radeon 8500LE vs. 9000 vs. 9000 Pro

[cowsclaw]

which of the following would give me the most bang for the buck in the long run, i.e., i won't have to upgrade it for 1-2 years.
Radeon 8500 LE 128 MB
Radeon 9000 128MB
Radeon 9000 Pro 64 MB
money is an issue. hence, the 64MB Pro.
also, i usually only surf the net and use office apps. i also do some photoshoping and gaming occasionally.

thanks
-kirin

 

[clicknext]

8500LE. 128mb is always good for photoshopping and gaming. If you don't play any recent 3D games, then it doesn't matter which 128mb card.

 

[Eug]

Radeon 9100 or else 8500LE. Same price range.

 

[Duvie]

The 9000's will be sufficient to handle your uses while the 8500 would and should be faster in gaming apps....However as for longevity the 9000x cards are direct x 9.0 compliant while the 8500 is not....Will anything gaming wise use direct x 9.0 in the next 1-2 years??? Likely but probably very few...MOst don't use a whole lot of 8.1 now....

 

[sash1]

Edit

Gouv is right, 9000 is only a DX8.1 card. A quote from FS about the 9000: "Full support for DirectX 8.1 programmable pixel and vertex shaders in hardware".

Get the 8500 128Mb.

 

[Gouv]

I think that the 9000s are DX8 parts not DX9, despite the naming convention. I'd get the 8500, but any of those cards should last awhile for light gaming and general use.

 

[Duvie]

you could be right....The frekkin gf4 mx is only direct x 7.0 compliant yet it is named gf4 line and is more in competition with the budget ati cards like the 9000's....


Edit: He is right it is only direct x 8.1....That case go with money cost first then if they are neglible go with the 8500...

 

[BFG10K]

The 128 MB 8500 LE will be the best choice.

128mb is always good for photoshopping

It makes no difference to photoshop.

 

[dlaw]

I am making more or less the same decision....I think I will go for 8500LE too

Though don't know if I should get the 128MB or the 64MB....Some say the 64MB is faster?

 

[justagamer]

Quote: Though don't know if I should get the 128MB or the 64MB....Some say the 64MB is faster?

it might be a little faster in some cases because the memory used is faster than in the 128mb cards, but more memory will be needed for newer games(doom3) using more textures, therefore i recommend the 128Mb. Also, the 8500 has 4 pixel pipelines, whereas the the 9000 only has three(instead of removing directx8 functionality like the gf4mx, ATI removed a pipeline to decrease the cost of the card).., once again, games of today use more textures(ut2003)..., in this case the 9000 will be slower than the 8500.

 

[majewski9]

Radeon 8500LE 128 meg version definately.