9800 Pro or AIW?

[cmlipe]

I'm about to sell my ATI 9700 Pro because I want to bump up to the 9800. I was going to get the AIW but I just found out that it doesnt support dual monitors - which I use I was considering just getting the 9800 Pro but I also really wanted the TV tuner on my comp. Is there any way to make the AIW work with dual monitors? If not, does anyone know a good way for me to get a tuner on my comp while keeping the dual monitors? I know ATI does have just a TV tuner but I'm not sure if the quality on that is as good?

Any help is appreciated, thx

 

[druidelder]

Most tv tuners are about the same quality. Almost all, with the exception of ATI, tuner makers use the same chipset. The only difference is which options they have enabled. As long as it is from a manufacturer that uses quality parts, the video quality should be about equal. ATI uses a proprietary chipset, but it is pretty much the same in all of their cards. If I remember correctly, they are still using the same chip that they used in the 7500 AIW, so a seperate ATI tuner card should have the same quality. Another option (though you wouldn't get a perfomance increase) is the 9600AIW pro. It does support dual monitors, has FM, and is clocked higher than the 9600pro (all firsts for the AIW). If you go for a seperate add-in card, people seem to like the hauppage cards. Do a search for "*tv* tuner" and you should get lots of threads with opinions on this.

 

[cmlipe]

If I were to go with the 9600 AIW pro, would I lose quality in the picture as compared to the 9700 pro I am using right now? I know they are both 128 MB but does that mean that the picture quality is the same? Thanks again for your help.

 

[brennan77]

Stick with your 9700, and get a stand alone TV tuner.