Which one of these two graphics cards is better?

Question

I already own this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122031

would this one be better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150247

Thank you for your time i really appreciate it.

Answer 1

the cards are very similar... it is true that the 8600 has a much better GPU, but it also has DDR2, instead of DDR3 that the 8500 has which allows you to load graphics in and out of memory quicker... so whatever benefit you are getting from the new 8600 chipset is almost all being offset by worse memory... so bottom line is, the new card is SLIGHTLY better, but NOT WORTH it... either wait for 8800's to become even cheaper, or spend a bit more money now on a newer card... buying the 8600 is almost like throwing your money away...

Answer 2

Look, at the end of the day the second card IS an upgrade, but is it enough of an upgrade to spend the dough? Depends what you are using it for, but at the end of the day I would say you are not going to see enough of a difference for the price - stick with the card you have.