PCI-Express prices?

[BKF]

Just curious if anyone has seen or heard of any price drops coming for any of the high-end graphics cards (like the X800XT) using the PCI-Express interface. I see a good number of companies haven't even entered the market with PCI-E, which leaves only a few with the market to themselves.

I was told by NVidia that they'd be releasing the 6800 series on PCI-E in early October, but I don't know what kind of price point they'll be.

The reason I ask is because I've got all the parts for my new system minus the video card. I have a hard time justifying $650.00 or so for a new card, but if that's what it really costs, then so be it. I just don't want to buy it and find out 3 weeks from now it's going to be half the cost, because the prices were artificially inflated.

 

[creedog]

Is there any reason that the pci express version of a card should be any more expensive than the AGP version? I have yet to see a pcix mb, bo they have an agp slot or is it either one or the other?

 

[Aries64]

BKF,

I don't know what the 6800 Ultra for PCI-Express is going to be, but I wouldn't hold my breath for the prices on PCI-E cards to come down anytime soon. Its' a classic supply & demand scenario, which is worsened by PCI-E being an emerging technology in its' infancy. As far as I know, only Intel-specific mobos support PCI-E so far, so mobo and perpheral vendors are still formulating if and how they want to incorporate PCI-E into their product lines. (Does a mobo manufacturer want onboard video? If so, do they go with AGP or PCI-E (expensive). If PCI-E do they go with the ATI R423 with NATIVE PCI-E or do they go with Nvidia? (Nvidia uses an AGP core and a bridge chip).

It will be great if Nvidia releases the 6800-Series in October (and they are actually available as well). Currently only the ATI X800 XT is available in a PCI-E version (R423 core with NATIVE PCI-E support). These are hard to come by but they can be found. Super PC Mart has the HIS Excalibur X800 XT PCIE IceQ II 256MB (PCI Express) on backorder now. Price is $599.00 (plus tax if in California) and shipping. I don't know what the expected availability is so you may want to call them if you are at all interested.

I bought the [AGP] HIS Excalibur X800 XT IceQ II (Platinum Edition) about three weeks ago and it rocks. It had been on a pre-order status (100 units on a first-come, first-served basis) when I ordered mine in early August. I really like the IceQ II cooling system (made by Artic Cooling) because it vents the GPU's heat OUTSIDE of the case. This really helps keep the case temperature down.

Also, Super PC Mart wasn't gouging people on the pricing like I have seen on Ebay and a few other internet sites. The "bummer" about the HIS cards is that they only carry a 1-year warranty. Now, (knock-on-wood) I have never had a video card die from use, but considering the fact that the "ATI" X800 XT PE [AGP] lists at $499.99 and has a 3-year warranty and the Visiontek X800 XT PE [AGP] runs the same ($499.99) at CompUSA and has a LIFETIME warranty the HIS warranty sucks. Hopefully though, the superior cooling of the IceQ II system will give the HIS card a service life of at least the ATI's 3-year warranty. (Although by then I'll probably have upgraded my mobo, video card, and the processor).

Yeah, I know, I could have bought the Visiontek boards and the Artic Cooling system separately, but the Visiontek board has yet to see availability where I live in California, and I didn't feel like waiting any more for my new card for my new system. My old card was an ATI 9800 Pro 256MB ( A snail in comparision to the X800 XT PE).

But I digress - what mobo and processor did you get?