[ElvisIncognito]

The 7500 seems to be the de facto standard, but what justification exists for higher/more expensive models? (I'm unconcerned about gaming/3D performance - just want the best PQ on DVDs, DTV/HDTV, etc.


Also, for any given recommendation, please state WHICH XX00... (e.g. 7500, AIW 7500, AIW 7500 VE) and why.


Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[dm]

try the search function.

 

[jkaiser]

"7500 seems to be the de facto standard"


Only because of the price point. You can still find the original Radeons which do just as good of a job as the 7500s. The only possible exception is the 7500 AIW. That one since it has most of the features of the 8500 AIW/DVs at a lower cost and a nice remote.

 

[ElvisIncognito]

Quote:

Originally posted by dm try the search function.

Why do people insist on making such useless and arrogant posts?


For the record, I *HAVE* used the search function, and I've seen a couple of comparisons of one Radeon model vs. another, or some Radeon vs. some other (off-brand non-ATI) Radeon-based cards (there always seem to be issues with these - inability to do custom resolutions, support for catalyst drivers, etc.) so they really weren't very helpful (like dm's post.)


I have not found a detailed comparison of different Radeon models and the different versions within a given model. It seems to me that such a detailed comparison - in one thread - would be a boon to many who are either building an HTPC or who are considering a video card upgrade.


I am simply seeking the comments/recommendations of those who have gone before me and opted for a specific model/version (and their reasons for doing so) in order to make the best possible decision. This type of assistance seems to be what this forum is all about, and those who tell others to simply, "try the search function" (without even suggesting so much as a threadid or a specific search phrase to look for) are wasting their time here.


If anyone knows of a specific post that is particularly useful in the context of comparing different Radeon models and model versions, please LMK - I will attempt to summarize it and include it here so that this thread can serve as a reference for Radeon comparisons. (Of course, if such a thread already exists and is reasonably current, and I've overlooked it, please LMK that as well...)

 

[wormzer]

(I think this is a perfectly appropriate posting, BTW).


So why not the Radeon 9000? I grabbed up a fanless "powered by ATI" sapphire 9000 (non-pro) for $60 and it's great. And won't this future-proof against DirectX9? The 9000 series has DirectX 9 support that I think extends across the 9000 line.


Also, the 8500, 9500, 9700 support the ATI dongle, which might be a selling point for some people... not available on the 7500.


Fanless was a big selling point for me and you have to search hard. I don't know of any others offhand other than the sapphire 9000 (which has been fantastic for me).


I would also worry a bit about buying such an outdated card as the 7500 -- even ATI drops support for older cards at some point, the lack of DirectX9 support is just one example.


matt

 

[pawn]

Quote:

Originally posted by ElvisIncognito Why do people insist on making such useless and arrogant posts? For the record, I *HAVE* used the search function, (SNIP)

I couldn't agree more. If you have nothing to offer, close your browser and enjoy your day. Forums like these are because *most* people in here enjoy talking about this stuff.


I, for one, was quite interested to see what kind of responses you'd get. Forget that dick.

 

[dm]

I don't think I am being a "dick". However, I will acknowledge that the search function is currently disabled due to server load.


One could search for Mike Parker's numerious posts where he discusses the picture quality improvements that come as one moves from the 7xxx to 9xxx series due to a measureable reduction in the noise floor of the cards output.

 

[Rop]

I'm much in the same boat: Also trying to decide on a (ATI) video card. Take a look at this link:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic...202/index.html


It's about the 9500, but also has a short overview of the various card types. B.t.w. one of the things mentioned is that the 9000 only has DirectX 8.1 support in hardware.


- Rob -

 

[wormzer]

Ah. I had a feeling. Not a big deal -- I wasn't expecting complete future-proofness for $60... the 9000 also does not allow the dongle, good to note.


matt

 

[Al Sherwood]

Quote:

Originally posted by wormzer (I think this is a perfectly appropriate posting, BTW). So why not the Radeon 9000? I grabbed up a fanless "powered by ATI" sapphire 9000 (non-pro) for $60 and it's great. And won't this future-proof against DirectX9? The 9000 series has DirectX 9 support that I think extends across the 9000 line. Also, the 8500, 9500, 9700 support the ATI dongle, which might be a selling point for some people... not available on the 7500. Fanless was a big selling point for me and you have to search hard. I don't know of any others offhand other than the sapphire 9000 (which has been fantastic for me). I would also worry a bit about buying such an outdated card as the 7500 -- even ATI drops support for older cards at some point, the lack of DirectX9 support is just one example. matt

Which dongle are you referring to?


What is the concern about 'fanless'? I originally had a AIW 7500 with a fan and took it back because I am having problems with the DVI connection, the replacement AIW7500 doesn't have the fan...hmmm


I'd be interested in knowing how why some cards work differently the others when it comes to the DVI output?

 

[ElvisIncognito]

Quote:

Originally posted by dm One could search for Mike Parker's numerious posts where he discusses the picture quality improvements that come as one moves from the 7xxx to 9xxx series due to a measureable reduction in the noise floor of the cards output.

