Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1919
Price Guide, January 2006: Video Cards
by Haider Farhan on January 9, 2006 1:49 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
We would like to welcome you to once again another weekly edition of our infamous price guides. This week we are looking at ultra high-end cards all the way down to low-end video cards. As we do with all our other price guides, we would like to remind you to check out our handy RTPE for up-to-the-minute prices and rebates on all of the products you're looking into purchasing, including video cards. Don't forget that you can now search the RTPE by entering a UPC code, which makes finding products you're looking for faster and easier. It also notifies you of the percentage of tax that may be applicable based on which state you live in and how much the component costs (note that if you're going through a corporate firewall, the state may be incorrect).
The GeForce 7800GT cards appear to give the best bang for the buck this week and the X1800XL's are not far behind. We're also noticing that the X800XT cards are slowly diminishing from the market, while the X800GTO/ GTO2 and the 6800 GS are still great mid-range options. By the way, purchasing a single high-end card and hoping to purchase another one for an SLI setup down along the line is a bad idea. We suggest either going with a single higher performing card or two cards for SLI right off the bat.
We'd like to begin this week's guide with the ultra high-end cards...and we're off!
Ultra High-End Graphics
At the moment, you can easily find a 7800GT going for about $300. We're seeing the eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N515] on sale for $300, minus a $20 mail-in rebate (MIR), bringing the total price down to $280 (excluding shipping). Please be aware that this $20 MIR is valid until January 31st. We're also noticing that eVGA has been including a free copy of Quake 4 with a small selection of their 7800GT cards. For instance, you can submit your information to eVGA for your free copy of Quake 4 if you purchase the eVGA GeForce 7800GT CO SE 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N516] going for $300. For more details on this promotion, check out eVGA's information page.
The best price we are seeing this week on a 7800GTX is $460.00. Both the eVGA GeForce 7800GTX ACS3 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N527] and the eVGA GeForce 7800GTX EGS 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N525] are going for this price. The only difference we're noticing between the two is that the ACS3 variant comes with the core clocked at 470MHz while the EGS variant comes with the core clocked at 450MHz.
Because the 512MB 7800 video cards are on pre-order, they will not be generated into the pricing table below. Nevertheless, our RTPE is picking up on five variants which is an increase over the only card we saw from BFG in our last guide.
Do take notice that each card comes with a different bundle than any other. Some may include a number of games, DVD playback software, video editing software and different sets of cables and dongles. The point here is for you to choose the bundle that will best suit you and your interests.
Generally offering slightly less performance than the 7800GT, the best deal we can find this week on an X1800XL with 256MB of RAM is from Connect3D [RTPE: Connect3D 3039] which is decently priced at $329. The pricing of the X1800XL cards have improved since our last guide as the 7800GT was able to perform a bit better than the X1800XL, while also offering a lower price of about $310 (at the time). At the moment, we suggest going with the 7800GT which offers slightly better performance at a lower cost. Our RTPE is also picking up on the ATI Radeon X1800XL 256MB A-I-W [RTPE: 100-714400] on sale for $380.
While all of the 512MB 7800GTX NVIDIA cards are on pre-order, many of the 512MB X1800XT cards, including a single 256MB X1800 CrossFire, are available for sale. This time around, the X1800XT cards generally offer better price/performance than the 7800GTX - this is especially true given that 7800 GTX 512MB cards are almost impossible to find. The cheapest 512MB X1800XT we are seeing is from Sapphire [RTPE: 100134], on sale for $487. The 256MB X1800 CrossFire (built by ATI) is going for $564.
Here we are at the 6800 Ultra cards...and we can't see why anyone would even consider buying one of these at such insane prices. The cheapest 6800 Ultra is going for more than what a 7800GTX would run you! So if you're in the market for an ultra high-end card, we suggest completely overlooking these 6800 Ultra's and considering either ATI or NVIDIA's newest generation of cards.
