ATI All-in-Wonder X1900

ATI has just launched the All-in-Wonder card X1900 based on the new R580 chip.

But, as expected, core and memory clock speeds aren't as fast as with the top of the range X1900 XTX.

The core drops 150MHz down to 500MHz, while the effective memory speed sits at 960MHz compared to the X1900 XTX's 1,550MHz.

ATI has also halved the on-board memory to 256MB.

Despite this, the number of vertex and pixel pipelines remains at 8 and 48 respectively, which means the X1900 XTX is still a fast card.

In 3Dmark05 it picked up a score of 8,347 while Far Cry ran at 62.2fps (frames per second).

Impressively, these results place it above the X1800 XT in terms of performance.

Although dropping the memory and core clock speeds means it's not as quick as the X1900 XTX, the benefit is it runs far cooler.

As a consequence, the bulky two-PCI slot design is replaced with a standard-sized card.

The TV tuner included is Theatre 200 chip and will receive either standard analogue or digital Freeview broadcasts (click here for details of coverage).

The tuner will also work fine in conjunction Windows Media Center Edition.

However, it's only a single-tuner, so those wanting to record two channels at once will need to purchase a second tuner.

Bundled accessories include a remote control (known as the Remote Wonder Plus), and an external box for hooking up component, S-video and composite connections.

As with previous All-in-Wonder cards, a single DVI output is also provided.

For those after a multimedia graphics card that is also able to handle intensive 3D gaming, the All-in-Wonder X1900 certainly fits the bill.

With slower clock speeds and half the memory of the X1900 XTX, performance obviously takes a hit, but for most gamers it will be perfectly adequate.

What's more, at under £300 it's very reasonably priced.