ATI 8500 from avlogic.com

[cvb]

Those guys have a "White Boxed" ATI 8500 for $175. This seems very low and kind of suspicious. Does anybody know if it's a fully featured card with no manual or is there some sort of handicap to it?

 

[cvb]

Oh, and another question

Should I get that ATI 8500 ($175) or a Gainward GF3 Ti200 ($151)?
OS:Windows XP
Apps: MOH:AA, Aces High, OFP, UT

 

[rbV5]

That seems about right for a "white box" 8500. It may not have the DVI>VGA adapter, and its probably clocked 250/250 or even 230/230 rather than the retail 275/275. It may or maybe not be able to clock to retail speeds and could have slower ram. It says its manufactured by ATI, so other than clock speed, it should be the same as the retail card.

Either of those cards would be nice performers. You could make a good case for each.

 

[cvb]

OK,

so what you're telling me is that that "White Box" thing is a sham I'm thinking Ti200 is the way to go...

 

[rbV5]

<< so what you're telling me is that that "White Box" thing is a sham I'm thinking Ti200 is the way to go... >>



No, not at all. Personally, I think its a great way to pay 50% to 70% of retail and get 85% to 100% of the performance. Whats important IMHO, is that you do like you're doing, find out what you get for what you pay for, and then make an informed choice. Pretty boxes and benchmarks don't count much for me, gameplay/features are what I pay my money for.

8500dv's are clocked @230 and perform on a par with a GF3 Ti200 from what I've seen, and a Ti200 can be overclocked to Ti500 levels which perform similar to the retail 8500's. Can all Ti200's overclock to Ti500 levels? doubt it. Can all OEM 8500 overclock to retail? nope. So it comes to price/performance/features. Any 8500 or GF3 model will perform very well.

 

[cvb]

I called avlogic and the guy seemed to be convinced that their "White Box" 8500 is identical to a retail version, except there's no software, manual, etc. But he didn't sound too knowledgeable

Did anyone buy that card from those guys??

 

[Mindbreeze]

It sounds legit, there are plenty of these (whitebox/oems) available elsewhere for near the same price.