8500 LE vs. 9000 Pro ?????

[Ralidan]

Any opinions here? This is the competition

ATI OEM Sapphire ATI RADEON 9000 Atlantis PRO 128MB DDR DVI/TV-out, BULK <--- $81
vs.
ATI OEM RADEON 8500 LE 128MB DDR DVI/CRT/TV <---- $82

so price is no option, but both cards are Sapphire and from Newegg so its a matter of speed, the DVI output i could care less about, i need a good gaming card and that is about it.. my GF3 Ti200 is crappin out on me... if anyone has a better option for ~ the same price, throw it out also, don't need top of the line, but decent. I don't have 8x AGP on my mobo so that doesn't matter either, but 128MB RAM i do need. Thanks

-Ralidan

 

[Schadenfroh]

get the 8500 le, it is better than a 9000 pro

 

[devers]

Well, I think they perform at just about the same level. Not sure though, shadenfroh probably knows better.

If you could do without the 128MB, a Geforce4 Ti4200 would offer *way* better performance. Even with AA+AF, I think. The 64MB version of the Ti4200 is $83 at Newegg last time I looked. The 128MB is $119. Both are Chaintech's though, so if you don't like that mfr, then best to pass up.

Btw, when you say your GF3 Ti200 is crapping out, what do you mean? Is it physically failing, or is it just not up keeping up with your gaming demands?

 

[Ralidan]

the GF3 ti200 is physicly failing, or my AGP slot is crap... i am only getting about 40 fps on 3dMark 2001 when i used to get ~85 fps, i may have damaged it by too much Voltage or too much OC ???? i backed it down to default clocks tho. It still proformes OK for the games i use it for ( CS, WC3, NWN, Q3 ) but i would like something better for games to come... i was also looking at the Albatron GF 4 Ti4280 - i had heard those benchmarks kicked @$$ and, even though almost double the 8500 LE price, was wondering if the difference is worth it??

 

[Brian48]

I would confirm the clock and memory speeds of the R8500LE. If it's one of the older ones with a spec of 250/250, I'd get that. If not, and it's one of the newer ones (which should be really be called the "R8500LELELE") that's clocked at 230/200 or lower, I'd opt for the 9000. The R8500 is riding on it's reputation of yesteryear. The newer (slower) ones are no where near as good as the ones before the 9000 series.

If you really want an equivalent to the old R8500LE, then get the 9100.

 

[beserkfury15]

the reason for the 8500 confusions is that the 8500 back in its days, was a ati's high end card. now of course, it is a low end card that doesn't get taken into much high standards as before. so if you can find one of the original ones then deffinately go for that.

 

[bandana163]

Why not buy a R9100 card? You can get it around 80$ and the performance is better than that of a 8500Light. The R9100 is really a 8500 clocked at 250/250. It performs somewhat better (and sometimes not much better) than a GF3 Ti500.

 

[selfbuilt]

Actually, the 9100s also come with variable clock speeds (e.g. Sapphire's 64MB is 250/230 and its 128MB are 250/200). Retail ATI 8500LEs 64MB are 230/230.

The point is that clock speeds vary considerably (i.e. from original 250/250 to as low as 183/166 on some cheapo cards!). As long as you stick with models in the 230+ range, you should definitely be beating the performance of the 9000 Pro.

 

[Ralidan]

ATI OEM RADEON 8500 LE 128MB DDR DVI/CRT/TV Features TRUFORM technology to make characters more life-like- High-resolution 32-bit 3D gaming up to 2048x1536- HYPER Z II technology conserves memory bandwidth for improved performance in demanding applications -
Specifications:
GPU: RADEON 8500LE
MEM:128MB DDR, 128-bit memory. This card has a default Clock Speed of 250/200 MHz
Maximium memory Interface :12GB/s with 250MHZ DDR
Bus Interface: AGP2X/4X
3D Acceleration Features: TRUFORM, SMARTSHADER, SMOOTHVISION anti-aliasing,PIXEL TAPESTRY II, VIDEO IMMERSION II
OEM (comes with Driver and S-Video cable) This card cannot be used in conjunction with a DVI adapter
Powered by ATI Manufactured by Sapphire More... Model#: RADEON 8500 LE 128M -OEM Special Free FedEx Saver Shipping

there is the newegg post, 250/200 default, can this be OC WITHOUT flashing bios? I am a newcomer to ATi cards and like my nVidia "coolbits". and why is the ram speed only 200?? my gf3 ti200 ram is defult at 484 and will oc over 500 with no problem?

 

[gregor7777]

The 8500's can be o/ced without flashing. Download RadClocker for a CoolBits type utility. No overhead and whatnot...

 

[Pete]

Neither card will be much of an upgrade over your OC'ed Ti200, though they will offer AF essentially for free, and should offer nicer 2D and DVD. I'd recommend a ~$100 4200 if you're looking for a big performance boost.

If you want to stick to the cards you chose, I'd probably recommend the 9000P if the 8500LE is clocked lower than 250/230. I'm guessing it's clocked at 250/230, though, and that makes it a tougher call. The 8500LE will perform much better in UT2K3, but otherwise it's about even, and its much slower memory should hobble it at higher resolutions compared to the 9000P. Plus, odds are the 8500LE won't offer dualhead, which the 9000P does.

FYI, I just bought a $50 64MB 9100 (250/250 Vtek) from CompUSA, and I think it's a very nice card. (I'm upgrading from an integrated GF2MX, so my standards may be a little low. ) I didn't think the extra memory was worth paying 50% more, but that's your call to make. If you play certain games like JK2 or RtCW at their highest textures settings, you'll need 128MB. I can live with slightly worse textures for the difference in price.

 

[Ralidan]

Thank you everyone for your replys, i will keep this all in mind, i just can't decide how much cash i want to fork into a new card though... being i have $300 left to go before i have my new car engine payed off, it'll be a month or so before i can even make the card purchase.. maybe some prices will fall by then ?? Thanks again!

-Ralidan

 

[bilbois]

get the 8500/9100 over the 9000 ie 1 texture unit versus 2 2 is better than 1 the 9000 is basically a castrated 8500/9100 and they can be overcloked without bios flashing and yes the 9000 is considerbly slower I tried both in my machine one right after the other. and I also prefer the visual quality of my 8500 to my gf3 ti200. Hope this helps

 

[Cheetah8799]

I recently purchase a PowerColor 9100 64M (low-profile) card and I am very impressed. I have never used an 8500le or 9000, but the 9100 only cost me $66 from accupc.com. I've been running BF1942, SOF2, and UT2K3 with 1024/768 and most all of the nifty graphics features turned on. No problems at all in my opinion.

Not sure if this helps at all, but it's something to compare to.

 

[gtd2000]

Originally posted by: Cheetah8799
I recently purchase a PowerColor 9100 64M (low-profile) card and I am very impressed. I have never used an 8500le or 9000, but the 9100 only cost me $66 from accupc.com. I've been running BF1942, SOF2, and UT2K3 with 1024/768 and most all of the nifty graphics features turned on. No problems at all in my opinion.

Not sure if this helps at all, but it's something to compare to.

SOF 2 runs far better on a Radeon 8500LE than a GF4 Ti4200 (overclocked to 300/600 - 4600 speeds) on my system.

Not too sure about other games but if you play SoF2 it is a very good card indeed