Why are 7900GTX prices going UP???

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: thilan29

Originally posted by: Crusader
I'd like to hear Ackmeds thoughts on this though- http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33861435
:Q How could it be? :Q Read that thread if you want to see true ATI fans revealing their true feelings on Crossfire and HDR+AA. Pretty much what I've been saying.. neither are so hot. If you want multiGPU, SLI was/is/probably will be the way to go.

This thread is about the GTX in particular.. and I agree with Gar from Rage3D 100%-

I?ve been so impressed with my 7900gtx purchase about 2 months back ? was big decision at time over 1900xt as been using mostly ATI past few years ( 8500,9700,800xl and 850xte) . Have probably gamed couple hours a day since purchase ?have not had a single crash or any driver problems. Have 3 other rigs with my ATI hardware and there is always something screwing up. What really surprised me was the visually quality as you hear a lot of negatives here - it?s as good as or better than my ATI cards and FSAA modes are incredible

And what about the people on THIS forum that claim HDR+AA is a feature they enjoy and is playable?? THeir opinion doesn't count??

And I find that guys comment odd about something always screwing up with his ATI rigs...I've been running this rig for almost 6 months (almost continuously) and have never had something screw up. The only time I got a BSOD was because of a Starforce issue before I was even able to start the game.

Both vendors have their problems but one person's experience doesn't mean the hardware and software from one company sucks.

It's from rage3d, Thilan. Known ATI fan site? At any rate, what Nitromullet said about HIS is very important info. Very sexy cooler, Very evil support from vendor.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: Crusader
I just use 8xS in older OR slower paced games like Civ4/HOMM5. Its great and I love it.

I have no issues with that HIS thing, but I dont really know about it. If its the same as the GTX cooler, or has the same effect then thats great. Not all that well known though, the GTX512 and 7900GTX cooler has been kickin butt for some time now. Prob wont ever sell as many of those HIS solutions as 7900GTXs that have/will be sold.
Though if ALL X1900s used that, they'd be far better off. Its a shame, really.

As far as vendors, yeah theres 1 or 2 ATI ones I would use. But I cant personally vouch for them.
BFG and eVGA ROCK.. and they satisfy huge numbers of customers. I can safetly say they are teh bomb with all assurance.

As far as your statement about the XT being the best deal out, I dont know if that was a statement in general.. or directed at me. Your entitled to your opinion.. I already said the X1900XT is a decent card. The "best deal" thing is one of those messy subjects you wont get everyone to agree on.
For example, I would not trade my GTX for a XT. Say I could buy a XT for $360 and a GTX for $400 (as I did for mine).. I'm going GTX again without thinking twice. Esp a BFG?!

No swapping out cooling solutions, reliable card, great drivers/support, and does it all quietly OOTB. I never was a huge fan of AA, but not sure why I never explored into these higher AA options in the past. For shooters I use 4x/16x/HQ/multisample transAA/triple buffer/vsync.. well at least the only shooter I really play (CSS). Shooters just dont get my attention anymore, and never really did. HOMM5/Civ4 FTW. I've always been addicted to HOMM games, but I think it doesnt get near the attention it does.
Even though the series has a fiercely intense fanbase (which I'm a part of clearly).

ATi has temporal AA (I assume they still have it) which will offer you effectively higher AA levels than 8x.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
It's from rage3d, Thilan. Known ATI fan site? At any rate, what Nitromullet said about HIS is very important info. Very sexy cooler, Very evil support from vendor.

That shouldn't make a difference though...reagardless of what site it's from, it's one person's opinion, like anyone else's on THIS forum. Are you saying if someone from say a site like NVNews bashed NVidia we should all jump on his bandwagon because he posts at a pro-NVidia site??

OT, thanks for the info Nitro, I'll stay away from HIS. NVidia definitely has the better AIBs...too bad there is no "eVGA" for ATI cards.

 

[imported_Crusader]

Originally posted by: thilan29

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
It's from rage3d, Thilan. Known ATI fan site? At any rate, what Nitromullet said about HIS is very important info. Very sexy cooler, Very evil support from vendor.

That shouldn't make a difference though...reagardless of what site it's from, it's one person's opinion, like anyone else's on THIS forum. Are you saying if someone from say a site like NVNews bashed NVidia we should all jump on his bandwagon because he posts at a pro-NVidia site??

OT, thanks for the info Nitro, I'll stay away from HIS. NVidia definitely has the better AIBs...too bad there is no "eVGA" for ATI cards.

I have a question...if I buy a 7950GX2 and it turns out to cost more than G80 when it's released, how does the eVGA StepUP process work?? Do I just lose that amount of money??

Not trying to speak for Keys, but the poster involved has been there for quite some time.. and you can tell his opinion is well regarded by the other members as a part of the ATI crew @rage3d.

