[VRaptor]

Which one would be the better buy?

1) Nvidia Geforce 8500

2) GeForce 8600 GT

[ddms70]

It would depend on your definition of "better". Most 8500s are cheaper than 8600s (there are so many different manufacturers, versions of the card and gimics). The 8600s run a bit faster than the 8500s. Both are entry level cards. Both run DX9 & 10. Both can run xp and vista....................blah, blah.

What are you looking for? If you are just looking at playing a few games here and there, either is fine, but if you are looking at REALLY playing games, the way they were meant to be played, with all of the effects, no lag, etc... then no, you won't be happy with either. For a little more you could go to the 8800gts. Its a totally different experience. With all that said, you still have to make sure that your mobo and case will take these cards with regards to size (the 8800 is a long card) and auxilary power.

[lilxkid24]

The 8600 has more shader processing units, 4 more rops, more tmu, more peak pixel fill rate, higher memory clock speed etc. More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geforce8series