best drivers for my 8500 128mb???

Lecavalier4MVP · May 24, 2004, 08:17 AM

What are the best drivers for the 8500 128mb from Cat and Omega and here are my PC specs if helps you know whats the best driver out of omega and cat for my card. Since I'm running Win ME still, Cat doesnt support Win9x or Me after 4.3. If you need more info, just ask and I should beable to answer it for you.

1.0ghz
512mb of sd-ram 133mhz
Windows ME
2 hard drives
Radeon 8500 128mb

Thanks for reading

Chaos · May 24, 2004, 09:05 AM

I would try rad_w9x_omega_2599 (ATI) (Catalyst 3.4) and see what you think, there are many to choose from

swimtech · May 24, 2004, 03:39 PM

The Omega Cat 3.4's were great drivers (for my 7500 as well), however, Far Cry requires ver 3.9 or better - just be aware that the newer games may require a newer driver version.

Rayder · May 25, 2004, 12:48 PM

When I had my 8500 128DDR, the 4.1's were the last set to run correctly (more or less), drivers after that seemed to drift further and further away from R200 compatibility 4'2's and newer would have odd transparency/texture/crash issues in various games. It was one of the main reasons I upgraded to a 9800pro.

3.5's were like 'golden drivers' for me on the 8500, they had almost NO issues at all, but like stated above, newer games don't want to hear about older drivers.

Hope that's useful to ya!

Lecavalier4MVP · Jun 3, 2004, 01:40 PM

Thanks guys, I noticed that 3.4 improved my performence in Blitzkrieg but 3.5 had better in performence in Half-Life plus mods. Anyways, I just got Windows XP so should I Keep these drivers or should I update?. I still have the 8500 128mb card.

Thanks

swimtech · Jun 4, 2004, 08:28 AM

Running the 3.5's with XP is fine - again, unless you need a newer driver version to play a recently released game or support an additional feature (like VPU recover).

ATI has been great about the specifics of which issues have been dealt with for each driver release - the release notes for each driver version tell about which issues have been dealt with, as well as the glitches with certain software have become apparent to them, if any. For the most part, the release notes apply to the Omegadrive Catalyst releases they are based upon - Omegadrive has release notes with his driversets as well that can be considered additional to ATI's for each respective driver version.

The release notes are available at ati.com.

evergreen · Jun 4, 2004, 09:00 AM

I dropped back to CAT 3.9's on my 8500 w/64MB. My issues (frequent Display driver lockups) were with Rise of Nations. They're gone now. The issues started early in the 3.x drivers, then disappeared along the line, then came back again as I updated the drivers with nearly each release (I did take some time off of the game, so it was hard to figure out which drivers had the issues). I am thankful that ATI has links to all their older drivers, although I think they should separate the 8500 series drivers from the newer card drivers once there are no more relative changes.

riles9262 · Jun 5, 2004, 08:56 PM

When I had my 8500 I used the omega 3.7's. The were the best for me.

Senior Citizen · Jun 8, 2004, 08:02 PM

In XP I have the ATI Cats 4.4 (So I can play Far Cry) and Omegas 3.10 in 98

May 24, 2004, 08:17 AM	#1
Lecavalier4MVP DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	best drivers for my 8500 128mb??? What are the best drivers for the 8500 128mb from Cat and Omega and here are my PC specs if helps you know whats the best driver out of omega and cat for my card. Since I'm running Win ME still, Cat doesnt support Win9x or Me after 4.3. If you need more info, just ask and I should beable to answer it for you. 1.0ghz 512mb of sd-ram 133mhz Windows ME 2 hard drives Radeon 8500 128mb Thanks for reading

May 24, 2004, 09:05 AM	#2
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,176 Rep Power: 94 System Specs	I would try rad_w9x_omega_2599 (ATI) (Catalyst 3.4) and see what you think, there are many to choose from __________________

May 24, 2004, 03:39 PM	#3
swimtech At Your Service... Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,989 Rep Power: 100 System Specs	The Omega Cat 3.4's were great drivers (for my 7500 as well), however, Far Cry requires ver 3.9 or better - just be aware that the newer games may require a newer driver version. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

May 25, 2004, 12:48 PM	#4
Rayder Mostly lurking lately.... Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 2,043 Rep Power: 51	When I had my 8500 128DDR, the 4.1's were the last set to run correctly (more or less), drivers after that seemed to drift further and further away from R200 compatibility 4'2's and newer would have odd transparency/texture/crash issues in various games. It was one of the main reasons I upgraded to a 9800pro. 3.5's were like 'golden drivers' for me on the 8500, they had almost NO issues at all, but like stated above, newer games don't want to hear about older drivers. Hope that's useful to ya! __________________

Jun 4, 2004, 08:28 AM	#6
swimtech At Your Service... Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,989 Rep Power: 100 System Specs	Running the 3.5's with XP is fine - again, unless you need a newer driver version to play a recently released game or support an additional feature (like VPU recover). ATI has been great about the specifics of which issues have been dealt with for each driver release - the release notes for each driver version tell about which issues have been dealt with, as well as the glitches with certain software have become apparent to them, if any. For the most part, the release notes apply to the Omegadrive Catalyst releases they are based upon - Omegadrive has release notes with his driversets as well that can be considered additional to ATI's for each respective driver version. The release notes are available at ati.com. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Jun 3, 2004, 01:40 PM	#5
Lecavalier4MVP DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Thanks guys, I noticed that 3.4 improved my performence in Blitzkrieg but 3.5 had better in performence in Half-Life plus mods. Anyways, I just got Windows XP so should I Keep these drivers or should I update?. I still have the 8500 128mb card. Thanks

Jun 4, 2004, 09:00 AM	#7
evergreen DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: West Virginia Posts: 148 Rep Power: 0	I dropped back to CAT 3.9's on my 8500 w/64MB. My issues (frequent Display driver lockups) were with Rise of Nations. They're gone now. The issues started early in the 3.x drivers, then disappeared along the line, then came back again as I updated the drivers with nearly each release (I did take some time off of the game, so it was hard to figure out which drivers had the issues). I am thankful that ATI has links to all their older drivers, although I think they should separate the 8500 series drivers from the newer card drivers once there are no more relative changes.

Jun 5, 2004, 08:56 PM	#8
riles9262 Driverheaven brewmaster Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,839 Rep Power: 55 System Specs	When I had my 8500 I used the omega 3.7's. The were the best for me. __________________ A beer a day keeps the doctor away.

Jun 8, 2004, 08:02 PM	#9
Senior Citizen DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 83 Rep Power: 0	In XP I have the ATI Cats 4.4 (So I can play Far Cry) and Omegas 3.10 in 98 __________________ p3 1000 Micron 512/133 Abit VH6 Via 4in1 4.45(XP) (4.35 98SE) Radeon 8500 128mb Omega 3.10 (98), Cats 4.8(XP) SB Live X-Gamer Robotics External Modem Dual boot 98/XP Home Dual VGA monitors