Decide for me!! GF4 ti4200 vs Radeon8500

[patsun123]

I'm about to buy a new vid card, and am kinda torn b/w either getting a radeon 8500 or a ti4200 (looking for $150 range or below).

In a lot of tests i've seen, the 8500 is only comparable to the gf3 ti500, and the prices arent too different (esp with that CompUSA salle going on this week), so i was just wondering what ya'll thought. Are the LE's clocked higher now?? (to normal 8500 speeds?... i'm referring to the newegg thread on the 8500LE's). Oh, and multimonitor support is definitely a consideration, but i think both cards do it right? (with the dvi->vga adapter). Is now a good time to buy?

i know there are prolly other threads that discuss it.. but i just didnt wanna wade through everything.

So anyways, reply or PM. thanks!

 

[AnAndAustin]

No doubt at all.

TI4200 is easily faster and better in every way than Rad8500 and GF3TI500, esp when o/c'ed. The Rad8500LE is the best budget buy in US & Canada at the mo for those on a tight $100 budget.

If you go 4200 get a 128MB card unless you're terrified of o/c'ing the 4200-64MB will be come limiting very quickly.

 

[TJ69]

I chose a visiontek ti4200 128mb over the radeon 8500. I was thinking about returning the card in exchange for a 8500 after watching a few DVDs on my computer. My old Radeon 32mb LE looked MUCH better with DVDs. I could swear DIVX playback looked better on the old radeon too, but I swapped the cards in and out a few times and it was too close to call. DVD playback is far superior on the Radeon, but thats not the main reason I bought this card.

So after playing GTA3 for a few days at 1280x1024x32 on the ti4200, I decided to keep it. Although, I neved did get a chance to compare it with a 8500. I also figured that with ATI's new release by August, driver support for the 8500 will be limited as ATI will focus on its new line. I don't think Nvidia plans to unveil a new card till X-mas, so we should be able to enjoy a few more months of fresh drivers aimed toward the ti line.

 

[LastRide]

I just picked up a Retail Vision Tek Xstacy Ti4200 128MB off ebay for $165 shipped.I would recommend the Ti4200 128MB card aswell.The 8500 is a pretty card too,but I think the Ti4200 is a little better card in my opinion.

 

[patsun123]

hrmm.

I actually do more 2d/movie stuff than i do gaming. I mean, i do play games occasionally, but i spend more time in the regular desktop and divx/dvd stuff than that. Also, money is a factor, or else i would just get the ti4200 128. Does anyone know if the 8500 LE's are any good?

Also a question on multimonitor... when you play games and movies on it, does it span both screens? I'm currently doing multimon with 2 seperate cards, and it doesnt do that at all.

thanks for the info

 

[Rand]

TI4200 is easily faster and better in every way

Better in every way?!
3D performance certainly, but I'd say there are numerous things outside of 3D performance that the R8500 is most certainly better at.

I also figured that with ATI's new release by August, driver support for the 8500 will be limited as ATI will focus on its new line.

The RV250 is little more then a higher clocked R200 with a few more integrated components, so it'll almost certainly be using the same code-base so I can't see driver support going anywhere.



Depends what you want in a graphics card....
TV-Out/ VIVO- ATi.
Dual Display- Pretty much even.
3D performance: Ti4200 is faster, though with the latest drivers the 8500LE is reasonably close.
2D Visual quality- ATi.
3D feature set- Tie... GF4 is better in some respects, R8500 is better in others.
DVD playback-ATi.
FSAA visual quality- ATi.
FSAA performance- nVidia
Anisotropic filtering visual quality- nVidia.
Anisotropic filtering performance- ATi.
nVidia has somewhat better driver support also, but the R8500 drivers are pretty mature at this point.
Price: R8500 is cheaper.
Overclocking: Both can usually overclock pretty well, but I'd give the Ti4200 the advantage.
Longevity: Ti4200 has the advantage here. UT2003 could be used as an example of the Ti4200's larger benefit in future games, though given that UT2003 is apparently specifically optimized for nVidia boards it may be something of an excessive scenario.

