Verdict: A DirectX 10 card that can't even play DirectX 9 games properly.

At the temptingly low price of just £55, the 8500 GT is the cheapest DirectX 10-compatible graphics card on the market. However, the question is whether it offers enough oomph to tempt people away from the DirectX 9 GeForce 7600 GT.

Not surprisingly for such a cheap card, there have been more than a few cost-cutting compromises. The narrow 128-bit memory interface, along with 256MB of memory running at only 400MHz (800MHz effective), limits the card's memory bandwidth to 12.8GB/sec, so it's obvious from the off that gaming at high resolutions isn't an option. The GPU runs at 450MHz, while its pitiful supply of 16 stream processors, less than an eighth of the 8800 GTX, are clocked at a mere 900MHz.

Our benchmarks proved to be a tough test for the card. F.E.A.R. was only playable at 1,024 x 768, and when AA was applied in an attempt to smooth out the jagged edges, the frame rate dipped below playable levels. Both S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Need for Speed: Carbon were too much for the card at our standard settings (1,024 x 768).

In comparison, the 7600 GT obviously has more juice in the tank. For example, the older Nvidia card offers a good frame rate in F.E.A.R. at 1280 x 960 with 2x AA and 2x AF, although the other games also proved to be too much for it.

Gaming may not be the 8500 GT's forte, but it does at least support PureVideo HD, which means that it can accelerate the decoding of H.264 and VC-1 format HD movies.

No card in this price range is ever going to wow you with its graphical prowess, but the 7600 GT is clearly a more sensible purchase than the 8500 GT for games. The 8500 GT may support DirectX 10 effects on paper, but the card isn't even powerful enough to run modern DirectX 9 games smoothly at low resolutions.

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