Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1804
Price Guides, October 2005: Video Cards
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Howard Johnston on October 1, 2005 5:54 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
Welcome to another edition of our Video Card price guide! This week we continue to see prices drop as we transition from summer to fall. The 7800 GTs are showing up at retailers readily now and have made a nice niche for themselves in the "lower" Ultra High End segment.
This week we also saw lots of action on the ATI front. Anand gave us a preview of ATI's new Avivo platform which integrates H.264 decoding and transcoding on the upcoming R5xx GPUs; Kristopher gave us the low down on the R520, RV530 and RV515 GPUs; and Josh showed us what ATI's new mid-range lineup can do.
Please also feel free to check out our Real Time Price Engine so you can get the latest pricing information on any products we mention. We've added a daily segment to the price engine previewing our picks for the upcoming Price Guides! Check there for new deals each day!
Ultra High End Graphics
If you're the kind of person who asks why someone would pay $500+ for a video card, then you may want to skip this section. The Ultra High End segment is for the gaming fanatic looking to get the absolute best performance at the highest resolutions - and seemingly with total disregard for price. However, even those with deep pockets should feel relieved as prices on these cards have dropped significantly since their introduction. NVIDIA's 7800GTX continues to drop in price each week:
The LeadTek GeForce 7800GTX 256MB [RTPE: PX7800GTX] is once again our price leader this week at $465.00 (down $30). These cards are PCIe-only for now and we still highly recommend switching to a PCIe solution if you're looking to spend top dollar on a video card as the AGP spec is nearing end-of-life.
For the best "value" in this segment we would recommend the 7800GT. Since our last guide we've seen the prices of these cards drop nearly $50 across the board:
The eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N518] is selling for $351.00 now.
The price of the 6800 Ultra line of cards has risen quite a bit now that the 7800GTs are out in full force. We certainly can't recommend this card over a 7800 series any longer. SLI configurations of the 6800 series are the worst performs (unless you have an existing card already). It's cheaper to buy a 7800 series card with higher performance than an SLI 6800 Ultra setup.
With the R520 series GPU coming right around the corner *cough*Wednesday*cough*, we're a little reluctant to recommend an ATI Radeon X850XT at this time. Once the X1800 series starts to ship, expect retails to want to clear out their stock of X850XTs. One notable good deal this week is the Connect3D Radeon X850XT PE 256MB which can be found for just $320:
Connect3D Radeon X850XT PE 256MB
Our vendors tell us that the initial R520 shipments will be somewhat low volume, even if they do ship on the launch date. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of the AIBs are still working on their designs.
High End Graphics
Although ATI remains the value leader in the High End video card market, the price gap seems to be closing this week. Those still looking for a high performing AGP video card are in luck this week as the ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB [RTPE: 100-435508] for under $250.
If you've taken our advice and sprung for a PCIe motherboard, you'll be happy to see that the PCIe version of the X800XL has dropped to around $260:
NVIDIA's 6800GT AGP is looking less like a good idea as supply for these cards dries up and prices begin to increase. If you're stuck on AGP then you're best bet will be an X800XL.
After the 7800GT launch, we've seen the price of most 6800GT PCIe cards drop close to the $299MSRP. However, as we saw on the previous page a 7800GT can be had for merely $50 more. The smart, forward-looking decision would be to spring for the 7800 series card since all of the 6800 series is falling out of production; SLI won't be real practical if there are no cards left (note: this is not true for the 6600 series). If you're considering SLI, don't forget that a single 7800GTX will perform better, produce less heat, take up less space, and cost less than two 6800GTs!
Mid-Range Graphics
A few months ago we could safely say that ATI had almost nothing competitive to offer in the $100-$200 video card segment. In our last guide we saw the X800 starting to hit the streets in numbers. This week ATI brings us even more quality mid-range solutions: the X800 GT, X800GTO and X800GTO squared (GTO2).
With 8 pixel pipelines, the X800GT is positioned between the X700 and X800 in ATI's model hierarchy (although it usually performs about the same as an X800!). The X800GTO features a 12-pipe version of the R420, R423, or R480 core depending on the card vendor.
However, our pick for this week will definitely be for the Sapphire Radeon X800GTO2 256MB [RTPE: 100130]. This card features the R480 core with all 16 pixel pipes enabled for a price of around $220! These cards overclock very well, but since ATI sold the cores as excess inventory, they can't be labeled what they really are, X850 parts. Update: Some cards have 16 pipes enabled, some have 12. All unlock to 16 with a very simple BIOS flash.
With the launch of the 7800GT, the plain 6800 series cards are dropping to around $200 as well. Choosing between the 6600GT and 6800 can be difficult. The main difference is that the 6800 features a 256-bit memory interface. However, manufacturers of the 6800s are using slower memory in their PCIe adaptations of the cards than in the AGP versions. The XFX 6800 remains a good value for AGP users at $150 after mail in rebate [RTPE: XFX 6800 AGP].
On the 6600GT front you can see that prices haven't really moved much over the last month. These cards have been flying off the shelves and thus come into lower supply then usual so expect prices to actually increaseover the next few months. The X800GTO and GTO2 are great alternatives to the 6600GT.
Also, we've gotten word from manufacturers that the GeForce 6600GT and FX5200 components are in allocation right now. Due to their popularity, NVIDIA has slightly limited the number of chips per manufacturer. As a result, 6600GT prices aren't really expected to change much through December.
For the lower end of the mid-range products the ATI X700 remains a good bargain cards under $120. The Connect3D Radeon X700 Pro 256MB [RTPE: Connect3D X700 Pro] is still the best X700 bargain this week even though prices have risen a few dollars.
Low Range Graphics
The low-end range of graphics cards are meant mainly for those not interested at all in 3D games. For under $60 just about any of the below cards will meet your 2D application needs. Simply choose the card with the appropriate connectors on the back and you'll be good to go!
Those looking for one notch above the 2D-only accelerated world may be interested to hear about the GeForce 6500 which is supposed to bridge the gap between the 6200 and 6600LE by becoming somewhat of a hybrid between a normal 6600 and a TurboCache 6200. Expect this card to be out later this year in PCIe form, with no expectation for an AGP form.
The upcoming X1300 series will be available soon, but we can't comment much on the performance until the launch. Expect the X1300 to show up in HyperMemory variants as well, but not for some weeks after the initial launch.
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