Anyone switch from 8500 to ti4200?

[mamisano]

I have a person lined up to purchase my Retail Radeon 8500-64 for a good price. My budget is right around the $200 mark and I was specifically thinking about purchasing the Albatron ti4200P-Turbo. Has anyone gone from a Radeon to a ti4200? What comments do you have? Is it a worth-while upgrade? Is it an upgrade at all?

Many Thanks,

 

[chizow]

I had the Radeon 8500 for about a month through the Dell deal, but I stuck with my GF3 Ti200 for a few reasons. The 8500 was definitely the better card at the time, but the drivers were giving me some problems and I was more into my FPS gaming mode. I got the Ti200 in the BB Black Friday deal for $99, so I couldn't justify keeping the Radeon for 2x as much when the Ti200 was well-suited for what I was playing. I wasn't using any of the 8500's superior AA or Ani settings, and I wasn't using my comp as a HT system yet either.

It really depends on what you are using the card for. If you want better 2D and DVD playback, stick with the 8500 and wait a month or so for the 9700 standard or 9500pro (not convinced this will be faster than the gf4 lines, but won't know til its final). Since the 9700's MSRP is gonna be $300 and the 9500pro's MSRP is gonna be $200, I'm thinking they can be had for a bit over and a bit below your budget of $200, respectively. The GF4's close the gap in many of the areas that the 8500 excelled, but I still think the 8500's IQ is a bit better.

The Ti4200 Turbo is an excellent card, and IMO is the way to go in the GF4 line unless you can get a Ti4600 for around $200. Asus also has an excellent "Turbo" card that is pricier but has better features and software bundled. The only reason I would go with a Ti4600 other than that is if you want a dual-DVI display, and IIRC only the Leadtek has that option. I guess the question is, what areas do you think your 8500 is lacking? I ran every game I played very well with my Ti200, but my Ti4200 did make a noticeable difference. You would have increased performance in games with a Ti4200 Turbo @ Ti4600 speeds, but depending on what you play it may not be worth the upgrade.

Unless you feel the need to upgrade today, I would wait, especially with the holidays upcoming and a few new products on the horizon. Some B&M's have already started clearancing their GF4 cards, and ATI will probably be reducing prices some once the 9500 line is introduced.

Chiz

 

[mamisano]

Thanks for the info. I feel my card is lacking when I want to play games like MS RallySport Challenge, Flight Sim 2K2 (With AA on), and some other newer games. The 8500 has performed admirably (sp?) for the past year, I just think that I need more performance from a newer card.

I don't really want to wait for the 9700/9500 Pro. The 9700 is still going to be well over $200 and the <$200 9500 pro is a comprimise with the 128bit memory interface. I figure I can stick the ti4200 in my machine for the time being...then when the next ATI offering comes out, go for a 9700-Pro at a reduced price...always staying 1 step behind the "latest-and-greatest" cards.

 

[chizow]

Hmm..I can't really comment on sim type games b/c I don't play em I know AA is very important though for those games, but I'm not sure if the GF4 would show improvement there or not.

I don't think the 9700 will be completely outrageous in pricing. I think it'll fall around ~$270 for the Built by ATI version and ~240 for the Powered by ATI versions (Online of course) soon after its release. I'm just basing this on similar pricing models for newly released cards.

The Turbo Ti4200's are approaching $200 as it is. I tend not to buy the latest and greatest either, but considering the huge increase in performance the 9700 exhibited over the GF4's, I think the extra money would be justified. The disparity in performance is only magnified in the types of games you play, the 9700 blows the GF4 away when it comes to high resolutions, AA and Aniso enabled.

I'm thinking the 4200 would only be a stop-gap for you; I don't think the gap between the GF4 and the 8500 was as great as the difference between the GF4 and 9700.

Chiz

 

[Eagle17]

I am in a similar boat. I have been very happy with my 8500 over the last year but I also play flight sims. How-ever I play at 1280x1024 and gave no problems in fact I am amazed at the speed I still get with fs2002. I have not spent much time in cfs3 though I just got it and I am still really into BF1942.

I plan to wait the next 2 weeks and see what the 9500pro can do, also the 9700 should be released next month also and if it is in the $250 range I will go with it. I almost went for the 4200 last month and I am really glad I did not... I have no problems with nvidia and in fact I have a gf3ti200 in my secondary machine and it still runs many things great.


BTW I now have a asus a7v333 with a aroia 1600@2100+ speed,

 

[mamisano]

Well, I went and sold my 8500 Retail and purchased an Albatron ti-4200P-Turbo...net cost to me is $60. Card should be here by middle of next week. Also ordered a stick of 512MB GEIL PC3500 to replace by faithful but aging Crucial PC2100.

I will run a comparison of the 2 cards and post some results


Any benchmarks that you would like me to run?

 

[Eagle17]

yeah I forgot you said you had a buyer for your 8500 so for $60 I would do the same .... how much was the albitron? I think I am just going to get a 9700 pro I just can't decide when to get it. I think I will try and wait untill it is under $300.

 

[mamisano]

Originally posted by: Eagle17
yeah I forgot you said you had a buyer for your 8500 so for $60 I would do the same .... how much was the albitron? I think I am just going to get a 9700 pro I just can't decide when to get it. I think I will try and wait untill it is under $300.

The Albatron cost $185 shipped from NewEgg, and I sold the 8500 Retail to a customer of mine for $125.