Question:
BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 1GB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card for pc gaming?
anonymous
2008-04-14 13:06:50 UTC
is this card good for pc gaming? BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 1GB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card

and why is it so cheap compared to other 1 gb cards?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8762181&type=product&id=1203815034113
Four answers:
Tyrantula3
2008-04-14 13:23:32 UTC
No, this card is not designed to be a gaming card. Its a low-end card at best.



Its also a complete rip-off at $149.99.



The amount of memory in a video card is only one (and a slightly minor) aspect in the whole power of a card. The major determining factor is the GPU, as well as the core and memory clock speeds. The amount of memory determines how high of a resolution, or how well it can buffer images, but not how quickly it can produce them.



The 8500GT has a relatively slow GPU and clock/memory speeds (as indicated by the memory is 128-bit and only GDDR2, whereas most high-end cards have minimum 256-bit and GDDR3).



As it stands, the 8500GT is not even fast enough to use that much memory. The most it will effectively use at once is 256MB, and 512MB to a lesser degree. Tacking on 1GB of memory to a card like this is basically a marketing gimmick to sell low-quality parts at a high price premium to people who don't know any better.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127333



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102719



Here are examples of vastly superior cards with 4x to 5x the performance of that 8500GT at the same price point.



I would also advise never to buy from somewhere like Bestbuy until you check out the prices on somewhere like Newegg to make sure they're pricing correctly, as Bestbuy's prices are really all over the place, and seldom accurate.
AndyT
2008-04-14 13:19:34 UTC
OMG, OVERKILL, DO NOT GET IT!!! 1gb of vRAM is a total waste, especially on a card like that and even more so since it is only DDR2.



This card is $35 less after rebate and A MILLION TIMES BETTER, as long as your power supply can support it.



Oh and Best Buy is WAY OVERPRICED. Check out the 2nd link for a slightly better card then the one you posted. Any computer should be able to handle it.



EDIT: In response to your additional information I have a question for you. Why do you think you need a card with that much ram? Unless you are playing games at over 1650x1050 you don't need all that ram and you are wasting money. And you won't be upgrading for the future just by getting a large amount of ram. As for not buying on the internet, I guess you gotta wait for a sale or check out a local computer shop. Don't know where you live, but Fry's usually has good prices.
?
2016-10-09 09:35:13 UTC
The 9400 is like the closest ingredient to onboard portraits you may get. the only benefit is you will unencumber your ram from the onboard portraits, which will ensue no count number what committed card you pick. The 9600 and a ATI 4670 will make an excellent determination in case you do no longer opt to characteristic a greater effective power grant on your equipment...
rhondanufc
2008-04-14 15:08:27 UTC
Don't get the 8500GT. Get the 9600GT 512mb. It is the best value for money.


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