8500 vs. Ti500 - performance only!

[Guest]

I'm baffled.. I've read 6-7 reviews now, of the Radeon 8500 vs GF3 Ti500, and they all come up with different conclusions. Some show the 8500 taking the lead, others vice versa.

I'm buying a new card in a couple of days, and I'm faced with the choice of a Hercules GF3 Ti200 (my idea was to overclock it) and an ATI Radeon 8500. Same price, almost.
I will use it primarily for playing fps-games, and watching divx on my television.

I know the ATI-drivers are buggy, especially when used under winXP, but it's said that in a few weeks a new edition will be relased, which should fix the problems with XP, and further increase the performance.
I'm thinking, that in time when ATI has optimized their drivers completely, the 8500 will smoke the Ti500 in every way - do you think the same?

What should I buy for my AMD XP 1600, running winXP? (thinking about switching to win2000, solely because of driver-problems with the ATI).

 

[Raleldor]

My suggestion, don't purchase either until you know for sure.. in other words. wait for these drivers to come out first. If it improves performance as much as it is supposed to.. there you go.

OC my Radeon 8500? k
CPU: 285, 295, 305
memory: 510, 520, 530
what was that?

 

[AEboy128]

I say since you will be using the tv-out you will want to go with the Radeon. Hopefully at least by December ATI will have good drivers for XP. I'm running XP now and it's exactly like win2k only with the new "cartooney" interface. I like XP. It's been rock stable. I think with good drivers the 8500 will smoke the Ti500 easy also the Ti200 easier.

My system: <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=8946" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=8946</A>

 

[Guest]

hehe - problem is, I can't wait - I'm selling my computer, and today someone bought it.. so I have to turn it over in a couple of days, and I can't live without my Quake3 for more days at a time )

- and is the tv-out/2d performance really noticable, when comparing 8500 and gf3? - I have a crappy schneider 20" TV =)
And yea, I really like winXP too.. especially with the new patch, that fixes the q3-crashes-every-5th-time-out-quit problem I have been annoyed with.

 

[Raleldor]

then you take a risk.. the drivers are supposed to fix those issues for the ATI card..and if it does.. GREAT! you made a great purchase.. but what if you purchase it and the new drivers dont enable smoothvision or correct the Q3 downgrading of quality and still have the annoying mouse pointer appearing over apps for a few seconds (you 8500 users know what im talking about)

I'm eagerly awaiting the new drivers, and either way I'm happy with my purchase.. but that doesn't mean you will be.. you could take a chance, or go with what you know is a decent card with nice drivers.

Yet again I do say wait.

OC my Radeon 8500? k
CPU: 285, 295, 305
memory: 510, 520, 530
what was that?

 

[Matisaro]

Sarac, if they are the same price, you will most likely be getting the oem radeon which is underclocked, get the gf3 ti 200 and overclock it to nearly full ti 500 speed. That will do your gaming and wallet justtice.



~Matisaro~
"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
~Tbird1.3@1.5~

 

[Raleldor]

Might I also mention that the OEM radeon 8500 can OC to the retail speeds without a problem, even can go a bit higher

OC my Radeon 8500? k
CPU: 285, 295, 305
memory: 510, 520, 530
what was that?

 

[Guest]

Yea that was my first notion - but the info on their webpage says specifically "retail version" - but I've emailed them just to make sure... They aren't exactly the same price, the GF3 Ti200 is about 40 euros cheaper...

 

[AMD_Man]

In Canada, retail Radeon 8500s are cheaper than GeForce3 Ti200s.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[Matisaro]

In the us they are not, by nearly 20 bucks.

~Matisaro~
"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
~Tbird1.3@1.5~