ATI supporting their products

[elravager]

Now I bought an Abit at8 32x, a crossfire motherboard, and an 1800xt, and the only master card I could find over the last ~year is a refurbished one for $300. Now, I invested my money and loyalty in their product, and I'm left hung out to dry. I've got to say that I am completely unimpressed at this turn of events, and although I've been an ATI fan since the VGA Wonder back in the day, I have completely lost any trust I had with this shady outfit.

YMMV.

 

[CrystalBay]

Hi, Just sell your XT and pick up two 1950 pros for three hundred.

 

[LordGestle]

Not to dampen your rant but trying to find a a new 7800GTX will come to the same conclusion. The idea of buying one now and one later (like >1 year) brand new is not a pratical solution for either camp. However the mastercard/slave added some difficulty and price to the equation. Once the new models come out the older ones are flushed out regardless of brand.

 

[elravager]

Originally posted by: LordGestle
Not to dampen your rant but trying to find a a new 7800GTX will come to the same conclusion. The idea of buying one now and one later (like >1 year) brand new is not a pratical solution for either camp. However the mastercard/slave added some difficulty and price to the equation. Once the new models come out the older ones are flushed out regardless of brand.

Yeah it wasn't meant to be an anti-brand rant, just a real life wtf. I considered it a viable option to pick up a cheap second card when the next gen cards came around, but no, a refurb card costs as much as the next gen card which is better than a dual card setup. It's ATI that's selling refurb 1800xt masters for $300, I mean that's hitting below the belt.. unf!

 

[elravager]

Originally posted by: CrystalBay
Hi, Just sell your XT and pick up two 1950 pros for three hundred.

Yeah at this point I'll probably just go with a single 8800xt. I'm not going to encourage abandoning the loyal customer by giving them more $$$$. Good advice though, if it wasn't a matter of principle for me.

 

[n7]

You have just experienced why SLI/CF is a total waste of money.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: n7
You have just experienced why SLI/CF is a total waste of money.

Your opinion is duly noted. And believe me, all it is, is an opinion.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Should have paid more attention to this forum, any sane member here would have told you that SLI/CF as an upgrade path is NOT the way to go.

Other than a few very rare instances, the only "practical" niche for SLI/CF is those who have the time/money/patience to start out with two top end cards ASAP.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: elravager

Originally posted by: CrystalBay
Hi, Just sell your XT and pick up two 1950 pros for three hundred.

Yeah at this point I'll probably just go with a single 8800xt. I'm not going to encourage abandoning the loyal customer by giving them more $$$$. Good advice though, if it wasn't a matter of principle for me.

This is simple market economics. It has nothing to do with customer loyalty. Supply dried up (and wasn't ever that big to start with) so price goes up. Don't knock ATi/AMD because they adhere to capitalism which every other company in this market follows.

You say its not an anti-brand rant, but you call them a "shady outfit" and that you've "lost all trust" in them. No offense, but maybe you should drop the $300 on attending an Econ 101 course at your local college instead of acting like you don't have a choice in the matter.

Who knows, maybe if you had even contacted them and told them your situation they might have given you a nice discount for being a loyal customer. How are they to know who exactly is and isn't a customer already unless you tell them?

Or better yet, do the same as them and let them know with your money buy spending that $300 on an 8800GTS.

 

[lopri]

I really hope it stays this way.. (SLI not being a viable upgrade path)

 

[lopri]

BTW, have we seen comparisons of 1900/1950 CF vs 2900? Knowing 2900 isn't doubling the performance of 1900/1950, I'd think CF could be a viable upgrade path for 1900/1950 owners? (under ideal circumstances - that is, not counting heat, power, drivers, competition, etc. ) I mean, if G80 was NV's analogous of R600, people would consider G71 SLI as an upgrade.

 

[BFG10K]

Your opinion is duly noted. And believe me, all it is, is an opinion

I largely share his opinion. SLI is only worth it if you're pairing the two fastest cards available.

This business of planning to buy another card later almost never works out.

 

[rise]

except for those who bought an 8800gts at launch and are looking to add a second now...

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: elravager

Originally posted by: CrystalBay
Hi, Just sell your XT and pick up two 1950 pros for three hundred.

Yeah at this point I'll probably just go with a single 8800xt. I'm not going to encourage abandoning the loyal customer by giving them more $$$$. Good advice though, if it wasn't a matter of principle for me.

CF and SLI both have this lack of later support. it isn't a upgrade later option, it's a buy two now for the best performance option. expecting them to carry year and a half old products in an industry known for how fast it moves isn't exactly rational.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: elravager
Now I bought an Abit at8 32x, a crossfire motherboard, and an 1800xt, and the only master card I could find over the last ~year is a refurbished one for $300. Now, I invested my money and loyalty in their product, and I'm left hung out to dry. I've got to say that I am completely unimpressed at this turn of events, and although I've been an ATI fan since the VGA Wonder back in the day, I have completely lost any trust I had with this shady outfit.

YMMV.

your own fault for thinking cross-fire/sli was a decent upgrade path. not ATIs

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: elravager

Originally posted by: LordGestle
Not to dampen your rant but trying to find a a new 7800GTX will come to the same conclusion. The idea of buying one now and one later (like >1 year) brand new is not a pratical solution for either camp. However the mastercard/slave added some difficulty and price to the equation. Once the new models come out the older ones are flushed out regardless of brand.

Yeah it wasn't meant to be an anti-brand rant, just a real life wtf. I considered it a viable option to pick up a cheap second card when the next gen cards came around, but no, a refurb card costs as much as the next gen card which is better than a dual card setup. It's ATI that's selling refurb 1800xt masters for $300, I mean that's hitting below the belt.. unf!

Yep. Unfortunately its always been like this with both brands. Thats why people (myself included) say that SLI only makes sense for the ultra highend...two top of the line cards to acheive performance that would otherwise be impossible.

The buy one now, buy one later idea was presented by a lot of people when the 6 series came out. It even sounded like it would work out well. You'd wait until the price of your card went down after new cards came out, and then snag if for a rock bottom price. But nvidia is very good about cutting supply of the old parts shortly after the new ones come out, and demand for the old parts for SLI setups remains high despite supply drying up.

Its actually the exact same story that has played out with new ram technologies since the PC was introduced. DDR costs much more then DD2 right now. Same story with SDR before that, and EDO before that.

 

[yacoub]

Originally posted by: n7
You have just experienced why SLI/CF is a total waste of money for anyone who doesn't buy two cards within about six months' time.

fixt

 

[newb54]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Your opinion is duly noted. And believe me, all it is, is an opinion

I largely share his opinion. SLI is only worth it if you're pairing the two fastest cards available.

This business of planning to buy another card later almost never works out.

Yep, at present time SLI isn't worth it unless you don't care about money.