ATI has recently released a slew of PCI Express cards and this baby is one wonder of a card. Traditionally, ATI All-In-Wonder cards combine all the features you need to enjoy TV and video games on your PC. Lets see what features it has and what it is good for. Graphics Processor and Memory If youre looking for a graphics card, the most important thing you look out for is the graphics processor. How does the X600 Pro stack up when it comes to the graphics processor? Well, the card itself comes equipped with a ATI graphics processor clocked at 400MHz and with 256MB of DDR memory. That is plenty for playing the latest games and running the latest video applications. Design and Construction In terms of design and construction, this graphics board is a looker. If youre seen boards from ATI (or the latest graphics cards for that matter), youll realize that many of them come with nice shades of blue or red and intentionally so. It is to attract the attention of the consumer and the hardcore gamer and they do a good job of it. The ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro looks really cool and its worth a look at if you want a pretty board. Bundled Software and Accessories If you are a stickler for good software in graphics cards, then you wont be disappointed with the ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro. It comes with Pinnacle Studio and Meditator 7.0 and also some TV recording software which is great for capturing your local TV programs and enjoying TV digitally on your computer. Ive always liked All-In-Wonder cards in the sense that they allow this TV recording feature, but in terms of price you have to pay more. However, if TV recording is a feature youre dying to have, then its worth paying the money for. Overclocking Features If your want to overclock the card, there are many resources out there on the Internet to teach you how to do it. I, for one, do not really like to go and overclock a nice graphics board from ATI (or any other brand for that matter). But the choice is yours. If you want to squeeze every bit of performance out of your board, then overclocking is a good way to go. Just dont burn your board while doing it. Graphics Performance How does the ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro perform? Well, a quick scan of the Internet reveals that the card gives great scores on all gaming benchmarks. But it is not the drop dead type of card that will give you the highest frame rates. However, given the ice performance for its price, its a good value card to buy. Shortcomings If youre thinking if this card has shortcomings well, one of them is certainly the average TV quality. Apparently, the programs captured by the card are reported to be of merely average quality compared to higher end cards. So if you bought the card for TV recording as the main purpose then maybe you should reconsider. Conclusion Overall, the ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro is a great graphics card and gives decent TV recording capabilities. If you want super high end graphics performance, this is not the card to get. But if you want a decent 3D card for general gaming and video, then you should certainly consider it. |
