Hercules 3D Prophet All-In-Wonder 9000 PRO

And there is one video card that is synonymous with giving users this ability at a fraction of the cost of professional versions – the All in Wonder series from ATI.

Laugh if you will, but not everybody wants a graphic card only to play games with. Yes, it’s a horrific thought, but apparently certain IT consumers would also like to get involved in video editing, DVD playback and other assorted video tomfoolery. And there is one video card that is synonymous with giving users this ability at a fraction of the cost of professional versions – the All in Wonder series from ATI.
 
While it’s a shame that the first of the new AIWs doesn’t use the high end RADEON 9700 PRO chipset, the move to the medium range RADEON 9000 chipset makes total sense from a purely business standpoint, as this card isn’t targeted at the frame rate whores. And besides, the RADEON 9000 is proving to be a worthy opponent to NVIDIA’s GeForce 4 MX series, offering enough speed to play most games well without having to pay upwards of $500. However, for those of you who demand the ultimate in performance keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming 9700 PRO AIW. We’ve already reviewed the RADEON 9000, so this review is a look at the additional features found on the AIW version.
 
When it comes to features, you can’t ask for much more than those you’ll find on this wonder card. Most important of all is the new Theatre 200 chip, which offers higher quality video out and DVD playback than the previous version. There’s also an analogue Philips TV tuner on board, the quality of which is fairly good, but not quite as high as Leadtek’s standalone offering. The list of connections present on this card is simply overwhelming: composite video, stereo audio and S-Video (all in both input and output form), DVI-I, and a DVI-I to VGA adaptor.

If you’re after a video card that does more than just pump polygons on to the screen, you’d be hard pressed to find a rival to this product. Expect it to cost you though, over $600 to be precise… but you certainly get what you pay for.