High-End Graphics
Before we begin looking at the high-end video card prices, we would like to quickly state that since the ultra high-end cards and mid-range cards are so competitively priced, we see that you would get more for your money if you looked into either of those categories rather than any of these high-end cards. Unfortunately, AGP folks do not have any reasonable ultra high-end options. The cheapest version we're seeing is the ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB [RTPE: 100-435508] going for about $247.
For PCIe users, your best bet here would be the Sapphire Radeon X800XL 256MB [RTPE: 100105] on sale for an even $222. We are also seeing three 512MB X800XL's. Prices? Let's just say they're significantly more than the cheapest 7800GT we noted going for $280 (after MIR).
It appears that the X800XT's are becoming rare in the market, as our RTPE is only picking up on two PCIe cards. Again, rather than going with the VisionTek X800XT, which costs $307, pick up one of the 7800GT's which are going for that price or less. AGP holdouts could go for the ATI Radeon X800XT 256MB A-I-W [RTPE: 100-714200] going for $290.
Once again, we also suggest going with a 7800GT rather than a 6800GT because of the high cost of the 6800GT. The cheapest we're seeing is the Aopen GeForce 6800GT 256MB [RTPE: 91.05210.45h] going for the same price as the best priced 7800GT for $280. It's quite an obvious decision.
Mid-Range Graphics
Here is where AGP users will find their best card for the best possible price: the Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB [RTPE: 100131] on sale for $220. While this card has gone up about $20, it's still a decent deal.
One of the last cards in its category available, the Sapphire Radeon X800GTO2 256MB [RTPE: 100130SR] is going for $206. For something a bit cheaper while still being a decent performer, the Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB [RTPE: 100129] would be a great choice at about $45 cheaper than the GTO2 mentioned above, for a cost of $160.
Competing with the above cards is the 6800 GS series. Going for $194, the eVGA GeForce 6800GS 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N386] is an excellent deal. Thankfully, the 6800 GS cards have come down considerably in cost. In our last video card price guide, we mentioned that many of the 6800 GS cards had shot up to about $300, taking them right up to the 7800GT pricing league. At the moment though, these are priced very fairly for their performance standpoint.
Update: The AGP version of the 6800GS has recently dropped into the market. Our RTPE is currently only listing one card from two vendors, but as the channel strength increases, and the more vendors have it in stock, we'll be able to bring you more information. At the moment, we are seeing the eVGA GeForce 6800GS 256MB [RTPE: 256-A8-N387] going for $235.
The GeForce 6600GT's are doing fairly well. For you looking for an AGP card, your best bet this week would be to go with the eVGA GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: 128-A8-N350] going for $140. Coming in close behind is the Chaintech GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: SA6600G-128] for $147 and the XFX GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: PV-T43A-ND] for an even $146.
PCIe users are looking at about the same prices as AGP users are, although a bit cheaper, the cheapest 6600GT (PCIe) this week is the XFX GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: PV-T43G-ND] going for $130. Close behind is the Chaintech GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: SE6600G-128] on sale for $137. You can find a few others going for about $140 from manufacturers like Albatron, eVGA, Gigabyte, LeadTek and PNY.
The X700 cards are fairly decent performers, although the 6600GT's generally perform slightly better. We recommend going with a 6600GT rather than an X700, but if the price is right, an X700 should be ok. For just under $100, the Sapphire Radeon X700 128MB [RTPE: 100121SR] is quite difficult to beat.
As long as you can get an X800 GTO/GTO2 for about $200, these X1600 cards are not what we would suggest going with. Especially because of the performance we saw from them, they're not too appealing compared to the competition.
Low-End Graphics
For the same price as the X700 we suggested on the previous page, the cheapest X1300 variant we are seeing is the Sapphire Radeon X1300 256MB [RTPE: 100141]. We suggest going with the X700 rather than this X1300 since it gives us better performance for the same price.
Lastly, we have here are the Radeon X300's and the GeForce 6200 cards. Any of these choices would be decent enough for very basic graphics. You'll find that these are generally better than onboard graphics, so if you're looking for something just a hair better at a very low cost, these might be for you.
This concludes this week's video card price guide. We thank you for reading and hope to see you back next week as we take a look at storage alternatives. Until next time....