choice: geforce3 ti vs radeon 8500

[krakerman]

ok, im in an interesting though probably overdone circumstance...
i ordered a radeon 8500 from dell and of course havent gotten it yet. im also a little discouraged by the apparent lousy drivers from ati for the radeon 8500 right now. granted these might improve, i dont want them to finally be up to par right as the radeon 9500 or whatever they will call it is being released. which leads me to my question...
im considering cancelling my order and spending the money on either a geforce ti200 (i have seen in reviews these can perform as well as the radeon 8500, but once better drivers come out the radeon 8500 should beat this card right?) or perhaps a ti500 if the prices arent outrageous, which they probably are. anyways, has anyone had the chance to compare these cards? i really want the radeon 8500 since ive heard so much about how much more crisp and colorful it is. i have a radeon 32ddr right now, and i like it a lot compared to geforce2s. i play a lot of games, but not obsessed with fps, so the drop w/ a radeon isnt that big of a deal to me, i just want overall quality. i also dont have a clue about the different geforce3 card makers. ive heard good stuff about leadtek, anyone else also? anyways, if anyone has advise on what the best right to go might be, id appreciate it. just wanna get a good card sometime soon

[Richard]

My take on video cards is to never buy the latest and greatest. It's analagous to buying a new car. The initial depreciation value is just too great.

The best thing to do is to buy a video card that is one generation behind.

Also, never ever pre-order hardware. Especially, video cards. Every time a new video card is pending release there's a flood of hype as to how great it is going to be. Don't be suckered in by the hype! Wait until the card has had a good 6 months in the retail channel before dropping cash on it. (This way you avoid the initial sticker shock, and the manufacturer has had time to iron out the kinks.)

I'd also venture to say that there isn't really a need for either the GeForce3 or Radeon 8500. AFAIK, there aren't any games that absolutely demand that level of performance. (YET)

The only reason I could see for dropping the cash on a GeForce3 Ti500 is if you're the type of person that only upgrades his video card once every 2 to 3 years. Otherwise, stick it out a little longer.

Never buy a piece of equipment based on what it "could" become. Buy it for what it can do right now.

[funnyperson1]

Now, that the radeon8500 prices haave dropped enough that the price is the same as dell's you should cancel it and wait it out as richard says.....when drivers are straightened out the 8500 should whip the pants off of any geforce3Ti200 and if they are up to par with Nvidia's drivers even the Ti500 will be subjugated, but the best thing for right now is to wait it out, you radeon32mbddr should last you a while.....

[Yodums]

Originally posted by funnyperson1
Now, that the radeon8500 prices haave dropped enough that the price is the same as dell's you should cancel it and wait it out as richard says.....when drivers are straightened out the 8500 should whip the pants off of any geforce3Ti200 and if they are up to par with Nvidia's drivers even the Ti500 will be subjugated, but the best thing for right now is to wait it out, you radeon32mbddr should last you a while.....

I dont know about that ...
nVidia are damn good with drivers that eventually that Ti 200 G3 will increase alot in the future.

[krakerman]

interesting points. im still of the mind that the radeon 8500 WILL kick the pants off the geforce3 family, but its a matter of when... also, one of the main reasons i wanna upgrade is that my radeon32ddr i have now just chugs like mad in wolfenstien at the good resolutions. some unreal chugs a bit too :-( figure ill be keeping this card a while though like was said above, so i can justify the cost that way. however, as pointed out the prices are dropping and will in the future, so i might just see if it comes anytime soona dn if not just cancel and buy later from somewhere else if i so decide. one reason for me not to wait though is that i want to build a second comp for my dad sometime, and the radeon i have now would be a great vid card for him. nothing too flashy, but nice 2d and dvd support, and it would make sense to buy one for myself now and give him my old one than to buy one for him and then later buy another for myself. if i dont upgrade, do you all think the athlon xp's are worth it? i think the 1600 rated one is for a halfway ok price, but not sure of their overclockability compared to the standard tbirds. seen a few pages, but most ive looked at dealt with the 1800 and i dont know about core differences and such.

one more thing, lets assume you all HAD to buy a vid card now, and had limit capped at $200ish. what would you buy? keep in mind that i will probably have the card for a while (ie yeah i would like nice radeon drivers but if they turn out to be better in the longrun than the geforce3 that might affect things). as it is now i think ill sit back and watch what happens, but if i get an impulse to buy a card i want some ideas ;-)

thanks for the input so far guys.

[Richard]

If I had to buy a video card. It would probably be a GeForce3 Ti 200. Bang for the buck and well supported across the board.

The Ti 500 is just priced too high.

The Radeon 8500 isn't fully cooked. :)

[]-[itman]

If you're going to buy right now I would definitely go with the Ti200. Cheap(comparingly) and a good card. I also hear that it can easily overclock to or beyond a standard GeForce3 with good cooling. If you're like me and going to wait, I'd keep a close eye on the 8500 and see what they do with the card. From the many reviews I read on the 8500 it's a good card but not near what was expected of it. However with good support it could turn into an awesome card. Just my $.02

[Cisco Kid]

The ti 200 is compared to the radeon 7500 but overall it is currently faster.

the radeon 8500 is compared to the ti500 and when drivers are corrected it will beat the ti500, based on what most reviews say.

your radeon 32 ddr should hold you for a while, overclock it.

next choice is to buy a radeonm 64 ddr vivo secoond edition card with 198/198 setting meaning meamory clock from factory is around 400. I have one of these and have it overclocked to 222.75/222.75 (memory clock at 445) with stcok fan/heatsink) Quizno, another board member here has the same card at 246/246 that is quite fast.

Right now this card is on special for $199.99 canadian which = 130-132 US that is a great deal. Also futureshop.ca has the radeon 7500 for the same price, these prices are cheaper than any current US prices .

next choice is too follow funnyperson1 advice and grab a gainward geforce card and overclock it to Ultra level.

I plan to get 8500 but maybe 6 months down the road when drivers are proper, I use the 7530 drivers in XP and I have nada problemos and love the smooth gameplay, no chugging whatsoever......

cisco kid ,

and what Richard said is right on the money, let a new card be out for a while first:D

[Morphoius]

I wonder how long it will take the Radion to get good drivers. there reputation is bad so maybe never. Nvidia on the other hand will get better and better drivers over time.

www.anandtech.com has a pricing guide that is only a couple days old. it shows the 8500 for just about $100 less than the GF3 Titanium 500.

The Radions are also shiping at different clock speeds with OEM coming out lower than the retail ones. i would defenantly wait until the overclocking mess gets fixed up. just think if you get an OEM one and it was an OEM one because it couldn't even make the retail specs. That would suck. The titanium is out now and you know what you are getting. For the radion i would wait for any messes to get cleaned up first.