It really comes down to what you need in a graphics card, for many 3D performance is the primary determinator and in that the Ti4200 is the obvious choice. For others the R8500 may gain preference as it's an admirably well rounded board.

In the end, neither card is likely to disappoint you. Their both quite impressive.

 

[BP]

The 4200 is faster, but not enough to worry about.


Go with the best price or wait untill the R300 comes out, then decide.

 

[T2T III]

In a lot of tests i've seen, the 8500 is only comparable to the gf3 ti500, and the prices arent too different (esp with that CompUSA salle going on this week), so i was just wondering what ya'll thought. Are the LE's clocked higher now?? (to normal 8500 speeds?... i'm referring to the newegg thread on the 8500LE's). Oh, and multimonitor support is definitely a consideration, but i think both cards do it right? (with the dvi->vga adapter). Is now a good time to buy?

If you're thinking about multi-monitor support, then don't purchase the Gainward 4200 at CompUSA this week. The card only has a single VGA output - no DVI, no VIVO, etc.

 

[upsciLLion]

I don't know if I'd suggest buying the 128 MB Radeon 8500LE from newegg.com. I bought one about a week and a half ago and it came with 5 ns RAM. It was clocked at 250/200, which kind of sucks. I'd go with the 64 MB Radeon 8500 clocked at 275/275 if you're going to go the ATi road. If you wanna get a 128 MB card, though, don't think you can take the cheap road.

upsciLLion

 

[stevens]

ti4200 is faster but the 8500 has many more features

 

[patsun123]

whats the difference b/w an ATI card, and a "powered by ATI" card?

 

[BFG10K]

While the 8500 is certainly a nice card I'd have to say to go with the Ti4200. Even if they're the same speed the 4200 has better image quality in 3D mode plus it has better drivers.

Also 2D quality and DVD quality are superb on my Ti4600 and I can't see any difference between my Radeon and Ti4600 in both situations (other than that I get choppy DVD playback on my Radeon if I move the mouse cursor over the image while my Ti4600 carries on just fine).

 

[dpopiz]

from a die-hard ati fan: get the 4200

 

[SaiyanGoku]

ati card = made by ati itself

power by ati = made by other companies , but uses the ati chipset.

 

[Furor]

Originally posted by: Rand

TI4200 is easily faster and better in every way

Better in every way?!
3D performance certainly, but I'd say there are numerous things outside of 3D performance that the R8500 is most certainly better at.

I also figured that with ATI's new release by August, driver support for the 8500 will be limited as ATI will focus on its new line.

The RV250 is little more then a higher clocked R200 with a few more integrated components, so it'll almost certainly be using the same code-base so I can't see driver support going anywhere.



Depends what you want in a graphics card....
TV-Out/ VIVO- ATi.
Dual Display- Pretty much even.
3D performance: Ti4200 is faster, though with the latest drivers the 8500LE is reasonably close.
2D Visual quality- ATi.
3D feature set- Tie... GF4 is better in some respects, R8500 is better in others.
DVD playback-ATi.
FSAA visual quality- ATi.
FSAA performance- nVidia
Anisotropic filtering visual quality- nVidia.
Anisotropic filtering performance- ATi.
nVidia has somewhat better driver support also, but the R8500 drivers are pretty mature at this point.
Price: R8500 is cheaper.
Overclocking: Both can usually overclock pretty well, but I'd give the Ti4200 the advantage.
Longevity: Ti4200 has the advantage here. UT2003 could be used as an example of the Ti4200's larger benefit in future games, though given that UT2003 is apparently specifically optimized for nVidia boards it may be something of an excessive scenario.

It really comes down to what you need in a graphics card, for many 3D performance is the primary determinator and in that the Ti4200 is the obvious choice. For others the R8500 may gain preference as it's an admirably well rounded board.

In the end, neither card is likely to disappoint you. Their both quite impressive.

