Yet Another Rant About Video Card Prices

[SNM]

Originally posted by: Boze
Explain please how it is a foolish waste of money, please doublejbass. I hear a lot of users saying this, but I don't ever see facts or graphs or charts or any information to back up their so-called 'facts'. Most of the time we here in the Video forums want to deal with cold, hard facts - so let's don't limit that to video card performance. Prove to me that it is a foolish waste of money.

It might be that he considers it a foolish waste of money if you can already play the best games at the highest settings at more fps than your eye can see with a single $400 card.
And, since we seem to have gotten into an economic argument...if you can afford to save three months worth of income, you're rich. The end.
And having any credit card debt is stupid.
And yes, my family has fairly wierd monetary beliefs.

Oh, and you said "but the one thing I don't think I've ever seen is someone post suggestions about how these frustrated users can learn to boost their income so they can afford the latest and greatest."
I just want to say that is an incredibly condescending, rude, and foolish viewpoint to anybody who comes from a lower-income family. My heritage is upper-middle-class (though my immediate family isn't), and it's still condescending and foolish to me.
Though I don't expect to change the mind of anybody who would say such a thing.

 

[xtknight]

I'm not rich (young and unemployed) but I still agree with you to a certain excent...even though I, personally, wouldn't spend "so much" on a high end card, I'm sick of seeing the words and phrases. Just because I wanted to start HL2 I have more money than brains? ok...

You know, if I really wanted a 6800U SLI rig I would get it...but...that is a *little* over the top? Crazyeddie posted a list of things to do before purchasing stuff like this, and I think that if you do those things, your purchase is perfectly justified. Otherwise, you SHOULDN'T be buying a 6800U SLI rig. In all honesty I think most of us here can dig up the money for one, though. You must realize that some of us are just trying to do your sanity a favor, jealous or not, and you might thank us for it later. They'd just rather eat dinner instead of buy a big SLI rig that won't gain them a whole lot versus waiting for next-gen cards. I certainly would like video card prices lower. You won't see me spending more than $500 on a video card in any circumstance though (unless prices go crazy). I hear the R520 is supposed to be $700...that's insane. Maybe what we should do is live with the current generation for 2 or 3 years...painful I know. Then the R520 might only be $500 max, because the fabricating technology will have stabilized by then.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: doublejbass
No, they subsidize profit margins.

Stupid people talking economics is funny.

And just because some idiot can justify it doesn't make it not a foolish waste of money. Jealousy, no. Recognition of stupidity? Yup.

No I'm pretty sure its jealousy. If rich people didn't by the best of the best, there'd be no reason for anyone to make the best of the best, and we'd be living in a very average world.

Boring.

I also like how you infer that all wealthy people are stupid, when a lot have to work hard and have a little something more upstairs vs. the common man? Although I would agree it is copmletely stupid for people to choose a $500 card over paying their rent because they can't afford both, but if you're pulling in a 6 figure income is it really "foolish waste of money?" Maybe in your opinion it could still be foolish, but I could also claim spending money on food is foolish when you could hunt and gather and farm it yourself.

 

[PlasticJesus]

Originally posted by: SNM

Oh, and you said "but the one thing I don't think I've ever seen is someone post suggestions about how these frustrated users can learn to boost their income so they can afford the latest and greatest."
I just want to say that is an incredibly condescending, rude, and foolish viewpoint to anybody who comes from a lower-income family. My heritage is upper-middle-class (though my immediate family isn't), and it's still condescending and foolish to me.
Though I don't expect to change the mind of anybody who would say such a thing.

Exactly. Whether the whole argument is valid or not, I have to say that the suggestion that income boosting tips are appropriate in these threads marks the OP as an amateur that likes to run his mouth about things that are just too completely unimportant. I have to admit, though, that it does leave me thinking that recyclable aluminum is worth 40 cents a pound these days.

This is just kid's stuff. Little kids arguing about who's rich and who's not. What the hell is "rich" anyway? It's a little kid's word that when used in this context belongs in the same category as the word "fair".

I guess it's already been said that those who buy these things don't necessarily have any money. I got a new PX-716A the other day, but I don't have any money. It's just stupid.

I like to keep a good graphics card in my system. At the same time I find myself constantly monitoring AT, not playing my latest and greatest game. I see that a lot here.

If you're tired of the same old arguments and statements down here, just go up to General Hardware and read the same old latest and greatest power supply threads.

There used to be a guy over at Hardware Central that had a signature that read "The most important things in life are not things." Maybe we forget that sometimes.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: doublejbass
No, they subsidize profit margins.

Stupid people talking economics is funny.

And just because some idiot can justify it doesn't make it not a foolish waste of money. Jealousy, no. Recognition of stupidity? Yup.

No I'm pretty sure its jealousy. If rich people didn't by the best of the best, there'd be no reason for anyone to make the best of the best, and we'd be living in a very average world.

Boring.

I also like how you infer that all wealthy people are stupid, when a lot have to work hard and have a little something more upstairs vs. the common man? Although I would agree it is copmletely stupid for people to choose a $500 card over paying their rent because they can't afford both, but if you're pulling in a 6 figure income is it really "foolish waste of money?" Maybe in your opinion it could still be foolish, but I could also claim spending money on food is foolish when you could hunt and gather and farm it yourself.

Yup, agreed. A lot of rich people do work very hard for their money and I think most of us forget that.

 

[alent1234]

Originally posted by: MonkeyWrench4000
The real truth is tht most anyone could actually come up with the money for the fastest graphics card, say $500.

People who ususally buy the budget graphics card or the good deal medium think that the majority of you who buy the newest video card for $500, every year, and post over and over and over about it on these forums dont know how to spend there money.

I personally agree with them. What a waste of money to buy a top-end "video card". I sometimes even have trouble understanding how someone would be "rich" enough to buy the $150 video card considering its pretty much a waste of money. Yeah it's gonna play your games, but then your going to go buy the latest one anyway because, again, you dont know how to spend your money.

This is just my opinion. There was a time when most all of us didnt know everything about graphics cards, or before we even got into them, and were happy with whatever low-end, mainstream thing came bundled on whatever system we got taken for a ride on at the local pc shop.

I still think mainstream cards are the best idea. Ive had my share of performance video cards and I dont feel I ever got my moneys worth with the latest games Ive played. I get my "performance" video cards by simply waiting until someone has 2, bought a new card instead of RMA-ing it, in that case i simply aquire there broken card and RMA it. I would never buy a high end video card though, so I could simply sit there and feel I have the fastest graphics possible. Next year It wont be the fastest possible, and you had spent a very large ammount of money, on somthing very insigificant.

I bought top of the line twice the week the new cards came out. My voodoo2 and my Ti4600. It took games 18-24 months to catch up and take advantage of the hardware.

 

[EternusNox]

It is true that some people have more money than sense. You'd be amazed what people will pay for something just because they have the money. A good comparison would be paying more for a brand name item over one that is virtually identical because of the name attached. Calling out everyone who isn't rich on the forum seems pretty snobby to me. I don't think anyone's saying you shouldn't buy something because it cost too much specifically. It's more like thier saying the best bang for your buck is elsewhere. That's just smart spending, regardless of how much you make. These smart spenders will likely have more money than you by the end of thier lifetimes because they didn't waste as much.

 

[BlackPear1]

Boze, did you write those Grey Poupon commercials?

 

[Greenman]

Worst thread ever. And really pretentious to say it bothers you when you spend a lot of money on a vid card and people think it's stupid. The simple answer is to not mention it. I personaly don't care what you pay for a video card, it's better than spending your money on crack, but both are a waste. (And yes, I've spent far to much cash on hardware).