Worth upgrading from a Radeon 8500LE to GF4 TI4200?

[cbrsmurf]

Is the performance gain worth it (for FPS games)? How much will a 8500 resell for? I can get a refurb ti4200 for 65 bucks.

 

[Algere]

IMO at this time I don't think it's worth it

EDIT: Here's a comparison review between a 8500 LE against a GF4 Ti4200
http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/S&V/8500_le.shtml

 

[McArra]

I would at least get a 9600Pro to replace that 8500LE.... if you can't, try overclocking it.

 

[xSauronx]

i had an 8500le, it ran most things quite as well as my 4200 i have now, the 8500s were good cards and your LE may even oc a bit to retail speeds.

but its not worth upgrading to just a gf4 4200, at least a 9600 pro would be where id start

 

[Gagabiji]

Worth upgrading from a Radeon 8500LE to GF4 TI4200?

Naaaaaaaaaaw. For the extra 10-20 fps? It's totaly not worth it. If you upgrade, get a 9800 Pro.

 

[RussianSensation]

not worth it. think of it as putting down 65 towards a much faster card with dx 9 features and much better visual quality with AA and AF enabled. I wouldn't upgrade to anything less than Radeon 9700Pro from 8500le, or 5900xt.

 

[modedepe]

I agree with russian sensation; you should get at least a 9700 or 5900 of some variety. Anything less isn't really worth the bucks.

 

[Brian48]

I tend to disagree. I think it depends on how much you can sell your 8500le for and whether or not you can find a quick and ready buyer. I would imagine $40 for a good used R8500le is not unreasonable and would result in a quick sale. The end result is that this "upgrade" would only run you $25 and I think that's definitely worth the effort.

Speaking as an owner of both a retail, 128mb R8500 (full 275/275 speed) and a 64mb GF4 ti4200, I can say that the ti4200 is (very) noticably faster than the R8500 in almost every way. Even overclocked to 301/301, the R8500 cannot compete against it. The only area where the R8500 is superior is DVD playback, which is ATI's greatest strength.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my two R8500s (in fact, I have a 3rd, used one coming in from e-Bay), but if you're a gamer, the performance gain is well worth the relatively low cost (which I don't think is high enough to prevent you from getting another upgrade in the near future).

 

[Blastman]

If you use AF the 8500 takes a lot less of a performance hit and should be faster than the 4200?

http://www.tech-report.com/etc/2002q3/graphicsmem/index.x?pg=10

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Brian48
I tend to disagree.

2 Things:

1) Why buy a 4200 for any amount of money when on April 15th when doom 3 comes out you are going to want a faster card anyways and will be looking to buy one again? In that case you might as well not waste even $25 and skip right to a faster card

2) When the new cards come out current 9700/9800 5900 etc. will drop in price and will be very reasonable at $150 or below and to play HL2 and so on you'd want at least that kind of firepower so why waste even $25 ?

Basically this summer 8500 or 4200 will become 2 full generations behind that is huge and it makes no sense to spend even $1 because it makes no difference if you play a game at 10FPS or 20FPS which will be the case with new games between these 2 cards anyways (and that is without AA/AF and DX9 image enhancements)

 

[BFG10K]

Unless it's a free swap then don't bother.

 

[sandorski]

It would be an "upgrade", but barely.

 

[Brian48]

2 Things:

1) Why buy a 4200 for any amount of money when on April 15th when doom 3 comes out you are going to want a faster card anyways and will be looking to buy one again? In that case you might as well not waste even $25 and skip right to a faster card

Because it's a short, cheap, interim upgrade for any existing game on the market. Considering the net cost, I don't think it's a big deal. You're also making assumptions that Doom3 will not play well on either of these cards and I really doubt that will be the case. If the crappy, unoptimized Doom3 alpha can play reasonable will on both my GF3 and R8500, it will be more than acceptable on a GF4.

2) When the new cards come out current 9700/9800 5900 etc. will drop in price and will be very reasonable at $150 or below and to play HL2 and so on you'd want at least that kind of firepower so why waste even $25 ?

Basically this summer 8500 or 4200 will become 2 full generations behind that is huge and it makes no sense to spend even $1 because it makes no difference if you play a game at 10FPS or 20FPS which will be the case with new games between these 2 cards anyways (and that is without AA/AF and DX9 image enhancements)

He never mentioned anything about spending $150 or any of the newer cards. The question was whether or not the ti4200 is worth the upgrade from what he currently has. My opinion is that it is, provided that the cost is really minimal. $20-25 (or less) is not going to break the bank here. Based on all the existing games and demos available now, I think the ti4200 still some legs left in it. HL2 is too far out there to make a prediction. Even then, the game is reputed to scale really well on a broad range of cards.

 

[Pete]

I'm with Brian. If you can get $40 for your LE, get the 4200 for $25. It'll be noticably faster in many cases.

The 8500LE's "free" AF is nice, but pointless when every frame counts. The 4200 will generally be faster, thus it will be playable longer. It's a decent move for $25, but above that, you're better off saving for a newer card.

 

[AkumaX]

i was thinking the same thing, but going from a ti4200 to a 9500. the 9500 isn't as good as an upgrade once doom3/hl2 comes out. i'll probably sell whatever i have to get a 5900se/9800se when april/may turns around

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: AkumaX
i was thinking the same thing, but going from a ti4200 to a 9500. the 9500 isn't as good as an upgrade once doom3/hl2 comes out. i'll probably sell whatever i have to get a 5900se/9800se when april/may turns around

Nooooooooooo!!! Don't buy an SE!!! SE=the celeron of graphics cards

They have half the pipes of the 9800 pro which generally means half the performance.

Just splurge on a 9800 non-pro in a few months when they're nice and cheap.

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: AkumaX
i was thinking the same thing, but going from a ti4200 to a 9500. the 9500 isn't as good as an upgrade once doom3/hl2 comes out. i'll probably sell whatever i have to get a 5900se/9800se when april/may turns around

Nooooooooooo!!! Don't buy an SE!!! SE=the celeron of graphics cards

They have half the pipes of the 9800 pro which generally means half the performance.

Just splurge on a 9800 non-pro in a few months when they're nice and cheap.

alright alright... but when april/may comes around, i wanna be able to spend ~$100, and its gonna be > ati 9700/nvidia 5800

 

[MichaelZ]

hold on to your 8500 and wait for next gen cards. if you cant afford the latest NV40 and R420c then i'm sure 5900 and 9800 prices would be significantly lower! i'm definatly on the waiting bandwagon.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i would say when overclocked those two cards would be roughly comparable in performance
it wouldn't be worth it

 

[akshayt]

I would say wait atleast a month.Then you could go for a 128mb radeon 9700pro sapphire.
Current radeon 9800pro sapphire price at newegg.com=212$
Price in June10=?

 

[OinkBoink]

akshayt ur here too!!! LOL cant stop laughing!!!!