I was planning to get a Parhelia but seems this card has room for improvement and drivers are not mature yet, so I am thinking of buying an ATi Radeon8500LE from newegg as a temporary solution and wait to see if Parhelia's have better support both from Matrox( drivers wise) and game developers, maybe newer Parhelia's do better. RV250/R300/NV30 are also coming so I'd better wait and get now a cheap 8500LE.
My question is which model? I am a little confused!
Look these 5:
1) ATI RADEON 8500LE 64MB DDR CRT/DVI/TV ,Dual Monitor support DVIS+CRT only, BULKPowered by the revolutionary RADEON™ 8500 world’s fastest and most advanced graphics processing unit (GPU)
Specifications:
Memory 64MB of double data rate memory
Resolutions: 640-480 to 2048x1536 at 85Hz
playback w/tv cable only - DVI to VGA Adapter will not work Model#: Radeon 8500LE 64M250 -OEM Special Free FedEx Saver Shipping
2)ATI RADEON 8500 LE 64MB DDR - OEM/White Box Powered by the revolutionary RADEON™ 8500 world’s fastest and most advanced graphics processing unit (GPU) Features ATI's TRUFORM. SMARTSHADER SMOOTHVISION™, and HYPER Z II technologies The only GPU to support DirectX® 8.1 Supports OpenGL® 1.3 features 64MB of (DDR) memory Dual monitor and Video output support Industry-leading DVD video playback w/tv cable only - 230/230Mhz, NO DVI to VGA Adaptor! Model#: RADEON 8500 LE -OEM
3)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 - SMOOTHVISION, ATI's most advanced anti-aliasing feature to date, eliminates distracting visual artifacts for smoother-looking images- AGP 2x Compliant BUS - AGP 2X/4X based systems Powered by ATI OEM,250MHz Model#: RADEON 8500 LE 128M -OEM Special Free FedEx Saver Shipping
4)Special Value! Hercules 3D Prophet FDX 8500 LE 64mb DDR with TV-Out & DVI - OEM High quality TV encoder on NTSC & Pal TV sets supporting resolutions of up to 1024x768. SMOOTHVISION creates highly efficient anti-aliasing (true multi-sampling anti-aliasing), SMARTSHADER technology: new programmable Vertex Shaders & Pixel Shaders (PIXEL TAPESTRYII) engines which offers more complex rendering and lighting effects and supports the latest version of DirectX 8.1 pixel shaders (1.4) for ultra-high multi-texturing and blending levels: up to 6 textures in a single pass. 250/250 Core/memory, This video card can do one CRT+one flat panel digital monitor but cannot do CRT+CRT. Model#:
5)GIGABYTE RADEON 8500LE PRO 64MB of double data rate memory(DDR) Powered by the revolutionary RADEON 8500LE Features ATI's TRUFORM, SMARTSHADER SMOOTHVISION, and HYPER Z II technologies Latest 3D games support the advanced features of AP64D Dual monitor and Video output support Industry-leading DVD video playback Digital Flat Panel (DVI-I) support ,Supports 3D resolutions (32-bit color) up to 2048x1536 AGP 2.0 Compliant BUS - AGP 2X (3.3V), AGP 4X (1.5V), or AGP2X/4X based systems Support V-Tuner Tweaker ,Huge FanSink with double side, Games and Software Bundle250MHz Model#: AP64D FedEx Saver Shipping $10.00
So, which of them do you suggest?
1)What's the difference between the first 2 and which of them is the infamous 250/275 which we are talking about?
2)If I buy that hercules can I use ATi's Catalyst drivers?
3)Which of them o/c the best and gives 2 dvi monitor support?
I'd be glad to hear some answers as my GF2 GTS cannot do much nowadays and I really want a better card. Also can I use my Crystal Orb with these Radeons?
Thanx in advance