Not only does the 8500 barely lose any performance when AF is enabled in opengl, it looks better. Any geforce card will suffer a serious hit and in most modern games it will be unplayable in high resolutions.

Proof

I agree with all your other points, but the 8500 will most likely be better in the long run, because of ATI's trade up program..you can trade your 8500(If built by ATI) plus the amount difference at the time for their upcoming R300, plus you get a $50 rebate. Easy upgrade without spending $300 on a new card. (so if the 8500 drops to $99, R300 will most likely sell for $299, you'll be getting a R300 for ~$150 + poss tax and two way shipping.

 

[hans007]

in a lot of newer games , like UT 2003, if you check the AT review, the ti4200 wipes the floor with the 8500. in stuff like q3a older stuff, it doesnt really matter.


in the indoor map asbestos, the ti200 gf3 is even faster than a full blown 8500 128mb. the ti4200 is about 65% faster. in the outdoor map antalus, the ti4200 is about 50% faster.



theses results are just about true on all the resolutions . i HAD an ATI 8500 LE for a while. was in need of cash and sold it for a ti200 and about $35. so well thats my disclaimer , that and i own about 10 times as much nvidia stock as ATI stock.

 

[DoobieOnline]

If you can afford $150, get the Ti4200. The Radeon 8500 rocks (especially at $100), but the Ti4200 rocks harder. I've had both within the last 2 weeks, and decided to go with the Ti4200 after seeing the benches for UT2003. The Gainward GF4 Ti4200 64MB that I picked up has great 2D, games look every bit as good as the Radeon 8500, and I have higher frame rates now. I scored about 500 more 3D Marks with the Ti4200 (Radeon 8500LE at 275/300, Ti4200 at default). Ati has made great strides with their drivers, but Nvidia is still leading the pack with stability and speed. We'll see if that holds true when the the next generation of ATi cards hit the streets in the next few days.

 

[HendrixFan]

If I were you I would get the Radeon 8500. You can get it at newegg.com for $94 now. The 8500LE (listed at newegg as Model#: Radeon 8500LE 64M250-make sure its the 64M250 one) is clocked at 250/275 stock, but comes with 3.3ns Hynix RAM. After flashing with the retail BIOS most people are easily able to run it at 300/300 pretty easily. Even without flashing the BIOS (to get the voltage increase) people are able to get 275/300 easily.

The performance difference in games between a 300/300 R8500 and the Ti4200 isnt worth the $50 increase IMO. You said that you dont really game much, which is a plus for the ATI card. The 2D is better on the ATI card, plus the DVD hardware acceleration is the best amongst video cards. I think its a steal at the current $94 price, and should be able to hold you off for quite sometime. Im able to run my 8500 (at 300/300) playing Americas Army (Unreal Warfare engine) at 1024X768 with 2XAA and 16XAF at around 30-50fps (depending on indoors or outdoors). Considering that is the "next gen" engine, this card should last a casual gamer quite sometime.

 

[hans007]

the $94 newegg one doesnt support dual monitors btw. the ti4200s with dvi out do support it.

 

[KingofFah]

easily the 4200 is better

 

[BFG10K]

Not only does the 8500 barely lose any performance when AF is enabled in opengl, it looks better.

Utter garbage.

Proof.

Uh, no. Anand was using two different settings in that test: 16 tap for nVidia and 16x for ATi. 16 tap != 16x.

So that comparison was worthless.

 

[tuan121]

Depends on how long u want to keep the card. I recently purchases the Radeon 8500 Le BULK at Newegg for 93 dollars shipped. It is clocked at 250/275 w/ 3.3 ns ram. I overclocked it to 295/295 and its been rock stable. If you are torn between 64mb Ti 4200 and the 8500 then ill get the 8500. At 93 dollars the Radeon is maybe 10-15% slower. A 64mb Ti4200 at 150+ doesnt really justify a 50% markup on the Radeon. But if you are looking long term you may want the Ti 4200 128mb.