As far as the step up, I think this question has been asked before and the answer was Evga will never write you a check for money left over. The best they will do is give you a free upgrade (maybe $5 minimum charge or something like that). Which makes sense, you are at least getting the opportunity to update.

Originally posted by: Lonyo
ATi has temporal AA (I assume they still have it) which will offer you effectively higher AA levels than 8x.

I'm not sure higher levels than 8xS make much sense. I've found I prefer the speed/performance of 4X in my FPS and 8xS for my turn-based games (or very old games like Die By the Sword).
And does ATI have texture antialiasing like is available with 8xs?

Originally posted by: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/video/3dvideoforpc-05q2.html
But I'd like to note that the quality difference in modes higher than MSAA 4x goes down to zero, especially in dynamic games. While 8xS mode in GeForce cards still makes some sense (texture antialiasing and "side-effect" anisotropic filtering), you will have to use a magnifying glass to find differences between 6x and 4x modes in ATI cards. That's why it's hard to say whether all these crazy modes (like ATI CF 14x or NV SLI 16x) make any sense...

Originally posted by: nitromullet
The thing about HIS is that it doesn't really matter how long of a warrantee they offer becasue their service is terrible, it might as well be a lifetime warrantee becasue they won't deal with you directly anyway.

About warranty
All HIS graphic cards carry one year warranty. For more warranty information, you can contact your local retailer or regional distributor

This means that HIS doesn't do their own RMA's... Do you really want to buy a card from a manufacturer that won't even let you send the card back to them should there be a problem? Most people on here have already heard my HIS story, so I won't go into the details. A quick summary though: My "RMA" of a defective HIS XTX has been going on for three months now, and I still don't have a replacement card...

DO NOT BUY AN HIS CARD! I don't care how sexy you think the HSF is...

Yeah... I was afraid of this. Of course I was assuming as I've never had to use ATI vendors RMA processes, but I figured it was pretty tough to match BFG/Evga at service (would be hard for an NV vendor to match either of those at well.. they are simply the best OEMs).

No warranty and quiet fan, or noisey fan and void your warranty. Good choices on the X1900s...
Its no wonder why pricing on the 7900s are rising. Wouldnt trade my GTX for anything (besides perhaps a GX2).

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Crusader
As far as the step up, I think this question has been asked before and the answer was Evga will never write you a check for money left over. The best they will do is give you a free upgrade (maybe $5 minimum charge or something like that). Which makes sense, you are at least getting the opportunity to update.

Thanks for the info. I guess it would make more sense to buy like a 7900GT then stepup.

 

[josh6079]

Originally posted by: Crusader
No warranty and quiet fan, or noisey fan and void your warranty. Good choices on the X1900s...

Why would keeping the stock cooler on void your warranty?

Its no wonder why pricing on the 7900s are rising. Wouldnt trade my GTX for anything (besides perhaps a GX2).

I think it has something to do with getting phased out, like the 7800's were/are. The GX2 is going to do nothing but drop in price and the G80 is rumored to be out sooner than R600, so a few months I suspect--less than 6.

 

[imported_Crusader]

Originally posted by: josh6079
I think it has something to do with getting phased out, like the 7800's were/are.

I'd wager it has more to do with market pricing unless you have proof from Nvidia that they are slowing down production of their current product line?

Originally posted by: josh6079
Why would keeping the stock cooler on void your warranty?

As far as your first question, to clarify- you have you choice of a quiet card with no warranty buying a HIS, or a quiet card with a voided warranty buying any other brand, because you?ll have to replace the dustbuster to get a quiet card. The only way you can have a X1900 with a good warranty is to put up with the dustbuster that even ATIs own fansite complains about:

Originally posted by: Rage3D
The cooler is still the big heavy dual slot design that ATI originally developed for the X1800XT and, unfortunately, there doesn?t appear to be any improvements made to it for the X1900. It?s relatively loud, certainly louder than the 7800 GTX fan without question, but when the card is in 2D mode it?s fairly quiet and doesn?t annoy all that much. In 3D mode it spins up fairly quickly under the load however, and given the right circumstances can get extremely loud and annoying.

 

[josh6079]

Originally posted by: Crusader
I'd wager it has more to do with market pricing unless you have proof from Nvidia that they are slowing down production of their current product line?

No, I don't. As I said, "I think". It was just a speculation that I have seen happen before and wouldn't be surprised if they are doing something like that with the 7900's.

because you?ll have to replace the dustbuster to get a quiet card.

Oh, okay. For a minute there it sounded like you were saying that keeping the stock cooler on it will void the card's carried warranty.

 

[redbox]

I don't know I'm not to worried about voiding a warrenty by switching heatsinks. Any monkey can put one back on. I would seriously hop all over the x1900 if it wasn't for the new cards coming out. Of course it could be that I am just tired of nvidia as I have had their 7 series since fall and getting kinda tired of the low performance.