Ok so when I was building my new computer I got for christmas I made one mistake. After Investing in all super-high quality components I determined that I couldn't afford the All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro, and instead opted for the ATI A-I-W 8500 (128 DDR). Because one of my main goals was to have a computer to act as a TV in my dorm room next semester. I am now regretting it however as the 8500 is not performing up to par on all of the games I am playing (i.e. Sim City 4). So my questions are these. (1) Is there any way to install two video cards for processing different aspects of video? (or perhaps just boot up with the one I want to use for gaming when I want to play games) (2) Do they manufacture a PCI version of the 9700? (I doubt they do) (3) Is there a TV tuner card that will work as well or better, and have as many features as the ATI All-In-Wonder series? (4) How big of a difference will I see with the 9700 vs. the 8500? (5) What about the 9200 and 9400 series just coming out.... would it be worth it to buy a cheaper card and switch the cards out when I wanted to do hardcore gaming? - Thanks in advance - TR

Surely a better option is just to buy a high performance card that will work for your games and TV? I only use a GeForce 4 Ti4200 64MB DDR card but works wonders for me lol. Doesnt lag or anything, even for the real hardcore stuff.

I have a tv tuner card and vid card.. I think the tuner card works great... I"ll try to find the link...it's a leadtek tv tuner 2000xp something... http://www.buyxtremegear.com/leadtektv.html it's cheap too...

There is a large difference between the 9700pro and the 8500, though the 8500 is by no means shabby. http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20021218/vgacharts-05.html From ATI as you go from the 7000 up to the 9800pro you pay a lot for fps but get the same top shelf video and vivo quality. An entry level pci AIW from ATI will take care of your vivo needs and allow you to get a 9700pro for gaming. You cannot use two agp cards. You need one do-it-all agp card or one agp plus one pci. Probably just as easy to get an 9700aiw. Give ebay a shot at selling your 8500aiw - you may be surprised at how much of your original price you can recoup.