Radeon 8500, 9000, 9200?

[Geeky1]

Okay, so I've kinda-sorta decided to hold off on a major (Read: 9800 Pro 256/5900 Ultra) graphics upgrade in favor of waiting for the next generation of chips, since my 8500 is still plenty fast for now. However, my other comp. (the one that would be getting the upgrade anyhow) is still stuck with a Rage 128, and it's starting to bug me. I'm trying to decide between another 8500 (LE, 128MB), a Radeon 9000 Pro 128mb, and a Radeon 9200 Pro 128mb. Now, I know the chips are all based on the 8500, but there are some differences:

8500LE:
250/250
4 Pixel pipelines
2 Textures/Pipe
3 Textures/unit

9000 Pro:
275/275
4 Pixel pipelines
1 Texture/pipe
6 Textures/unit

9200 Pro:
I can find no info on it... any idea where to get it?

[Geeky1]

Also, what is the 9100? I thought it was just the integrated graphics chip in the upcoming ATi chipset... is there an AGP 9100 as well? if so, what are the specs on that?

[Riddick]

I suggest at least a 9500 or a 9600, as it comes with full dx9 support, which will make it last longer. the other cards that u mention dont

[Sputnik]

9100 = 8500.... they kinda just renamed it to show the different performance levels (i.e. 8500 is slighty faster than 9000 in most tests)

[Geeky1]

Riddick; this thing isn't going to be used as the card in my primary system for more than about 6 months. I just want something that's cheap, relatively fast, and can hold me over until the next generation of ATi/nVidia cards...

[SimGuy]

Radeon 9200 Pro Specifications:
0.15 Micron fabrication process
275 MHz Core Speed
275 MHz Memory Speed
4 Pixel Pipelines
1 Texture per Pipe
6 Textures per Unit
64 & 128 MB editions with 128-bit memory interface.
DirectX 8.1 compliancy

Essentially, the Radeon 9200 is an AGP 8x variant of the RV280 core, making it really a rebadged Radeon 9000 Pro with no change in clock speeds or abilities, other than AGP 8x. :D

If you're not looking to spend a lot, check E-Bay for any surplus 8500LE's that are kicking around, but I wouldn't pay any more than $60 for a used one when you can grab a new 9200 Pro for $70 from pricewatch.com. That will tie you over for 6 months, when finally the 9800 Pro's come down in price. :D

[Al_Capown]

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p3394

Also, have you though of nvidia? Go with a geforce3 man. Those are solid cards and pretty cheap nowadays. Also, ti4200's would be a nice card to have on the side. So if your machine dies you can take the card and put it in your new machine and overclock it for ****s and gigles.

[Geeky1]

Al; thanks for the link. I've thought about going with nVidia, but my 8500 64MB is actually on par with a Ti4400 or 4600- 320/295MHz core/ram, and so it's actually about as fast as a 4600... I've thought about the ti4200, but I'd want one that overclocks REALLY well- e.g. 300MHz+ core & RAM...

[Al_Capown]

Buy one with some nice memory timings and pick up a nice heatsink + fan combo.