Best card for a PIII

Blimp

Junior Member
Feb 6, 2003
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First post, please be gentle.
Looking to upgrade a GF2 32MB oem board. Rig is P3, 384MB PC100, 4X AGP slot. I've read several threads here and am shopping the Radeon 8500LE or a GF3 Ti200, 128MB versions. Hoping to keep the rig running new games until after Christmas for < $100.

So first, is there any hope? Second, did I overlook a board I should consider?

Thanks in advance. I've been a reader for a couple years, but am jumping into the fray. ROSSman I'm not!
 

ScrewFace

Banned
Sep 21, 2002
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I'd definatley recommend the ATI 128MB RADEON 8500 LE. It's about the same speed as a GeForce3-Ti500 and is fair overclocker. If you prefer the fastest OpenGL the RADEON 8500 LE is the one you want and the GeForce3-Ti200 if you want the fastest Direct3D.

I hoped I have helped you.:)
 

Blimp

Junior Member
Feb 6, 2003
9
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Thank you ScrewFace.
Glad to know I wasn't too far off. Been leaning to the LE for a while, time to get in gear.
Later
 

Bovinicus

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2001
3,145
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You aren't going to see an amazing performance boost, if any at all. The only advantage you will have is that you will be able to use anisotropic filtering and slightly higher resolutions. Your CPU will be holding you back a good amount on anything faster than a GF2. I would wait until you can upgrade both things if at all possible. With that said, being able to use anisotropic filtering and higher resolutions is pretty nice. Plus, the Radeon 8500LE is a super deal...
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
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I have a new one for you Edipis Rex:
Old Tom Barley Wine Style
Z Good stuff......
 

Blimp

Junior Member
Feb 6, 2003
9
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Thanks Bovinicus.
I'll start saving my pennies for the 4.0GHz they are promising, and the FX too!
 

hoov

Senior member
Nov 5, 1999
210
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I have a athlon 900Mhz cpu and upgraded from a radeon 7500 to a radeon 9500 Pro and I see a BIG difference in performance framerates in games doubled and so did my 3dmark score.
 

lifeguard1999

Platinum Member
Jul 3, 2000
2,323
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You cannot go wrong with an 8500/9100 due to their price right now. That is what I have had for 18 months, first on a 933 P3, and now a 1.5 GHz Tualatin Celeron (overclocked from 1.1GHz). (Personally I am waiting for the 9900 to come out and then buy the best bang for the buck card like a 9700 as the prices drop.) If you are looking for a cheap CPU upgrade as well, the Tualatin Celeron is great. You can use a socket/slotket converter if need be.
 

Blimp

Junior Member
Feb 6, 2003
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I'm getting confused now. Will I see performance gains or not by going to an 8500LE?
So far it is an even mix. PC is a Dell if that matters.
Are there any other low cost ways to boost performance? Will a Celery CPU bumped up mean more to video performance than a beefier card?

Later
 

IdBuRnS

Member
Jun 26, 2001
155
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I saw a pretty big performance gain from going from my GeForce2 GTS 32MB to my GeForce4 Ti 4200 w/ 128MB of ram, my 3DMark score almost doubled.

System Specs:

PentiumIII 800MHz (133fsb)
Abit VP6
768MB Crucial PC133 SDRAM

3DMarks:

GeForce2 GTS 32MB - 3058
GeForce4 Ti 4200 128MB - 5943

Now that the GeForce4 is in my Shuttle I get over 9300.
 

EdipisReks

Platinum Member
Sep 30, 2000
2,722
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Originally posted by: Rollo
I have a new one for you Edipis Rex:
Old Tom Barley Wine Style
Z Good stuff......

oooh, i'll have to try that. is it fairly available at specialty beer and spirirts stores?
 

Goose77

Senior member
Aug 25, 2000
446
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you will se a performance increase! get the ATI 9100/8500.. look for a core/mem (processor/memory speed) speed to be at least 250/250Mhz, if u can get the 275/275. thats the best bang for the buck!!

i have an AIW 8500DV @ 230/190Mhz and at stock speeds it out performs my Gf3 ti200.

Blimp - Bovinicus is wrong, switchin from my gf3 card to the 8500 was a nice boost. example. 3dmark: gf3ti200 200/450 scores about 7300 - ati8500 230/190 scores about an 8100

plus the visual quality is much better with the ATI !!
 

Johneverd

Senior member
Sep 18, 2002
483
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My vote would be for a GeForce3. They are inexpensive now, but still offer all of the goodies found on the GeForce4. My GeForce3 Ti450 (Ti200 with 4ns memory) set me back $75 delivered. It has better image quality in games like Unreal 2003 than my AIW Radeon 8500 IMHO. The Radeon 8500, also a great choice, is rated at about the same speed as the original GF3.

HERE is a Tomshardware page that shows a benchmark for all of the popular cards in Unreal 2003.


EDIT: Goose77, what are you using to overclock your AIW 8500DV?
 

Goose77

Senior member
Aug 25, 2000
446
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Originally posted by: Johneverd
My vote would be for a GeForce3. They are inexpensive now, but still offer all of the goodies found on the GeForce4. My GeForce3 Ti450 (Ti200 with 4ns memory) set me back $75 delivered. It has better image quality in games like Unreal 2003 than my AIW Radeon 8500 IMHO. The Radeon 8500, also a great choice, is rated at about the same speed as the original GF3.

HERE is a Tomshardware page that shows a benchmark for all of the popular cards in Unreal 2003.

EDIT: Goose77, what are you using to overclock your AIW 8500DV?


HAHAHAH lmao rotfl: This comes from someone that puts value in what TOM says!! ahah the most biased person in the world.

dood u need to read from other soucres my friend, and read more of the postings in this forum! and if you would like i could record a vid for you to see the performace difference and really make you feel dum!!!

plus my posting is my opinion and my experience. you dont have to be rude about it, just disagree!! what an A$$!


Edit: Oh, let me just add, and of course this is just an ASSUMPTION on my part. But isnt it called an 8500 because it performs about there in benchmarks such as 3dmark?????
remember im just assuming this, no fact here!

 

Blimp

Junior Member
Feb 6, 2003
9
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Thanks Goose77,
Hands on experience means more to me than "Tom'$" opinions. (Sharky is somewhat more neutral anyway)
I guess I'll give it a try. Better to drop $75-90 now and hang on to the 2 Large the next rig will cost me an extra few months.

And thank you to all that ventured an opinion/flame.
You guys rock.
Later