CLEAR DVD IMAGES (ATI Radeon 8500)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	ATI Radeon 8500
Date:	11/10/05 (354 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for watching DVD

Disadvantages: Not good enough for a good game.

Have you ever kicked yourself for letting others make decisions for you, based on their knowledge of a product, rather than your own. I was faced with this situation recently, when my Video Card on my computer blew, due to dust build up in the cooling system of the computer. I had to replace the Video Card and asked a shop that I trust which was the best alternative, based on my useage of the computer.

The Radeon 8500 looks pretty impressive and works on all systems from Windows 95 up to the most modern of XP and is Linux compatible. What I wanted was a card that would allow me to play a new game that I acquired, and to be honest, this one did. The pictures that it displays are amazing, edges look smooth and realistic and the textures that you can see with this card are pretty incredible.

What let me down here was my own lack of knowledge and this is really why I am writing this review. Whilst I am impressed with what it does, I think that consumers should think seriously about which Video card they chose, and not be lead by shops into buying what the shop have in stock, rather than the best for their purposes. This card allows Direct X and I have to include technical specs for those that may be more technically minded than myself. Radeon VE works in a manner that allows you to see great 3D and powers 1.6 gigatexels per second for high fill rates in 32-bit resolution.

Did I lose you there ? I thought so. It lost me too. This is a stable card, providing a good image and is suitable for users who wish to watch dvd's, and use their computer for the internet, and the non too complex gamers for gaming online. Yes, it works with my game, although already, I am disappointed that certain elements of the game are not supported by the card, and that the newer version of the game I want to play would actually require me to change the card once again and upgrade, within weeks of having upgraded to what I thought was a good card. Changing from one image to another is a little stilted sometimes on my game although this is not the case with watching DVD's.

The card comes with a built in TV out socket, which means that you can transmit your DVD's direct to a television set, which is idea for people who want to use their computer's DVD player to watch movies other than on their monitor. A lead is included and although the instructions are in picture form and probably easy to follow, I do not trust my ability to install technical stuff on my computer and leave this to the experts, though the whole process took an expert less than twenty minutes, with the installation CD being clear and easy to follow as well as the card being easily slotted into place.

The card needs an appropriate AGP slot and here I was fortunate to have the appropriate slot available from my last video card. On the back of the computer, the card gives you three sockets, two for monitors, and one for the television set.

This card works with Intel Pentium, 4/111/11/Celeron, AMD k6/Duron, Athlon/Athlon XP or compatible AGP (2X/4X/6X) and required 64MB of system memory.

This is rather a lot of technical stuff for a computer user to take in, and what I would suggest to possible purchasers of a Video Card is to do what I did not do. Work out what kind of use you would give your computer in advance, before shelling out money on a card that will be obsolete to your requirements in a short space of time. Not the fault of the card of course, as the makers are respected and have produced an impressive card, but the fault of a consumer that knew nothing about cards, and did little to work out what future use she would have for a Video Card. Had I studied what I needed the card for in the first place, I would not have made an expensive mistake and at 70 Euros (including fitting cost), cannot really afford to make future mistakes like this one. Manufacturer support was very quick and I received a reply to an email within about an hour, which by today's standards says a lot for the company's seriousness.

What is my verdict on the card ? It does what it says it does, gives high quality performance.

My verdict on me as a consumer : I was unqualified, made the wrong decision, and will be upgrading as soon as finances allow, although as I have already said, the card is adequate for dvd viewing and normal internet use.

Be wise, buy the card that will give you the performance that you need.

Summary: In my case a waste, although ok for more generalised use.

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