Radeon 8500 64MB OEM: Right for me?

[clicknext]

I'm sure this sort of thing has been posted sixteen dozen times before, but I'm posting it again. =P

I'm a poor, unemployed teenager who only earns my monthly allowance of $30. That means I can't possibly afford anything more than around $170 without going broke. I wanna get a new video card, and I can get a Radeon8500 64MB OEM for exactly that amount. Do you think it's a good purchase? What's the difference between the OEM and Retail version? Is it only a difference in clock speed? And can I make the performance of the OEM identical to the Retail version?

Also, a friend said I should wait until the Geforce4 Ti4200 gets cheaper. But the problem is I don't think it's going to get cheaper anytime close to soon.

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: I'm talking in canadian currency. =)

 

[spanky]

don't get an oem radeon8500.... get the 8500le... it's from ATI and from what most ppl say... easily overclocks to stock 8500 speeds. many oem's who make the 8500 skim on cheaper ram

 

[Rand]

It should be quite fine for you.

It's got a solid and versatile feature set and is impressively well rounded, and it's performance is still more then adequate for current games.

You might want to look which manufacturer's R8500 you purchase.
ATi's Retail R8500 clocks at 275/275, and their OEM, and Radeon8500LE variants clock at 250/250.
Third party manufacturers clockspeeds vary from 230/230, up to 290/290 and soon 300/300 when Gigabyte releases the 8500XT.
Most of them are clocked at 250/250 though.

 

[clicknext]

don't get an oem radeon8500.... get the 8500le... it's from ATI and from what most ppl say... easily overclocks to stock 8500 speeds. many oem's who make the 8500 skim on cheaper ram

I'm afraid that this card is the only one I can hope to afford. The Radeon8500LE is quite a bit more expensive in all the stores close to me, and I can't buy online because I don't have a credit card, and I don't really like buying online.

You might want to look which manufacturer's R8500 you purchase.

How do I check? This card should be made by ATI, right? The other guy said that they skim on cheaper ram... so this ram would be less overclockable, correct?

 

[blade2]

hey clicknext, i was gonna ask the same question as you basically about the OEM version!!
for me its either a Abit 128Mb/64Mb Ti-200 Geforce 3 or a Radeon 8500 64Mb OEM version

apparently i should go for the Radeon

 

[clicknext]

Thanks, man, for me though, I don't really have much of a choice in cards. Here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, I can't get a gf3 ti200 for anything even close to as low as how much I can get the R8500 for. So the Radeon8500 is pretty much the only choice... well I could also get a geforce2 mx460, but that's a piece of crap, or so I hear.

 

[Rand]

How do I check? This card should be made by ATI, right? The other guy said that they skim on cheaper ram... so this ram would be less overclockable, correct?

That one is indeed ATi's own OEM R8500, so it's essentially an 8500LE... 250/250 clockspeed.
ATi's OEM R8500 typically come with 3.3, 3.4, 3.6 or 3.8ns DDR SDRAM so you should have decent overclocking headroom.
At the very least you should be able to get 275/275 without too much problems at all.

 

[Technonut]

As Rand stated, the 8500 that you can get should be fine for you. I use the Retail 8500, and also have used the OEM. They are both great cards.

 

[clicknext]

Ok, and another question, does the OEM version have VIVO, TV out, and hydravision?

 

[gregor7777]

Originally posted by: clicknext
Ok, and another question, does the OEM version have VIVO, TV out, and hydravision?

TV-Out is a go as well as being able to download the hydravision software, but the VIVO is a no go.

 

[clicknext]

What is VIVO used for? Is it for example to link a video game system to the computer or something?

 

[gregor7777]

Originally posted by: clicknext
What is VIVO used for? Is it for example to link a video game system to the computer or something?

Capturing video. Say a Camcorder or VCR or anything else.

Stands for Video In, Video Out.

 

[clicknext]

Oh... Hmm I could really use that! Oh well, I think I'm gonna get this thing. I found where I could get it for $100! Wheee~

Thanks everyone who helped me!