It didn't occur to me to search for Mike Parker's posts. (I didn't know he had made several posts of this nature.) THIS is extremely helpful! Thanks, dm. No hard feelings, I hope.

 

[wormzer]

Fanless is quieter -- and that was one of my criteria for my new case. The smaller video card fans are noisier than the larger fans and are nice to avoid. There are other options of pulling off the stock fan and replacing with a third party cooler, but I liked getting one fanless out of the box.


And the dongle is the ATI HDTV composite outuput dongle that's available separately. It allows 1080i out to a DTV set with non-copyright-protected sources, 480p with protected sources (DVD movies and such).


matt

 

[DFA]

I modified my 9000Pro with a Zalman Fan Mate to slow and quiet it down. I do not believe full fan speed is necessary. A pain to do though because of the 2-pin original smaller plug and the larger standard 3-pin on Fan Mate. Stuck the FanMate to the back of the card with velcro.


Planning on upgrading to a 9500 in the future and will fan mod again with FanMate and possibly aftermarket more efficient heat sink. Though, giving up a PCI slot for any GPU cooling scheme is not an alternative that I am willing to accept.


I use the DVI output to DVI input on DLP. Waiting on MyHD to produce DVI version. Even though planning to upgrade, I have no issues with the 9000 other than future support for DX9. This may be sufficient reason for choosing a higher version than the 9000 even though the benefit and usage of DX9 is yet to come.


Dongle issues, though not one of my concerns, is another consideration. I've seen a lot of traffic about ATI dongles and card versions.


It's always nice to be ready and have the extra horsepower. Also, the spouse frowns on turnarounds that occur too soon!


I wish someone would run a poll to see how the numbers fall for all the various ATI cards and sub-variations ie, 9000, 9000Pro, etc. This would not mean much technically, but would show where the mass (or lack of it) is.


DFA

 

[Neuner]

Quote:

Originally posted by dm I don't think I am being a "dick". However, I will acknowledge that the search function is currently disabled due to server load. One could search for Mike Parker's numerious posts where he discusses the picture quality improvements that come as one moves from the 7xxx to 9xxx series due to a measureable reduction in the noise floor of the cards output.

Now this would have been a much better post than 'use the search function'. Why didn't you do this the first time?

 

[RichB]

For DVD playback, I think the 9000 Pro looked better than the 7500.


I cannot see any noticeable improvement using the 9700 Pro.


The 9700Pro was unusable without the Zalman fan-less heat sink. The fan was ridiculous.


Best buy, 9000Pro with PC Power and Cooling Video cooler ($15). This fan is practically noiseless. I did not think it would handle the 9700 pro so I went with the Zahlman.


Good luck,


Rich

 

[Nich]

I have a Radeon 7500 in my HTPC, and a 9000 in my normal computer.

Wouldn't I be better off switching them? There must be something better

with the 9000...right?


Nicholas

 

[dm]

ohhhh alright, here is the post after using the search function:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...8&pagenumber=3


look for mike parker post on the third page.

 

[Ricardo Cruz]

After EXTENSIVELY comparing two original, built by ATI, Radeons, against a Gigabyte 7500, a PowerColor 9000 and a Sapphire 9000 on an 8" CRT:


the original Radeons seemed slightly worse than the newer ones, with slightly (if any) inferior "resolution" and a bit more noise.


the last three cards looked almost exactly the same. The Powercolor had a "fuzzier" Win display, and it's overlay was perhaps slightly worse than the Gigabyte and Powercolor. It seemed to resolve less detail and have less saturated colors. 3 people that did this comparison were never sure about this, though, since we honestly couldn't pinpoint the differences.


We saw NO difference between the Gigabyte and the Sapphire, however, so they came out on top. Note that MParker and other forum members believe the 9xxx series to perform better than previous versions, but we simply could not tell.


Note that ANY 9000 (not Pro) should not have any fans, whilst the 7500 usually have a fan.


Drivers, etc, were not a problem with either card.


Tests were done using Catalysts 2.3, Cinemaster 4.0 and PowerDVD XP (I only have one Sonic registration) with 5 different PCs running.

 

[petermwilson]

Hi,

If i owned an ati store i could give comparisons of all there cards but i don't so i can't. If this is truly a HOME THEATRE PC QUESTION and overall cost is an issue then the method of connecting the pc to the HOME THEATRE will come into the equation.

it might be less so if you have a front pj but if you have a hdtv an 8500 with a $30 dongle might be less expensive than a 7500 with a $200 transcoder. the advantage of a transcoder is that hdcp is not a factor and you can use an a/b switcher to go from the hdtv to the monitor.


with the dongle you must be connected directly to the vid card but i use it with the holo and find it locks tighter rezes


peter m.

 

[boudoir]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ricardo Cruz Note that ANY 9000 (not Pro) should not have any fans, whilst the 7500 usually have a fan.

What about the new 9700TX? It's half the price of the Pro. It seems the way to go to me.