Tuner times
For this test, we timed how long it took each card's tuner to initialize when starting up and changing channels in Multimedia Center. Timing was done with a stopwatch and repeated five times for each card to ensure consistency. Both cards exhibited a slight hiccup between video initialization and audio synchronization, so we didn't stop the clock until video and audio were in sync.

The All-in-Wonder X800 XT trails every so slightly here, and given our relatively crude timing methods, we're inclined to call this one a tie.

Live TV CPU utilization
Our live TV, time-shifting, and recording tests were conducted using ripped DVD playback from an Xbox to ensure a consistent source video. The first two minutes of the Pirates of the Caribbean were used.

Despite its higher price tag and more recent hardware, the AIW X800 XT's CPU utilization during live TV playback is slightly higher than that of the All-in-Wonder 9600 XT. Of course, the difference is only a little more than 1%, so it's pretty close.

Time-shifting CPU utilization
Our time-shifting test involved recording one minute of video, jumping playback to the beginning of the recording, and recording an additional minute of video during playback of the first minute.

This one's pretty much a tie. The AIW X800 XT comes out slightly behind, but only by the slimmest of margins.