RADEON 8500LE 128MB ~VS~ CHAINTECH GF4 TI4200 64MB

[trueimage]

the radeon is 119 at newegg
the gf4 is 142 at newegg
(shipped)

so is it worth it for the extra $20 for the gf4?
or maybe i should just drop down and pick up the 64mb radeon for $99?

thanks in advance

 

[mee987]

check out anand's latest ut2003 benchmark here.. this should convince you to spend the extra 20 bucks.

 

[trueimage]

anyone?

 

[mee987]

heh, looks like you missed my post by only a few seconds

 

[rudder]

Depends on what you want. I have a radeon 8500 (64meg). I got it for under $100 an decided to get it rather than a ti4200. At the time I bought it ti4200 were a little more expensive, plus you only got a plain card for that price. My 8500 has superb dual monitor support ,flawless dvd playback, tv-out and dvi support. I don't play 3d games that much so it was really not an issue. Although the 8500 holds its own in MOHAA. If your an avid gamer and don't nead the extra features, get the ti4200.

 

[Rand]

Depends what you want.... if you need superior 2D visual quality, DVD playback, and TV-Output then the Radeon will likely suit you better. For the most part it performs pretty closely to the Ti4200 in current games, but it'll likely fall a bit further back in future games.

The Ti4200 will offer slightly better performance in current games, and will be better suited to future games if you intend to keep the card for a long time.

If your only going to have the board for a 8-10 months or less I'd probably go with the R8500 as it's cheaper, fairly competitive performance wise and it's a more well rounded product.
If gaming is the main criteria then the Ti4200 would be a bit better though, and if your looking at keeping the board for a year+ then it'll likely start to open up larger performance difference between it and the R8500.

It basically comes down to what you need in a graphics card, both will offer solid performance at a competitive price.

 

[mee987]

what is wrong with using a gf4 for dvd playback? and the gf4's have tv-out too. and dvi support too. and dual monitor. they may not be able to compare to the 8500's 2d quality, I dont know. im not saying that the gf4 is definitely the better option, but be aware that some of the features listed above are not exclusive to the radeon series.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

GF4

 

[Rand]

Originally posted by: mee987
what is wrong with using a gf4 for dvd playback? and the gf4's have tv-out too. and dvi support too. and dual monitor. they may not be able to compare to the 8500's 2d quality, I dont know. im not saying that the gf4 is definitely the better option, but be aware that some of the features listed above are not exclusive to the radeon series.

Of course their not exclusive to the Radeon, I merely meant present the fact that ATi has a superior implementation of TV-Out and the driver level, and they have the industry's highest quality/performance DVD playback. nVidia has a rather poor reputation in terms of 2D visual quality, and ChainTech specifically is known to be sub-par compared to even most other nVidia board manufacturers.

Multi-monitor capabilities, and DVI-Out are pretty much a wash between the two, their quite close in that respect.