R8500 to a/an 9700 Pro..would you?

ctk1981

Golden Member
Aug 17, 2001
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Well...to help with your decision, this is exactly what im doing. Jumping from a Radeon 8500 64MB to a FIC Radeon 9700 Pro.


I jumped on the 8500 when it first came out pretty much, so its lasted me the two years (has it been that long?) fairly decent. Ha..come to think about it, it has just kept getting better and better since it was released. Just think if this applies to the 9700!

Overall to look at it....supposedly all the newer upcoming games are going to be based off of the UT2003 engine...and we all know the 9700 Pro is doing very well in the game. So you could probably assume that this card is going to last you for a while. I say take the plunge and enjoy all the benefits.

Oh in case your shopping around, newegg has the FIC 9700 Pro in retail box for 325 with free fedex shipping.
 

John

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: WA261
Is it worth the $?

That depends on if you will play games @ 1280x960 or higher with FSAA & Anisotropic maxed. ;)

 

kyoshozx

Senior member
Jun 16, 2000
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I purchased a Radeon 8500 right when it was released and I also upgraded to a Radeon 9700 pro right when it was released. The Radeon 9700 pro performs way way better than the radeon 8500. What I really liked about this card is the ability to use AA and still get decent frame rates.

Personally ATI's drivers have improved a lot recently and have been pretty quick to release new drivers to fix bugs.
 

Tates

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jun 25, 2000
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I jumped on the 8500 when it first came out pretty much, so its lasted me the two years (has it been that long?) fairly decent. Ha..come to think about it, it has just kept getting better and better since it was released. Just think if this applies to the 9700!

Hmm, it's only been one year since the debut of the 8500.

With the tremendous improvement of ATi's driver devolpement team, the 9700 should follow suit. I'm more than happy with the performance of my ATi Radeon 8500 128mb...11,067 3DMark2001se...it runs everything I throw at it with ease. And I can play at 1600x1200 so AA isn't a concern. I'm going to wait until christmas and/or the 9700 goes to .13m, and the price falls to $200 or less. Until then, I'm sure my 8500 will do just fine. As always, JMHO. :)
 

ctk1981

Golden Member
Aug 17, 2001
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Ha...good call Tates. I couldnt remember how long it had been. I know it had either been just a year or it was two...didnt seem like two. Ah anyways, at least someone around here has good memory. Maybe I need to upgrade mine
 

Skibby9

Senior member
Feb 3, 2002
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I am selling my 8500 as soon as I receive the 9700 Pro. Cost me a bit more than I expected, as I spent the few extra $ on a real ATI retail model, and mwave (love 'em) wants almost $20 to ship APO. At least I know I will have it in a week.

Man I am looking forward to running EVERYTHING not just maxed out (8500 is fine for that) but anti-aliasing and aniso filtering, too. Man JK2 is gonna look sweet on this bad boy!

(oh vrap i should have checked to see how my 8500 handles all that right now. Naaa it got pretty choppy in MOH:AA with AA+aniso)
 

Lichee

Senior member
Jan 2, 2001
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Originally posted by: Skibby9
I am selling my 8500 as soon as I receive the 9700 Pro. Cost me a bit more than I expected, as I spent the few extra $ on a real ATI retail model, and mwave (love 'em) wants almost $20 to ship APO. At least I know I will have it in a week. Man I am looking forward to running EVERYTHING not just maxed out (8500 is fine for that) but anti-aliasing and aniso filtering, too. Man JK2 is gonna look sweet on this bad boy! (oh vrap i should have checked to see how my 8500 handles all that right now. Naaa it got pretty choppy in MOH:AA with AA+aniso)

actually...count me in too. im an 8500 -9700 pro guy but because it was my bday recently and a bunch of my friends chipped in $300 to get me it. :)

the cheapest i found for a retail Built BY ATi was $335 by www.nutrend.com, but their processing time scared me off. their ratings were pretty good though. however, i cancelled the order and went with www.googlegear.com cuz they had it for $335.50 + $1.50 fedex 2 day shipping. how sweet is that? $337 for 2 day. im still waiting for them to ship the thing though. :(

