Part One: Introduction
A little while ago, 3Dvelocity's previous name, Radeonic reviewed the Radeon 7500 and 8500 series of cards. A few months have passed now, the drivers have been flooding out. How well does it shape up in today's world of gaming with the new generation of chips appearing just around the corner?
Introduction:
ATi are well known in the video card market for their quality and performance rolled up into an affordable product. Some people may say that ATi have been a little behind on their product line when competitors have a faster and more feature packed alternative. Then comes the amazing ATi Radeon 8500 series which simply blows away the competition. Higher frame rates, insane clock speeds and feature rich hardware. This Return to ATi Radeon 8500 isnt like a "first look", but a "how is it doing" to see whether it has kept the fort of a Power Card!
What comes in the box?
Starting at the basics, what do you actually get for your money?
Contents:
Radeon 8500 graphics board
Set-up CD
Composite and S-Video cables
DVI-I to VGA dongle
Manuals
You get the basic package to be up and running in a matter of minutes. One thing to point out is the DVI-I to VGA dongle.
Unlike the ATi Radeon where you had to use the DVI-I connector to play on your normal VGA monitor, you also have a VGA outlet on the 8500 too. This dongle is for those people that want to use the ATi Dual Monitor support but don't have a DVI-I monitor.
The setup CD comes with ATi's own Multimedia Pack which doesn't only include Video but Audio too. All have the same looking layout, but are slightly different in what they do.
ATi DVD - A software DVD Player that takes advantage of ATi's amazing Video quality. Put in a DVD and sit back and watch the crisp, vibrant picture…just like being in the Cinema
ATi Video CD - Not a popular format as DVD, but still available to buy in the shops.
ATi File Player - Plays all your AVI, MPG, MPEG, MP2 and ASF and Audio files
ATi CD Audio - Your standard CD player for the PC
Page Two: How does it perform?>>>
