Radeon 8500LE BULK?

[Xidus]

newegg ati page
Newegg has a radeon 8500LE listed for cheap, but it has the word BULK in the item title. They also have a OEM white box one for $10 more which is 230/230 clock speeds for some reason. The pictures of the two seem exactly the same. Other than the word BULK in the title of one I can't figure out the difference between the two. It's supposed to be made by ATI as it's in that category on the website. Should I get it? I really don't have the money to get anything more expensive.

I'm also worried about the display quality. I tried out a gf4 mx440 but it has some display problems which could have been because of poor filters used. But since this is made by ATI it shouldn't have any poor quality parts used right?

 

[spanky]

i always thought bulk = oem = white box. if u look at the model numbers... the bulk one has "64 M S" added to the end of it. so i am thinking they are two different cards. maybe the oem one is made by ati, while the bulk one is by a 3rd party mfr?

 

[Xidus]

They should both be made by ATI since they are in the made by ATI section. BTW can the LE do dual display like the 8500? I might want to hook up a TV and use it as a 2nd display.

 

[Budman]

<< They should both be made by ATI since they are in the made by ATI section. BTW can the LE do dual display like the 8500? I might want to hook up a TV and use it as a 2nd display. >>




Yes the CHIP is made by ATI,that doesnt mean the card was.

 

[John]

Yes the 8500LE can dual dual display. Both cards should be 230/230.

 

[Morph]

If you look closer at the pictures of the cards at NewEgg you'll notice that the bulk version is missing a chip. It's the small square chip to the left of the HS/fan. Someone else determined it to be this chip: Link

I'm still trying to find out how the lack of this DAC chip makes it different from the white-box 8500LE, but I'm wondering if it imposes some limitation on the dual display function with tv-out since the description of the bulk 8500LE at newEgg says "Dual Monitor support DVI+CRT only".

 

[sodcha0s]

Not sure about the LE, but I bought a AIW8500DV 'bulk' from newegg, and the only difference between it and the retail 8500DV was the packaging, and it didn't come with the software bundle. It had all the cables and accessories that comes with the retail version, maybe that's the difference, I know some of the OEM Radeons don't come with the VGA/DVI adapter.....


Edit: Guess that isn't it... I just checked out the linked page and niether comes with the adapter, it might be a lower clocked memory speed...

 

[hans007]

the bulk one is 250/275, but you cant use the tv out as a 2nd monitor because that chip is missing. its in the hotdeals thread about the same thing

 

[Mattster]

By the BULK card missing the 2nd DAC, you cannot put a DVI converter on the DVI port to use an analog monitor. That is the difference between the BULK card and the White BOX card. With this configuration, you can use CRT+DVI LCD, but not CRT+CRT, since the signal from the DVI port cannot be "downmixed" to an analog signal.

I just ordered mine today, as I don't have a need for a dual monitor setup right now....

HTH
Matt