ATI Brings HDTV to the PC
Minimum Requirements
Here are the minimum requirements as stated on ATi's website. Notice that ATi says that any video card with at least 64 MB of memory and DirectX 9 support will work. We will test that claim later in the article.
| Processor | Intel or AMD at 1.3 GHz or faster |
| RAM | 256 MB |
| Slot | Single PCI Slot |
| Video Card | At least 64 MB and DirectX 9.0 support |
| OS | Windows XP with SP1 |
Testing Conditions
We reviewed the HDTV Wonder on two different test rigs: an Athlon64 home-built system and an AthlonXP 2500+ Shuttle system. We used the Shuttle to test if the card would fit and if the power supply could handle the increased electrical demands.
We tested compatibility with several different video cards. After all, it makes sense to see if you have to buy a new video card to work with the HDTV Wonder. We also wanted to see how the card worked with Nvidia equipment.
On the Shuttle system, the HDTV Wonder barely tucks under the drive tray. You have to either remove or lift up the drive tray as you install the card. There was enough horizontal clearance to coexist with the GeForce Ti4200 and the ATi All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro cards. The power supply, which was upgraded to the Shuttle SilentX 250 watt model, had no problems, but the Shuttle box did get very hot.
Channel reception tests were done in Redlands, California which is about 65 miles east of Los Angeles.
| Test Rig 1 - Homebuilt Athlon64 | |
|---|---|
| Case | Enlight EN-7280 |
| Motherboard | MSI K8T NEO-FIS2R |
| CPU | Athlon64 3000+ |
| RAM | 2 X OCZ 512 MB PC3200 |
| Drive Configuration | TDK DVD+R Burner3 X 7200 RPM Hard Drives (20 GB, 120 GB, 160 GB)No floppy |
| Video Cards | All-In-Wonder 9800 ProWinFastA400 TDH GF6800GeForce Ti4200 |
| OS | Windows XP with SP1 |
| Test Rig 2 - Shuttle 45G | |
|---|---|
| Case | Shuttle 45G |
| Motherboard | Shuttle 45G |
| CPU | AMD Athlon 2500+ (Barton) |
| RAM | 2 X Kingston HyperX 512 MB PC2700 |
| Drive Configuration | TDK DVD Drive2 X 7200 Hard Drives (20 GB and 120 GB)No floppy |
| Video Cards | All-In-Wonder 9800 ProGeForce Ti4200 |
| OS | Windows XP with SP1 |
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Humphrey Cheung was a senior editor at Tom's Hardware, covering a range of topics on computing and consumer electronics. You can find more of his work in many major publications, including CNN and FOX, to name a few.