Radeon 8500 or Geforce 3 Ti 200?

[RyanB18]

Looking for a card for longevity. Which one? Input would be great. Also, for drivers, as long as I am getting decent frame rates with Athlon TBird 1.4 right now its ok. Thanks
-Ryan

 

[Angus]

If comparable from R8500 to G3-Ti200, i will choose R8500 firmly without a second thought.
I

 

[PhattyMcCamp]

I second that, I dont regret my investment at all. I never will look back to the gf3 line.

 

[yngtm27]

GF3ti200 isn't in the same class as the 8500. However, some of the gf3ti200 cards can be overclocked to ti500 levels and therefore are viable competition for the 8500 card. ATI's 2d and dvd playback are superior to the gf3 though.

 

[daredevil]

I have exactly the same dilemma.Firstly I had decided to go for the Radeon 8500 but at second thoughts I think that GF3 Ti200,if it can be o/c to 200core/230mem,it is more attractive solution.I recognise the superior 2d,dvd playback and AA quality of Radeon but the current drivers are a bit buggy.I have now a Geforce256 DDR and I'm quite satisfied with the constant update of nvidia unofficial drivers.

 

[Skitzer]

Here's my OPINION, (no flames please, if you don't like what I say move on).
I just got through reading an indepth review of the 8500, (using the new drivers), and the TI500. Both are excellent cards but the TI500 is a bit faster in most benchmarks and AA is better. Review here
These tests were conducted at default (non-overclocked) settings.
I just bought a VisionTek TI200 and it is running at 220/500 without issue, this makes it as fast as a TI500 at default.
I always stay away from OEM cards because there are usually some problems with performance or quality issues and in the case of the 8500, you will get an inferior card, (this is widely known). Best to go with retail even though it's more expensive.
The lowest price I could find on a retail 8500 was $205 before shipping. A TI200 with 4ns memory will cost in the neighborhood of $168.
For price/performance a TI200 can not be beat.
I repeat, my OPINION

 

[moocat]

I don't think being OEM or retail has anything to do with quality of construction. In the case of the 8500 you are giving up 25mhz of clock speed, the potential to overclock (unless you want to flash OEM to retail bios), the adaptor required for dual display, and software.

 

[bygdaddy]

I started out using ATI cards. Great image quality, vibrant colors. But personally, and I know I'm beating a dead horse, but I never had very good luck with the drivers. So I switched to NVidia. Good luck so far. At least the drivers are updated frequently. Just my two cents.

 

[Zarich]

Ive owned a ti500 and an 8500 so heres my 2cents.
2d iq is the same unless you go above 1600x1200.
3d iq is superior on the ti500.
Truform is neat.
2 monitors is cool.
the 8500 is faster then the ti200 in some applications.
the 8500s current drivers are fine
FSAA on the 8500 blurs menus and text.
filtering methods on the 8500 are inferior.
the 8500 retail can be had for 250!! thats a huge plus.

I just dont think I would buy a ti200.. but thats me.. feel like Im getting less then one of the best that way.. but again.. thats me. I go either ti500 or 8500. Dont go oem.

 

[tazdevl]

Skitzer, actually OC'ing your Ti200 to 220/500 does NOT get it to Ti500 performance. The Ti500 default clocks are @ 240/500. Most Ti200 cards are hitting GF3 clockspeeds... 200/460. Therefore, buying one with the assumption that it will OC faster than a GF3 core @ best is false. If you get one, that OC's as high, if not higher is based on luck of the draw.

I was in the same dilemma as I built my new rig. My decision came down between the Gainward GF3 and a 8500. Gainward GF3's have the best 2D of the GF3 line and tend to OC consistently as high as Ti500s. However, I bought a 8500 Retail through Dell for $203 shipped next day air (cheaper than shipping+CA sales tax+$229 for the GF3). Price couldn't be beat.

After reading reviews of the 8500 with their latest driver it seemed to be the best choice. The drivers still need some work, but I'm pretty happy with it. Have a Crystal orb and copper RAMSink on the card, but haven't tried to OC yet. Doing a few more mods on my case before that happens. I have a few games that I play and it works great in them. Performance should be improving soon as ATI will be releasing a driver update before Xmas. I'd expect it to come in even closer if not faster than Ti500 speeds. IQ of the 8500 is great, speeds are fast enough and 2D is even better than my original Gainward GF3. This is my first ATI purchase, and I'm not unhappy with my decision.

One other thing to consider, there is a BIOS flash update for the 8500 somewhere out there for the OEM 8500 (head over to Rage3D forums... someone will send it to you). It increases the core voltage and cranks up the memory speed to Radeon 8500 Retail speeds (OEM 250/250, Retail 275/275). Basically the OEM has the exact same core and memory as the retail card, but it runs slower due to some settings in the BIOS. The BIOS update fixes that.

OEM cards can be bought for $183 on Pricewatch. Oh Zarich m'boy, the Retail 8500 can be had for $239.

I'd imagine with Xmas so near, that price will drop a bit more. Buying a Ti500 @ this point is a waste of money. nVIDIA and ATI will be releasing their new parts within a few months. Those products will be a decent step forward in graphics technology. The Ti500 is an iterative step forward for the GF3 line. If you want a Ti500, buy a GF3 and OC it... there's your Ti500.

The Titanium product line has no difference other than clockspeed from the GF3... just a good old product line extension strategy to encourage folks to waste money on a product that is perceived as new. If you plan on keeping the card for a while... maybe the Ti500 makes sense. But if you're planning on buying a new card when the next round arrives, you're a fool with too much money if you buy one.

 

[Zarich]

agreed.. Thats why I bought the ti500.. I expect to keep it for about 2 years .. unless I get rich.. the one thing you will find is that the 2d filters on the ti cards are higher quality then the standard geforce 3.
Also dont expect the 8500 to see any huge performance increases.. actually expect performance to drop a bit as IQ is increased and bugs are repaired.

 

[tazdevl]

I did a fresh install and have to say that I don't know what I did, but I have not had any major issues with the cards. I think a lot of folks just don't know what they're doing when they install new hardware.

I doubt the performance will drop... it's a new platform and I think it's reasonable to assume that it will hit Ti500 speeds in the next couple of driver revs, especially considering the ArtX boys are done with flipper. I'm sure they will be tossing their expertise @ the driver issues in the near future.