Disgusted by 7800GTX prices

emogoch

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So I've been wathcing these for the past few weeks since the release of the 7900GT , and I'm gettings sorely disgusted with the market right now. Here are a couple links from NewEgg to show what I mean (which also reflects the results that I've seen from all retailers).

Price list for 7900GT
Price List for 7800GTX

Benchmarks have show that the 7900GT is a slightly better performing card, so it pisses me off to no end that the 7800GTX is a much higher priced card.

Yes, you can argue that the 90nm reduces nVidia's cost, which intern gets passed to retailers & consumers, but from an end point, there's not reason that I am forced to pay more for a lesser performing card.

Of course, in case you can't tell, the point of this rant is that I already have a BFG 7800GTXOC, so going with an SLI'ed rig with two of those is my best upgrade path for graphics.
 

Lan

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I know what you mean. But keep in mind since the 7800 will stop being manufactured if they haven't stopped already, prices won't drop very much as time goes on, and more than likely they will go up as what's left starts to dwindle.
 

chuckshissle

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I know, especially with the 7900GT that outperformns it and cost less as well. I would expect the 7800GTX 256 would be cheaper like around $300 or lower as well as the 7800GT. Right now I'm expecting a rebate for spending 1K for 2 BFG 7800GTX 256. :(
 

MacD91

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well.. I'm not a nvidia or a ati fan boy.. but i really can't understand why anyone buys the 7800 or 7900 over the Ati 1900 xtx.. it just a better card all round and it will last a lot longer.. but if people feel like supporting a brand name that is not as good as another brand and pay around the same price then good on you.. me i always want the best now and for the future and if it was the 7900 i would have got it..!! and if you are looking for something a bit cheaper then.. 1900xt.
 

angry_ducky

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Yeah; I've been waiting for the 7800GT prices to go down, but they haven't. They're still about $300 from newegg, the price of a 7900GT, which will totally pwn it.

Oh, yeah; Chuckhissle. I can't imagine spending $1k on graphics cards. My whole system cost like $650-700. You must be mad as hell to have bought them, and have something new and cheaper come along. Just think; for the price of a 7800GTX when it came out ($600, right?) you could have two 7900GT's. But I can't imagine spending $600 on a graphics card, either. Do you see where I'm going with this?
 

Chil

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Umm, the X1900XT is still a $450 card, whereas the 7900GT's can be bought at $300. There are many many people who would refuse to pay above $400 for a video card, so that's why so many go for the 7900GT. However, I can understand your point if you are talking about the X1900XT vs. the 7900GTX. In my opinion, I'd go with ATI in a heartbeat, as you save $100 and get better performance in shader heavy games.
 

cleeve

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Cards often stay in the price category they debuted in long after better parts come to market for cheap.

Just look for a 6800 Ultra. If you can find a new one it'll probably be over $400...
 

Anoobis

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Keep in mind that retailers probably bought the 7800 cards from their suppliers before the 7900s came out which means they still had to pay their higher cost for the 7800s, which is why they are still passing the higher prices to the consumer. I doubt the 7800 cards have been or are flying off the shelves within the last month or so because everybody was waiting on the 7900s so their 7800 inventory is probably still based on stock they ordered from a few months ago, i.e. cards they bought at higher prices.

They're gonna milk the 7800s for as long as they can before dropping prices on them. At least until they have mainstream 7900 inventory available.
 

angry_ducky

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Cards often stay in the price category they debuted in long after better parts come to market for cheap.

Just look for a 6800 Ultra. If you can find a new one it'll probably be over $400...
You're somewhat true. Here's a link to 6800 Ultras on newegg. One is $460 (who the hell would buy that?) and one is $260 (who the hell would buy that?) I'm guessing $460 is what it cost in 2004, when it was actually worth that much.
 

Misrach

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i really can't understand why anyone buys the 7800 or 7900 over the Ati 1900 xtx.. it just a better card all round and it will last a lot longer.. but if people feel like supporting a brand name that is not as good as another brand and pay around the same price then good on you.. me i always want the best now and for the future and if it was the 7900 i would have got it..!! and if you are looking for something a bit cheaper then.. 1900xt.

Hm... "best card?" Apparently, there's no clearcut winner this time, even though the X1900 cards are cheaper. True, I wouldn't buy a 7800GTX now with the 7900GT/GTX and X1900 cards available, but I wouldn't give the nod to either card.

First, look at the scores. Even on this website, the scores were pretty evenly matched. Go to Gamespot's comparison of SLi 7900GTx and Crossfire X1900XTX, and you'll see that the SLi cards won 3 of 5 tests. In one of the tests that the 7900GTX SLi card lost, they bested the ATi X1900XTX Crossfire in that test (SM3/HDR)... until FSAA was turned on. Yes, you can't run HDR and FSAA together on an nVidia card, but until Bethesda releases a patch, you can't run them together in TES:Oblvion, even with the X1900XTX. That means the two effects are also software-dependent (unless you own a 360).

And that leads to another reason why one would prefer the 7900GTX: SLi. So many people bought SLi mobos over the last year. And while mobos are "cheap", I'm sure many of those people aren't willing to gut their whole PC just to upgrade their videocards (assuming that they can afford to!). If they bought them from a PC manufacturer, for instance, they might just rip the old cards out and replace them with new ones, not knowing even how to upgrade the mobo.

