Value of video cards

[apockoffork]

Hi I?m a college student at Johns Hopkins University and I?m doing a project on the value of video cards for my Anthropology of Money class. For the purposes of this project I am trying to research how people value video cards. Whether an enthusiast, a dabbler, or a hardcore gamer your opinions and answers are important to me.

There are 2 parts: First is a multi choice questionnaire at http://www.my3q.com/go.php?url=apockoffork/34061
and second and more important to me, your opinion and response to a few questions listed below.

My questions to you: Why did you buy your first video card? What influences your buying decision: Speed, Capabilities, Brand, Cost, What other people think of it, how long since your last purchase, how old your current card is and how new is the one you?re looking at? Why? Are you in anyway emotionally attached to the card you own? Is how you?re computer will compare to other computers important when you think about owning a video card?

The purpose of this isn?t to determine how much you?ll pay for your video card but rather how you value it. What makes or breaks your decision to buy a card? If you could include a history of purchases (what you paid for them if you remember). The more you blabber and write the more helpful even if you think you?re just writing nothing.

Thank you in advance,
- David Ferguson dfergu11@jhu.edu

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I bought my first video card becuase i started getting into computer gaming and my onboard couldnt run my games. I had no knowledge of computers back then and i got anything. It has been about 6 months since my last purchase (technically, a year but i won a video card). My current video card only came out about 3 months ago and im not looking at any. I guess trying to have a bigger e-penis applies at sometimes but for me i dont think about it much. To be emotionally attached to your computer is something im not and really says alot about your social life. I value what i have recieved, but im not going to really miss it as much as say a person.

 

[Powermoloch]

I'm answering the second one..in order:

* I bought my 1st video card just because I just wanted one badly, and of course to make game play a bit smoother.
* My current card is several months old and it still new to me since I bought it 3 months ago
* I'm somewhat attached to it, off course I spent 349.99 on that card. That's a lot of money we're talking here (especially for me). Why ??? I got it because its on sale, and one of the fastest card for AGP
* Good computer is a happy person who doesn't worry about loosing performance on the games coming out right now
---
------
* The reason I got he card right now is:

* on sale, saved 100 bucks..no taxes. Top of the line at its time.

history of purchases (2005)

Spring:

GFx 5200

Nvidia 6600

Summer:

x850xt

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

I bought my first card (a 9700 Pro) because I had a crappy PIII Dell system with a Geforce 2 . . . I was blown away . . . I'm mostly interested in quality and speed but price is important also (hence a balance between price and performance) Brand wise, I lean toward ATI but not by much (mainly cause of 9700 Pro being so awesome when it came out) I've since bought 9800Pro, 9800XT, 6800GT ($370), and X800XL ($230) . . . My last purchase was about four monthes ago (X800XL) My current card is a little bit old but I am currently looking to buy either a 7800GT (a month old) or a X1800XL (new). I'm not emotionally attached to me card persay but I do treat it well . . . . . . don't really care about how my comp compares with others, I get a vid card to fit my needs, not for bragging rights . . .

 

[potato28]

I bought my first video card because my parents MX400 couldn't handle Battle Field Vietnam. I'm waiting for the 7800GT's to drop to a $300 price range.

 

[ddogg]

Well I got my first video when I decided to play some games. My old S3 Trio couldnt handle any 3D game. I bought a Geforce2MX...I had no knowledge then of what cards were good. Speed definetely influenced my decision although it wasnt the greatest of decisions.
My current card is about 3months old(Geforce7800GTX) and lol no Im not emotionally attached to it although I like to brag about it to my friends. Definetely, when comparing computers I initially tend to look at the video card before the processor speed etc.
When buying a video I look at its feature set, speed(most important), power requirements and price which can sway me from buying the particular card or not.

 

[n7]

My first video card was an ATi Radeon 9000 Pro 128 MB.

I had integrated video on my PC at the time, & i couldn't play many games.

Next card (9600 Pro AIW) i got because i wanted a TV tuner also.

Then i started working in retail, which allowed me access to certain damn good deals, so i ended up getting a 9800 Pro.

Of course, it wasn't long before another hot deal came along, a 6800GT.

Then another good ATi deal came along, & while i didn't really need better performance than my 6800GT, i decided to get my current X850XT PE anyway, which i am glad of, since i now have a 20" LCD which really taxes the X850XT PE.

I've owned several lower end cards that were purely used as a VGA out, not for games, also.


Moral of the story: n7 is a sucker for good deals, & can't say no

 

[heedoyiu]

my first video card was a ati rage 128 16mb pci graphics card, i had really no clue about computers back then
my performance in games and my inabilite to play them is what mad me get into computers.

plus ut 99 would always crash with 16 players set
(i thought my hard drive was broken, when really it was the 64mb of system ram)

 

[HDTVMan]

You could also write a paper on the misconception of PC power. NOT AMD VS INTEL.

I come across a lot of people who think they have a powerfull PC only to wonder why they need a video card upgrade when I tell them their pc will DOG when they try to play top end PC games. They dont believe me until they see their onboard or factory video is not capable of the grandeur they thought their pc is capable of and come to a crawl.

