Digital Trends

ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT

May 10th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Setup and Testing

Setting up the All-In-Wonder 9600XT is not a very complicated process, but it does take some time to complete successfully. Instead of having a single large installation program which installs all of the features, ATI chooses to have multiple programs installed individually, albeit under the same installation program. Installation went smooth for us with no compatibility issues of any kind. Once we installed the software, we rebooted and were good to go.

Just like the previous versions of the All-In-One series graphics adapters, ATI includes a special adapter which has all of your video inputs and outputs built-in. The adapter plugs into a special port on the video card and then screws down for a secure connection. The adapter provides connections for two VGA outputs (for dual display capability), coaxial (for your cable TV), S-Video, RCA (composite), sound, and SPDIF digital optical. If you want to use the FM radio function, you will need to use the audio out on this adapter and plug it into the line-in on your sound card. There is no native DVI output with this card and this came as a big surprise. And as we mentioned in the introduction of this review, there is no HDTV support included with this card, but you can purchase an HDTV dongle for around $30 on ATI's website.

The new remote control included with this package is physically longer than previous versions, but offers a lot more in the way of programmable buttons and a longer operating distance. You can purchase this remote control separately from ATI under the Remote Wonder II product name should you want. We found the remote control worked well with ATI's software as well as for navigating the Windows XP operating system. There is a digital pad in the center of the remote control that you use to move the mouse cursor on your operating systems desktop. The control pad was very responsive with very little delay, even at operating distances of up to 20 feet. The programmable buttons can be used for controlling your VCR, DVD player or other audio/video equipment. The only complaint we have about the remote control is that it has abnormally long dimensions. We would have preferred a smaller more compact remote, but understand why the length is so long given how many buttons are physically on the remote control. The included Remote Wonder II appears to function better then previous versions as we experienced no issues with it.