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why are AGP cards more expenssive than thei PCI-E counterparts?

N

narcotic

Golden Member
argh... I'm building a new rig, I'm probably getting a mobo which has AGP on it and not PCI-E - lets not get into why and how, but accept that as a fact... 😉
any way, I know PCI-E is supposed to be better, so why are 6600GT go for $220 for AGP and about $30 less for PCI-E?!
 
Because the PCIe interface has double the bandwidth then AGP. This extra bandwidth is not needed now. But it will be needed in the future. Nor will you see a performance different between the two as well.
 
although you know I was asking why AGP's are more expenssive and not the difference between the two... maybe I wasn't clear on that. While I'm at it, I'll throw in another question... will A64 3200+ work well with 6600GT, or will one of them be a bottleneck? Thxs..
 
Because the 6600 series uses a PCIe-native GPU, and the AGP version needs an extra bridge chip (and thus extra wiring and perhaps power regulation) to get that PCIe GPU to communicate with an AGP system.

But nV's partners may also be able to get away with charging a bit more b/c ATi isn't offering particularly strong competition with the 9800P at the $200 AGP price point.
 
The factors Pete mentioned are the likely causes in the case of the 6600GT, if you take a look at the 6800 series they are considerably less expensive for AGP parts then for their PCI equals. Right now, dual 6600GTs are roughly $100 less expensive then a single 6800GT while on the AGP side dual 6600GTs cost about as much as a 6800Ultra(not that dual 6600GTs would do you any good for AGP parts, just using that as an illustration of the messed up pricing structure right now).
 
2 words, "bridge chip" that costs OEM partners money to buy along with the core and memory. So that would explain the $15 dollar or so difference.
 
it probably all comes down to supply & demand, which is simple math... Most PCI-E boards right now are still too expenssive, so I guess I'd stick to AGP for now, though this means that upgrading in the future would be essentialy impossible since it looks like we are somewhere near (if not at) the end of the line for AGP cards. So, if I get a new rig, A64 3200+ with 6600GT, I'll keep it for a couple of years, and then I'll have to buy a whole new rig.. Which leads to a new discussion... is it worth while buying socket 939, if I can foresee that I probably won't be making any future upgrades on this board..? maybe I should save a couple of bucks and get the 754...?
 
Originally posted by: BenSkywalker
The factors Pete mentioned are the likely causes in the case of the 6600GT, if you take a look at the 6800 series they are considerably less expensive for AGP parts then for their PCI equals. Right now, dual 6600GTs are roughly $100 less expensive then a single 6800GT while on the AGP side dual 6600GTs cost about as much as a 6800Ultra(not that dual 6600GTs would do you any good for AGP parts, just using that as an illustration of the messed up pricing structure right now).
Click to expand...
The PCIe 6800 cards are bridged though, so it's even more screwy than you think.
 
why are AGP cards more expenssive than thei PCI-E counterparts?
Click to expand...
Simple supply and demand economics. There are a lot of people wanting AGP versions of the 6600gt and relatively few manufacturers, so the price is higher. Fewer people want the PCI-e version because PCI-e is a new interface, but there are a lot of manufacturers of the PCI-e cards now, so the price is lower. As supply catches up with demand, the pricing on the 6600gt AGP will stabilize at a much similar price to their PCI-e counterparts.
 
Supply, demand, and a bridge.
AGP 6600GTs started around $250, now doesn to around $220. Should be aorund $200, maybe less, in a couple months.
 
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