 

[apockoffork]

Firstly, Thank you for everyone who has already posted a reply and taken my little (if perhaps slightly faulty) questionnaire. The results are actually somewhat interesting if you want to take a look at http://www.my3q.com/view/viewSummary.phtml?questid=78815 However if you could help me just a little bit and describe the thought process you go through when buying a video card. Do you read a million reviews, check benchmarks from a bunch of different places. Thanks again to those who already replied.

 

[Rage187]

Anandtech main page is usually my deciding factor.

Their benchmarks are some of the most indepth and their testing methods are robust enough to rely on them alone to make a decision. I do however take other websites like DriverHeaven and FiringSquad into consideration if I still have questions.

Anandtech's reviews sometimes come out a few days after the other sites so I tend to wander a little, but once Anand has them up I use them as the final say so.

 

[Lonyo]

Bought a TNT2 M64 when I knew no better, then a fair while later, started reading places like AT, got a Ti4400.
Then upgraded to a 9800, and now I'm on a 7800GT.

Nromally I buy what's the best price/performance wise for me.
Ti4400 was the lower end of the high end (just below a Ti4600) and the 4200's weren't out yet, so it seemed like the best deal.
Same with the 9800 (non pro), and then the 7800GT.
They're good, fast, not bleeding edge so they have less of a price premium, but still at the top.

 

[coomar]

didn't really understand the last question

price per performance would have been a good option to be able to select

 

[Topweasel]

Originally posted by: apockoffork
Hi I?m a college student at Johns Hopkins University and I?m doing a project on the value of video cards for my Anthropology of Money class. For the purposes of this project I am trying to research how people value video cards. Whether an enthusiast, a dabbler, or a hardcore gamer your opinions and answers are important to me.

There are 2 parts: First is a multi choice questionnaire at http://www.my3q.com/go.php?url=apockoffork/34061
and second and more important to me, your opinion and response to a few questions listed below.

My questions to you: Why did you buy your first video card? What influences your buying decision: Speed, Capabilities, Brand, Cost, What other people think of it, how long since your last purchase, how old your current card is and how new is the one you?re looking at? Why? Are you in anyway emotionally attached to the card you own? Is how you?re computer will compare to other computers important when you think about owning a video card?

I purchased my First video card be casue I needed a Video card and the card I got was a TNT2 16MB because the Idea of getting a G200 and a Voodoo2 seemed to be to expensive at the time. Performance is Numero Uno when Purchasing a video card, even if you know it is not the fastest, you have to at least have to know where it stands. Today you see to many people who buy a card because we said it was plenty good but they lower the settings and resolution because configuring the perfect mix can be hard. Cost Is second, When playing games you want to put as much into a card as you can because that will be the big thing holding you back. Capabilities SM3.0 was a pperfect example the prices where the same the performance simular so alot of people picked up a 6800 because it had SM3.0 I would have done the same had I purchased a card that gen. Brand is important only in the sense that most people purchase cards from the manufacturers they are used to and have in a sense treated them right, this applies to both chip manufacturers and the card manufacturers. If it performs like you want it to what everyone else thinks shouldn't matter. I last Purchased a Video card 3 Months ago (and the card itself was only released like 3 weeks earlier) and There isn't a new card I am looking at but I am cotemplating purchasing a second one do to prices getting lower and lower. I have been comtenplating the new card because I really want to close my machine for a while and while one 7800GTX is nice 2 is better. I am not Emotionally attached to any hardware cept maybe the machine as whole because of the amount of work I put into it, no single piece gets my love. Deep down we are all competetive so to a degree I enjoy having a better machine then most but has little affect on my purchases, and even then the Competition wears thin when your third fastest machine is faster then most of your friends primary machines.

The purpose of this isn?t to determine how much you?ll pay for your video card but rather how you value it. What makes or breaks your decision to buy a card? If you could include a history of purchases (what you paid for them if you remember). The more you blabber and write the more helpful even if you think you?re just writing nothing.

Availability and Performance are the Lines I draw (though for card builders Warranty and support matter as well). If I want a part no matter how long it takes I purchase that or its replacement.

Riva TNT2 16MB $175
Riva TNT2 32MB $250 (though I only paid $75 warranty replacement in store)
Geforce2 GTS (Asus Deluxe) $250
Creative Geforce DDR (second computer) $100
Geforce2 Ultra (sold the DDR and Put the GTS in game computer) $350 Off of friend was selling for $500 (Yes even 4 years ago they cost this much for people who say they didn't)
Geforce2 MX PCI (For Dual P3 with ATI integrated graphics) $65
ATI Radeon 8500DV 64MB (Gave Geforce2 Ultra to sister) $200
ATI Radeon 9800XT (retired 8500 because of death) $400 (Regularly $500 but I got employee discount)
Geforce 5700LE (for shuttle) $160
Geforce 7800GTX (New build 9800XT and 5700LE still being used) $491
My Prices could be wrong on some of the very early purchases and the ones I bought as spares (MX, DDR, LE are probably the ones most off, but the TNTs probably are bad as well)


Thank you in advance,
- David Ferguson dfergu11@jhu.edu

I have not gotten a chance to take your test but I soon will.

Edit: Above I might have acted like I speak for the people not myself. This is not true the above Is my feelings and being an ass I assume everyone agrees.