My experiences with both the radeon 8500 and visiontek geforce 3 ti 500

[QuestionsandAnsweres]

I had both of these cards (currently have the geforce 3 ti 500). Now i like the geforce alot. Its faster right now. And max payne runs better with geforce. BUT for some reason unreal tournament runs/looks worse. See i use the OPENGL with s3tc texture compression and for some reason it doesnt look quiet as good on the geforce card as it did on the radeon. Tho its 5fps faster on average.

Here are some benchmarks i did

BTW I USED the LATEST BETA DRIVERS FOR BOTH CARDS. SINCE THEY SEEM TO BE THE BEST

Quake 3 (latest version and i used that dll file to make quake 3 look better on the radeon 8500. Without it the performance would be bettre but look lots worse than the geforce. So make it even i used the dll)

1024x768x32 everything maxed

Radeon 8500: 137fps
Geforce 3 ti 500: 139fps



Unreal tournament (latest version of course with the opengl s3tc texture compression)

1024x768x32

Radeon 8500: 97fps
Geforce 3 ti 500: 102fps



3dmark 2001 (default settings (1024x768x32 etc etc))

Radeon 8500: 7553
Geforce 3 ti 500: 7100

As you can see with these games (if u play quake 3 and ut alot ) radeon 8500 might be a better choice for performance/price. BUT since most people dont play only these games i have a fealing that the geforce 3 ti 500 is probably little better for the performance/price ratio. Only if ati can get there drivers right it could be the card to have. Yet for me i dont feel like waiting for THE DRIVERS. if they ever come.

BTW i didnt test the fps of max payne but overall i could tell that the geforce 3 ti 500 played little better

Overall i like the geforce 3 ti 500 better. since when i buy a new graphics card price isnt important (has to be below $500 or so) i want the fastest available at the time. YES the radeon 8500 has better specifications and should be able to put the geforce 3 to shame (as long as the game uses directx 8) but since the drivers are holding it back i dont care how fast the hardware is. Yes ati might improve there drivers so it would be faster than the geforce 3 ti 500. But when? if its next week or next month i might kick my self in the ass. But if its 3+ months i wont care cause in 8months or so ill probably buy a new graphics card thats even faster. it might be ati or the new nvidia card. brand doesnt matter to me. PErformance / Quality is.

so there is my opinion. Just wanted to share my experiences with both cards. Both cards are good but for the performance king there can only be one and atm its the geforce 3 ti 500...

 

[tazdevl]

Q&A... what's your impression of the 2D and IQ between the cards?

Would it be possible for you to try running Giants and Counterstrike as well?

Thanks

 

[Hender]

I'd be particularly interested in the difference in DVD quality if you're able to test that, as I can see a marked difference between the quality of my DVD movies on my GeForce2 Pro and my roommate's Mac G4 with a Rage Pro 128, monitor issues aside.

 

[AA0]

Isn't the Ti500 a lot more than the 8500? for 5 fps and no extra 2d features how do you consider it better price/performance?

Those results look about right though, between the GF3 and GF3 Ti500 for performance. Unlike anand's review.

 

[AtomSmasher]

<< Isn't the Ti500 a lot more than the 8500? for 5 fps and no extra 2d features how do you consider it better price/performance?

Those results look about right though, between the GF3 and GF3 Ti500 for performance. Unlike anand's review. >>



I've got a PNY Ti500 & just sold an 8500 on Ebay. The Ti500 is going for about $100 more than the 8500. If the $100 is that important than the 8500 is the one to go for. A lot of people value stability right out of the box. I just didn't want to fool around with driver after driver release looking for ones that would run my games correctly (slide over to rage3d & check out the latest Nascar4 thread. There are some pretty messed up screen shots of the track while running on an 8500). I wen't thru the driver game with ATI when I had the original Radeon. That was supposed to be a great card too, the only trouble was the ATI drivers sucked. After struggling with that mess for months I had it & put my old GF2 back in. Too bad, I hoped ATI would get it right this time since the 8500's hardware specs are outstanding. I just didn't want to wait, hoping that the 'next driver release' would solve the cards problems. With the Ti500 I don't have to. Peace of mind is well worth $100.

 

[m1ke101]

just curious but how much did you sell it on ebay for atomsmasher?

 

[QuestionsandAnsweres]

well overall i believe the radoen 8500 is about $75 cheaper than the geforce 3 ti 500. retail prices tho there only $50 cheaper.

(thats for the visiontek one)

well in those games there is no point to get a geforce 3 ti 500. Yet i did notice a improvement at 1600x1200 in max payne. Anandtech also shows that the geforce 3 ti 500 is faster in other games like MAX PAYNE and Serios sam. Other games probably perform better on the geforce 3 ti 500.

Radeon is a better card hardware wise. but drivers are very important and well atm there drivers make it underperforma geforce 3 overall.....

2d quality doesnt matter to me since i run in 1024x768 and well most cards can do that good

sorry didnt test dvd quality