Upgrade from 9500?

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whatsmydingo

New Member
I have a radeon 9500 right now. I am looking at buying an ati AIW 9600XT. One friend tells me that that is a good upgrade; that there'll be a noticable difference. Tonight my other friend tells me that it's not really much of an upgrade, something about "deeper pipes" in the 9500. I want a new video card like this because of the AIW part. I want to be able to put some of my old vhs movies onto dvd, and from research I've done they say a card like this ought to do the trick good.

So is there a different card that I should look at? This new card is going to cost me $189, so if anyone knows of one that is actually better than my 9500 and has TV in like this AIW card does, and is about the same price (or lower =P) that'd be well appreciated.
 
Blue

Blue

<b>VIP Member</b>
Tonight my other friend tells me that it's not really much of an upgrade, something about "deeper pipes" in the 9500.
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You should listen to this friend :).

It's not usualy a good idea to spend the money if the performance difference is Negligible. but if your really in need of a particuler feature then by all means go for it. but as a good upgrade? I dont think spending the money is worth it.
 
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whatsmydingo

New Member
Exactly. If I'm going to spend the money (especially that much) I would like a nice performance boost. I really would like something like that for the vhs -> dvd stuff. Is my 9500 good enough, and if so, is there another way to get the vhs capture onto my computer without this video card?
 
Praetor

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
The top one is better but only because it has more input features :) MOst people will prolly use the bottom one :)
I am looking at buying an ati AIW 9600XT. One friend tells me that that is a good upgrade; that there'll be a noticable difference. Tonight my other friend tells me that it's not really much of an upgrade, something about "deeper pipes" in the 9500.
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1. The deeper pipes only exist on the 9500Pro
2. The money you spend on a AIW 9600XT you can get the TV card and almost 6800 (for sure a 6600GT)
 
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4W4K3

VIP Member
what type of 9500 do you have? the ones with L-shaped memory are supposed to be better than a 9600card overclocking wise. I'd test it out b4 u go and buy a new one, you might have a pretty awesome card, at lest worth using in another rig. i never thought AIW cards were worth it, do what Praetor suggested...6800 is awesome.
 
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whatsmydingo

New Member
Just a plain old radeon 9500. My plan is to spend the least I can. If I can suffice with my current card and just get a ~$30 tv input card that seems like a whole lot better of an idea to me. That's the current plan, too. I just want to know what the *best* option would be, witht he given constraints.
 
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4W4K3

VIP Member
whatsmydingo said:
Just a plain old radeon 9500. My plan is to spend the least I can. If I can suffice with my current card and just get a ~$30 tv input card that seems like a whole lot better of an idea to me. That's the current plan, too. I just want to know what the *best* option would be, witht he given constraints.
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oh, i thought u were wanting to upgrade. the best choice would be what you said then, just get a card/cable.
 
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whatsmydingo

New Member
=P

But what card, exactly? I've found a few others. The problem is I don't know what is good in these things. I want something to be able to capture "top" quality video @ 720x480
 
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whatsmydingo

New Member
Lol

Ok so lets say I have some old movies on VHS and I want to copy them to DVD. Will this card get the job done good?

KWORLD PCI TV Tuner, Video Capture Card, REMOTE, Model "VS-TV878RF" -RETAIL
Video/Audio Decoder: Conexant 878A
TV Tuner: Power VCR
Interface: PCI
Ports In: CATV In+S-Video In+Composite In+Remote Receiver In
Ports Out: Audio Out
Remote Control: Remote control
Accessories: Remote Control, Remote Receiver, 2 Cables, Driver CD
Features: High-quality Real-Time MPEG 4/2 & 1 Encoding, Schedule- Record in PC Power Off mode, Support PIP (picture in picture), One for live and the other for captured program, Burn into DVD, VCD, SVCD

I can convert it to mpg-2 and all that jazz for dvd stuff, my only problem is I don't know what's good for getting it onto the computer in the first place.
 
Praetor

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
I can convert it to mpg-2 and all that jazz for dvd stuff, my only problem is I don't know what's good for getting it onto the computer in the first place.
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Since the source is VHS its not horribly important what you use and the only really stable resolution you can nail is 352x240 (or whatever it is for PAL people) :) So yeah that card should be good
 
Praetor

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
But that's so small
There's no way to get a nice 720x480?
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Yes but whats the point of running 720x480 (which you can) when the source is VHS? Like i mean, you CAN do it and it CAN be half-decent BUT its a bit of work to do it PROPERLY :) Now if its a personal collection it might not be worth that much effort but if you're selling it or something thats a different story.

Dont forget that DVDs can (and have) been made on 352x240
 
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whatsmydingo

New Member
But that's so tiny!!!
It's a personal collect, yes, but I'd still like good quality. Even the the source is VHS I want to make as close to "dvd-quality" as I can. That way I don't have to buy the "real" dvd, I can make my own from my own vhs cassette.

I'm getting a SATA 80GB hard drive just for this.
when you said "(which you can)" did you mean it's possible or that I can with that card? =P
 
Praetor

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
when you said "(which you can)" did you mean it's possible or that I can with that card? =P
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What i meant was "it is possible (i think) but it might not be worth the extra work" :) If it IS worth the extra work then go for it :) Since you're watching it on a TV then the insane resolution isnt an absolute requirement etc :)
 
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whatsmydingo

New Member
Ah. Well, from what I remember tv resolution is different (projection or something) so the smaller resolution won't look blurry or pixelated. But my roommate's dvd player won't play burned dvds, so I'd have to watch them on my computer, which is at 1280x1024, so 720x480 is pretty nice for that.

But if you say it's possible then I'll go for it. Thanks for the help (and for putting up with me =P)
 
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