Pros/Cons of Radeon 8500 LE (128Mb)

[ddasilva]

What are the pros/cons of the Ati Radeon 8500LE (128MB)? I want to know if this card is a lemon or not before I purchase it.

 

[johnoh]

Its not as fast as more expensive cards. That's all that comes to mind. Good card for the money.

John A

 

[Rubberbband]

go to <A HREF="http://www.rage3d.com/" target="_new">http://www.rage3d.com/</A> and check out some of the posts. I could not get that card to work without BSOD on my system. Tried all their drivers, formatted twice and read lots at rage3d. It performed well when it wasn't crashed though.

The Men Behind the GUNS!

<A HREF="http://www.btvillarin.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=327" target="_new"><b>MY SYSTEM</b></A>

 

[Crashman]

Pro's? None that I can think of. Cons? It's painfully slow!

Read the reviews at newegg, the Saphire card has been comming with 5.5ns memory clocked at 200MHz, while the Full Version 64MB card for about the same price comes with 3.3ns or 3.6ns memory at 275MHz.

When will you need the extra 64MB? Probably not during the usefull life of the card. When will you need the extra clock speed of the 64MB full version? About NOW.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[Crashman]

Oh, I almost forgot, MOST LE versions DO NOT SUPPORT DUAL CRT MONITORS, while the FULL VERSION DOES!!! This is because they lack a $3 part, the second RAMDAC, which would enable an anolog signal through the adapter. Heck, the full version even INCLUDES the adapter, a $30 part in itself!

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[ddasilva]

Will it be so slow that I cannot play games at at all? I want a card that will allow me to play today's games in a new resolution...

Derek

 

[Crashman]

Are you even listening? You HAVE AN OPTION, GET THE FARKING FULL VERSION 64MB CARD BECAUSE IT'S MUCH FASTER THAN THE 128MB LE, AND ABOUT THE SAME PRICE!!! And it comes with a handy DVI to VGA adapter for the second monitor output.

Yes, the 128MB LE is probably fast enough to play the latest games at relatively high resolutions. But WHY WOULD YOU BUY IT WHEN THE 64MB FULL VERSION CARD PLAYS THE SAME GAME MORE SMOOTHLY FOR THE SAME PRICE?

Bah, I don't think I'll ever get through to you.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[endless_n00b]

Will it be so slow that I cannot play games at at all? I want a card that will allow me to play today's games in a new resolution...

I've got the 64mb version from Newegg, 3.3ns memory. OC'd at 285/300 and very stable.

UT2k3 at normal/high settings (not highest) I get 60-70 fps @1024x768x32. UT2k3 is easily one of the most H/W intensive games available right now, so yes you can play games with it! Its by no means the fastest card out, but for 80somthin bucks at newegg, you cant go wrong. It even comes with about 20 bucks worth of S video cable, which I was very pleasantly surprised about!

I agree with crash, you wont need the extra 64mb over the useful life of this card, especially if the 128 has slower memory to boot.

-
Cheap memory: $26
Unstable OS: $95
Your boss getting the BSOD late on a Friday: Priceless

 

[jclw]

It depends who makes it. A retail ATI 8500LE 128mb will come with infineon 3.6 BGA memory and perform very well, and overclock even better.

<A HREF="http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=125340" target="_new">You might find this database handy</A>

I bought a retail ATI 8500LE (to replace a 7200) and have been extremely pleased with it.

If you buy OEM make sure you get a card with good memory, that's all.

- JW

*PIII-800 @900 i440BX SMP and Tualeron 1.2 @1.74 i815*<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by JCLW on 11/22/02 06:14 PM.</EM></FONT></P>