Is this a good deal on this Radeon 8500 LE?

[trmiv]

The price is great, I'm just trying to figure out what clock speed this actually is. Newegg on this page (7th one down) has a made by ATI bulk Radeon LE for $109. I'm looking for a card to upgrade my GeForce2 GTS to play Morrowind, and that looks like a great deal to me. I have heard there are Radeon LE's with 250 mhz clock speed, and others with 230mhz. Unlike the card below it on that page, this one does not mention the clock speed, anyone have any ideas? On the pricewatch page it says the part number is 102-8571700 if that's any help. Also, if I do get that card, and it is 230 clock speed, can I overclock it to at least retail LE speeds? thanks
'

 

[BD231]

I cant veiw the card because newegg is currently down for update, but if the card is "Powerd By ATI", and not an actual "Made By ATI", then don't buy it. My advice to you is to spend the extra 40 bucks and get a retail 8500.

 

[spanky]

i was looking at that earlier... i remember it saying "powered by the ati radeon..." no mention of powered by ati or made by ati.

 

[tuan121]

for 6 more bucks ill get the Hercules 8500le. they are 125 shipped. =D

 

[trmiv]

The site is back up now.


bdog231: you said,


<< My advice to you is to spend the extra 40 bucks and get a retail 8500. >>



Where can I get a retail 8500 (i'm assuming LE) for $149?



<< for 6 more bucks ill get the Hercules 8500le. they are 125 shipped. =D >>



Hmm, that looks good, but is it anything different than the one for $109? The 3D Prophet says it's OEM too. Can I used ATI drivers with it? Or do I have to stick with the one's put out by Hercules?

 

[trmiv]

I went ahead and orderd that Hercules 8500 LE card. The newegg site says it's 250/250, so I'll take their word. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[Killrose]

The Herc cards are 250/250, but are poor overclockers due to 4ns ram, and I believe the ram timmings in bios. but better than 230/230 LELE cards.

 

[trmiv]

Oh well, I'm, sure I'll be happy with the Herc card. It's much better than my Geforce2 GTS, and supports the features I'm looking for to use in Morrowind. I almost cancelled the order and got an 8500 LE 128MB retail for $175 from Essential computer, but then I thought better of it. I didn't plan on spending over $130 for this video upgrade. I started to get into that "well, if i'm spending $130, what's another $50 or so" mode, and damn near ordered it. Then I realized I couldn't afford it, and convinced myself to just be happy with the Herc card for $125. I love arguing with myself over money issues.