at any rate, the 8500 was just a tad slower than i wanted. it ran wolfenstein like a dream though. my goal was 1024x768x32 everything maxed and it played at around ~90fps. that was just awesome (ok some scenes in SP with trees got me down to 20-30fps but it was still playable). I didnt like it too much for MOHAA though. i had to actually drop it down to 800x600x32 everything maxed. I think ditto for jedi 2. this sorta performance was subpar for me so getting the 9700 should be a worthy upgrade. now, i will finally get to relish AA and aniso in games instead of envying others. :)

but getting back to the original Q....I say it really depends on if you think you need/want it. if u are happy with your games, then no. but if u felt like me or Skibby9, then go for it. i mean, ive looked at the numbers and it will basically do 2x the performance of an 8500 (depending on res). that is enough to warrant an upgrade right? (also im selling my 8500 64MBer to a friend for $80 so im actually getting back part of the original investment on the 8500 which was $280 with S&H).

oh btw, i cant wait to go back through some of my games. it will bring new life to them. woohooo!
 

Skibby9

Senior member
Feb 3, 2002
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Lichee, I recommend that for future purchases you use Amex Blue. Buy from the most reputable dealers, and then price-match to "Sh4dy St3v3's Partz 4 n00bz"...

I bought my 8500 (retail, 64MB) with it for about $240, and within 3 weeks it had dropped $100. I was really happy about using Amex Blue then. Got the difference back, no problem.

Now, I have 60 days for the 9700 Pro to drop significantly in price. That will include "Black Friday" (day after Thanksgiving), so I should be able to make a killing.
 

Lichee

Senior member
Jan 2, 2001
645
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Originally posted by: Skibby9
Lichee, I recommend that for future purchases you use Amex Blue. Buy from the most reputable dealers, and then price-match to "Sh4dy St3v3's Partz 4 n00bz"... I bought my 8500 (retail, 64MB) with it for about $240, and within 3 weeks it had dropped $100. I was really happy about using Amex Blue then. Got the difference back, no problem. Now, I have 60 days for the 9700 Pro to drop significantly in price. That will include "Black Friday" (day after Thanksgiving), so I should be able to make a killing.

wow. that sounds awesome. maybe i need to go sign up for an Amex Blue. thanks for the tip!

dang....60 days. i wonder how much u will get back then. that is super awesome. lol
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
17,914
838
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Originally posted by: Lichee
Originally posted by: Skibby9
Lichee, I recommend that for future purchases you use Amex Blue. Buy from the most reputable dealers, and then price-match to "Sh4dy St3v3's Partz 4 n00bz"... I bought my 8500 (retail, 64MB) with it for about $240, and within 3 weeks it had dropped $100. I was really happy about using Amex Blue then. Got the difference back, no problem. Now, I have 60 days for the 9700 Pro to drop significantly in price. That will include "Black Friday" (day after Thanksgiving), so I should be able to make a killing.

wow. that sounds awesome. maybe i need to go sign up for an Amex Blue. thanks for the tip!

dang....60 days. i wonder how much u will get back then. that is super awesome. lol

That's why Amex stopped it, some months ago.:(
 

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
22,672
2,817
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Well, I upgraded from a Ti4600 to a 9700 Pro and it was more than worth it.
 

Lichee

Senior member
Jan 2, 2001
645
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71
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Lichee
Originally posted by: Skibby9 Lichee, I recommend that for future purchases you use Amex Blue. Buy from the most reputable dealers, and then price-match to "Sh4dy St3v3's Partz 4 n00bz"... I bought my 8500 (retail, 64MB) with it for about $240, and within 3 weeks it had dropped $100. I was really happy about using Amex Blue then. Got the difference back, no problem. Now, I have 60 days for the 9700 Pro to drop significantly in price. That will include "Black Friday" (day after Thanksgiving), so I should be able to make a killing.
wow. that sounds awesome. maybe i need to go sign up for an Amex Blue. thanks for the tip! dang....60 days. i wonder how much u will get back then. that is super awesome. lol
That's why Amex stopped it, some months ago.:(

ah. no wonder i couldnt find any info on this on their website. thanks for the tip