And a 3rd reason: the 7900GTX cards require less power and therefore generate less heat. I also understand that the fans are quieter.

Of course, these reasons aren't valid across the board, given the heady number of manufacturers who are making these cards. But I was planning on upgrading my 7800GTX 256mb card next month (I bought it back in August for $500 and have no regrets -- it's done me very well), and now I'm going to wait. Both companies are producing cards that have their pros and cons right now. With the G80 and the R600 right around the corner, however, I'd like to see if either company can solve some of the issues that were raised with their last batch of cards.
 

Misrach

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They're gonna milk the 7800s for as long as they can before dropping prices on them. At least until they have mainstream 7900 inventory available.

You raised an interesting point: maybe some people will buy the 7800 cards because the 7900 cards are all out of stock, especially a person who owns an SLi mobo but isn't as tech-aware as many of us. That person might be upgrading from a dual-6800 or (even worse) 6600 solution....
 

angry_ducky

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They're gonna milk the 7800s for as long as they can before dropping prices on them. At least until they have mainstream 7900 inventory available.

You raised an interesting point: maybe some people will buy the 7800 cards because the 7900 cards are all out of stock, especially a person who owns an SLi mobo but isn't as tech-aware as many of us. That person might be upgrading from a dual-6800 or (even worse) 6600 solution....
If they're not tech-aware, they'll probably buy the 7800's from Best Buy (cough; Ripoff) for $700 each.
 

Volcar

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At this current point in time its not the smartest idea buying a video card. wait for vista to come out. sure the cards are "vista ready" it just means they are fully compatable with it but it wont be able to support DirectX10. Wait for the DX10 cards to come out with vista. currently my 6800GSs will do fine til then.
 

Misrach

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If they're not tech-aware, they'll probably buy the 7800's from Best Buy (cough; Ripoff) for $700 each.

WHAT???? You're kidding...! You mean Best Buy sometimes rips you off? You mean that 1gb RAM upgrade for $300 was too much???? And $200 for a 5400rpm 80gb hard drive is too high???? 8O

Seriously, there IS a market for these high prices. I mean, if you're pulling down six figures a year and you need a very nice high-tech, last-minute birthday present for your up-and-coming-PC-gaming nephew because he's your favorite sister's only child, then $700 isn't a whole lot to ask for....

Then again, wouldn't it be nice if you could afford to get ripped off like that? I'd glady pay those prices... if I could. :wink:
 

Misrach

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At this current point in time its not the smartest idea buying a video card. wait for vista to come out. sure the cards are "vista ready" it just means they are fully compatable with it but it wont be able to support DirectX10. Wait for the DX10 cards to come out with vista. currently my 6800GSs will do fine til then.

Vista has been delayed until next year. Personally, I'd add at least 6 months before upgrading to a new Windows platform after release (remember Windows 2000?). Halo 2 ain't worth the upgrade.

And by the time Vista actually does surface (barring any more delays -- the release date isn't official yet), I'll be ready to upgrade my videocard again. Yes, sad but true.
 

emogoch

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You forgot the largest reason of all: Some people bought their 7800GTX's when, surprisingly, they had jsut been released and they were the best cards on the market, destroying anything ATI had to offer.
 

Claud3

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im running on a asus geforce5200fx and dont plan to change till vista cums out, but when it does i plan on getting the best card available maybe 2 to sli as i want it to run on a big lcd hdtv
 

Breman

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You guys think thats bad, I ordered the parts for my current rig the day befor the 7900s where released... So ended up spending US$450 on a card that turned out to be made out dated the day after...

I'm not a fanboy, but I havent used an ATI card in quite a while, becuase I haven't been satisfied with the ATI driver set, and Catalist... Lets just not go there.
 

clue69less

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They're gonna milk the 7800s for as long as they can before dropping prices on them. At least until they have mainstream 7900 inventory available.

You raised an interesting point: maybe some people will buy the 7800 cards because the 7900 cards are all out of stock, especially a person who owns an SLi mobo but isn't as tech-aware as many of us. That person might be upgrading from a dual-6800 or (even worse) 6600 solution....

I heard a sales guy say that 7900s aren't really out of stock, they are just being held a few weeks to try to purge the 7800 stock. Probably just teasing of full of sheitt, but something to ponder.

Your earlier post was an excellent analysis, by the way.
 

CompGeek

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I'd go with a X1800XT really.
7800GT doesn't have much time ahead. It's still odd though. The same thing happens with 939 socket. Both are reaching the end of the line but no price decreases.
Untill now( IE 2 months ago) i'd recomend 7800GT to anyone looking at the 300$ mark but now the worst thing you can do is get one. It is clearly the worst performer when put head to head with the 7900GT and x1800xt.
Combine that with low IQ and you wasted a lot of money.
 

Propain666

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Its business...


They bought those 7800GTX for a high price and they are trying not to take a total loss on them.


The price they are selling them at is probably 10% over what THEY paid for them.



IF they dont dump them soon, 10% price drop just to get rid of them at cost. If they still have some after that they will take a bath and lose alot of money.


They are hoping some sucker who didnt do their research swoops in and buys it.
 

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