Thinking of Upgrading, but im video card dumb =)

[Dougan]

Currently I am running a oem radeon ve. I am very unhappy with it since i reformatted my computer so am thinking of going to a different card. I am not into o/c, erm well maybe i just dont know anything about it. Anyways Im thinking about getting a 8500. Can anyone help with the decision? I have a friend who gets OEM and wholesale prices is it worth it? Or should i go down the the local circuit city and buy a retail card? Decisions decisions. Thank you in advance!

 

[slim_lim]

Welcome to the forums. What kind of wholesale prices are we talking about?

 

[Dougan]

Hello

I am not real sure he just always gets good deals on oem, I think this card ran about 99 bucks 6 months ago from, but it was pretty bare like it didnt come with the adapter for the dual monitor so forth. I guess maybe im looking to know if this card is really any good should i upgrade so forth. I do alot of gaming and would really like to know what kind of cards are out there for about 150 or so. And im looking for a card that doesnt lie to you. For instance ATI VE is messed up on there where it checks convert 32 bit textures to 16 bits and thats at default, I dont know much about cards but i have read some nasty recviews about this cards t&l so forth. Anyways kinda off subject, but is oem made different than retail?

 

[Bull]

OEM cards are pretty much the same. With retail cards you get extra stuff like software and the box with drivers. I have bought OEM cards and just download the software from the internet. But I know ATI's video cards are different. I think some cards that are sold as OEM are clocked lower. You just have to get the specs on the card and make sure they match retail.

 

[PsycoPhreak]

Yes, the OEM's are clocked lower, but now you also have to watch out for the "import" OEM's as they not only drop the clock, but have removed the external RAMDAC...that means...no dual monitor support.....some OEM's have slower memory on them also....but there are the cases where people get an OEM and it's as good as the retail, it all depends on if you do your homework and know the specs BEFORE buying....Ask the people/place your buying from EXACTLY what their version of "OEM" is, there's alot of confusing info out there, as well as confused vendors...heh heh

 

[slim_lim]

OEM should be fine if you can get a much lower price on it than the retail version. OEMs do tend to be a little slower, but not by much. As for the features, you have to decide what's important to you and read your potential purchases's specs carefully to see it they're there. Do you really need a TV-out, DVI-out, dual monitor support? I think 8500 oems generally have all of those, but I may be wrong. If you don't need those things, like most people, then you may just as well buy a bare card. It's not going to impact your gaming.
Talk to your friend. He sounds like he might be a able to to help you.