I've been comparing various video cards and have a question regarding ATI's X800 XT AIW (All-In-Wonder) board and the X800 XT. The AIW is priced considerably less than its counterpart and what I read in the reviews on-line, it appears both boards are exactly the same except for the added features on the AIW for TV, radio and video processing. So why is it less expensive and is there a performance difference due to the added features?I've also tested the X850 XT but see that there is only a slight difference in GPU speed. So I can't justify the cost. Also tried the GeForce GS (not the OC version), and its speed is less than that of the ATI boards. May try the OC version but don't know since I can purchase that one at a 20% reduction in price on a close-out sale. So it would not be returnable.So back to the original question, ATI AIW or the X800 XT? By the way, my bus system is AGP, so PCI-e is not under consideration.Thanks for the interest and your help.Jim

The AIW clocks at 500/500, which I believe is pretty comparable with the stock X800XT, so performance should be very similiar. On my system I find TV stops working anything beyond Cat 6.1 drivers, but if you are buying just a video card in the first place, that shouldn't be an issue for you. BTW, my AIW clocks up to 550/550 just fine, which I believe surpases the X850XT in performance.Gary

Thanks Gary, that's what I've been reading in the spec reports for this card. Still funny though that it is priced well below its' brother the X800 XT.Are you experiencing any stutters or complete stop of movement for a brief second? I'm using right now the X850 XT and I get them depending on the scenery and weather.Jim

I do get brief stutters and the occasional complete pause on three different systems I have run FS on, but it is usually associated with an addon program doing its stuff (eg. AS6 updating weather) due most likely to FS having to share a single core CPU with these applications. The few days that I did have dual core, I noticed a drastic improvement in FS smoothness with these addons running - pity my motherboard rejected its dual core transplant by locking solid on me a few times a day thus necessitating its return.In short, I think such stutters are more CPU sharing, rather than video card, related.Gary

Thanks again Gary. I've come to the same conclusion that these short pauses and stutters are CPU related. I've seen them on every card I've tested and I have a P4 3.4Ghz with 1G of ram.Think I'll go with the AIW board and save some bucks.Jim