ATI AIW 7500 vs 8500DV??? Worth the Upgrade? Advice Needed ASAP

[scarfase99]

Ok, so i RECENTLY purchased that ATI All In Wonder 7500 from Amazon for $120, but i got a friend selling his ATI AIW 8500DV 64mb Card for like $30 more, so what i'm asking is, Which Card is Better for HTPC Purchases?

Is it worth the money to upgrade? Benefits/Disadvantages?

I do NOT have an HDTV, so im not gonna get the dongle. This is for my 32" Toshiba Television in my living room.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Saist]

um, there shouldn't be too much reason to upgrade. 8500 DV just has a slightly more powerful Graphics core, but if your using this for a TVputer, you probably won't see any difference in what you do.

You have a card now for $120. Do you really want to spend another $150 to upgrade that?

If I was you, I'd wait for ATi to disclose pricing for a Radeon 9000 AIW and Radeon 9500 AIW. A 9000 AIW will probably cost around $120 street price (www.pricewatch.com), while a 9500 AIW will probably drop somewhere in the $250-$300 price range, maybe less.

Both will outpower the 8500 DV (which is castrated I think in memory speed, I'm not too certain), one of them by far, the other not so much (But at a lowerprice than what your friend is selling for).

Just wait for ATi to finish getting their release notes together. Who knows, you might be able to pick up a 128meg Radeon 9000 AIW if you wait a couple of months.

 

[rbV5]

The 8500dv has more than a slightly more powerful Core, and will certainly easily outperform an AIW 7500 on a powerful rig. On your HTPC system however, you are CPU limited so the difference may not be that great. It has a larger feature set than the 7500 as well, if you use firewire, it may make sense...and you could likely get your money back out of the 7500 now, so its not a great loss.

I think that implying that an AIW 9000 will outperform a 8500dv is a bit premature seeing how a 9000 version hasn't been announced, and the 8500dv performs around the level of a 9000Pro or better right now. A 9500 vesion has not been announce either btw.

 

[scarfase99]

still haven't gotten a definitive answer....i will not be using the breakout box OR the Firewire.

ALL I Want this for is TIVO, Channel Surfing, DVD, DIVX. So from what i'm hearing it's not worth the extra money?

 

[rbV5]

ALL I Want this for is TIVO, Channel Surfing, DVD, DIVX. So from what i'm hearing it's not worth the extra money?

The only advantage would be gaming performance (not on your list) The multimedia features you list are nearly identical save the silicon tuner on the 8500dv vs the analog tuner on the 7500 (they have the same functionality, the 8500 tuner produces more heat, but has perhaps faster channel tuning) So the definative answer would be, No, not worth the extra money.

btw, you'll be using the breakout box for TIVO with either card.

 

[Saist]

8500DV = Mature drivers

9000 Pro- Month old drivers

 

[scarfase99]

Wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to reply. Your opinions have been very helpful

btw, i decided to save my money & keep my 7500!