture were you refering to the 8500LE?

Thanks guys
jerets

[Mattlock]

Jerets,

I am in the same boat...looking for a good combination gaming and capture card..


Have you decided yet?

[ya_jai]

If you like game and also some benefit from TV capture then I'd recommend All in wonder 8500 - 128 MB all the way. I believe that they mentioned to RADEON 8500 - 128 MB not LE with 64 MB one.

RADEON 8500 LE - 64 MB around $100.00
RADEON 8500 - 128 MB up to $200
RADEON AIW 8500 DV - 64 MB around $150-170
RADEON AIW 8500 (without DV) - 128 MB around $250-300

RADEON AIW 7500 - 64 MB around $99-150 different chip for video card but same for capture compare to 8500DV.

You don't have to worry about DV (firewire port) becuz you can by an add-on firewire port card for around $20.

I, myself use AIW 8500DV becuz I don't play games that much so I can compromise between graphic and capture.

To be an ATI user you need to read a lot especially from rage3d becuz it's kind of tricky when install All in wonder card and also complatible issue with your mobo, sound card, nic card, etc............

[jerets]

wow. thanks ya_jai for the very helpful reply! that really cleared things up for me ! i really appreciate it.

Mattlock, im sold on the AIW 8500 (w/o dv) 128mb. A little pricey, but it'll be nice to have the best of both worlds and not have to replace cards for a few more years. i think it sounds like a sweet investment for what im looking to do good luck man.

Thanks guys for all the helpful replies. im going to look into how compatible it'll be w/ my system. if anyone knows anything that might cause me some trouble let me know, id really appreciate it.

1.4Ghz AMD
Windows XP SP1
512mb PCI 133 memory
Gigabyte Mother board w/ VIA
SoundBlaster sound card

Thanks guys for all the helpful replies
its greatly appreciated =)
thanks again
jerets

[SCM]

I personally would say not to invest another 100 to 130$ for an extra 64mb, expecially considering, for performance factors, 128mb boards are usually SLOWER than 64mb boards.

The games still don´t use 128mb textures, and since the boards have more memory to manage, they usually are a bit slower.