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AltTabbins
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2005
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I was looking at some of the new lineup from ATI a few minutes ago and some parts have left me scratching my head..
About a month ago, the x800gt/gto series was released to the public. They range from $140ish to $200ish depending on what model you get. Ati was filling the mid-rage gap that they had with their pci-e cards and adding a new step to the market. Now, this frustrated me because they already had a good midrange market with their aging x800/x850 series. One could get a x800 vanilla for under $200 or pay a few bucks more and get a faster pro/xl version of it. IMO, this made a great mid-range series of cards (once prices fell).
Soon after, they released the x1800xl, taking their "high end" series up a notch, lowering prices of their NOW high-middle range cards. Soon after that they released the x1300 and x1600 series of cards. I am confused about what their marketing dept was thinking, pitting their own cards against each other. Ati, as it seems has flooded its own market with the release of the new card. Now its not a question of "should I get Nvidia or Ati", its now "Should I get Nvidia, or Ati or Ati's slower, more expensive cards or Ati's newest, fastest.. yet cheaper card?".
Lets have a look at the specs for a couple of the new "mid-range" cards.
~$140.00: x800gt: 8pipes, 700mhz Core and 400Mhz Mem.
Not too bad for a midrange card. It falls below the x800xl/x850pro series. It was a nice fit to make up for their disappointing x700 sales.
~$150.00: x1600pro: 12 pipes, 500mhz core and 780mhz mem.
I think ATI was thinking to snuff out the 6600gt with this card, but didn't realize that they will probably do more damage to their x800gt sales. I mean, who would want to buy a GT card when you can get a card with 4 extra pipes and a newer core?
All in all, it seems like ATI has too many cards, and not enough range between them. They have released a SLEW of new cards with what appears to be intent on making their older cards obsolete.
PREDICTIONS:
X700: 6 months from now, you wont be able to find these except for at newegg, who will sell them at really low prices until they are out of stock.
x800gt/gto: Will have some life left in it, but will lose its civil war against the x1600pro/xt cards.
x800xl/xt: These card will be around for a while. They fit in nicely with Nvidia's offererings and are great "high end" agp solutions
x850pro: Will slowly go the way of the buffalo. I give it 6 months like the x700 before these start getting completely phased off of shelves.
x850xtpe: This will be around for a very long time. ATI loves that it is the fastest agp solution available and will keep prices high for a while.
X1600pro/xt: will explode once they hit the shelves. They are very comperable to x850pros but have all the new features of the new x1x00 series. The 6600gt will have to move over for a faster card in its pricerange, something that ATI hasn't been able to do since the release of the 6600gt.
About a month ago, the x800gt/gto series was released to the public. They range from $140ish to $200ish depending on what model you get. Ati was filling the mid-rage gap that they had with their pci-e cards and adding a new step to the market. Now, this frustrated me because they already had a good midrange market with their aging x800/x850 series. One could get a x800 vanilla for under $200 or pay a few bucks more and get a faster pro/xl version of it. IMO, this made a great mid-range series of cards (once prices fell).
Soon after, they released the x1800xl, taking their "high end" series up a notch, lowering prices of their NOW high-middle range cards. Soon after that they released the x1300 and x1600 series of cards. I am confused about what their marketing dept was thinking, pitting their own cards against each other. Ati, as it seems has flooded its own market with the release of the new card. Now its not a question of "should I get Nvidia or Ati", its now "Should I get Nvidia, or Ati or Ati's slower, more expensive cards or Ati's newest, fastest.. yet cheaper card?".
Lets have a look at the specs for a couple of the new "mid-range" cards.
~$140.00: x800gt: 8pipes, 700mhz Core and 400Mhz Mem.
Not too bad for a midrange card. It falls below the x800xl/x850pro series. It was a nice fit to make up for their disappointing x700 sales.
~$150.00: x1600pro: 12 pipes, 500mhz core and 780mhz mem.
I think ATI was thinking to snuff out the 6600gt with this card, but didn't realize that they will probably do more damage to their x800gt sales. I mean, who would want to buy a GT card when you can get a card with 4 extra pipes and a newer core?
All in all, it seems like ATI has too many cards, and not enough range between them. They have released a SLEW of new cards with what appears to be intent on making their older cards obsolete.
PREDICTIONS:
X700: 6 months from now, you wont be able to find these except for at newegg, who will sell them at really low prices until they are out of stock.
x800gt/gto: Will have some life left in it, but will lose its civil war against the x1600pro/xt cards.
x800xl/xt: These card will be around for a while. They fit in nicely with Nvidia's offererings and are great "high end" agp solutions
x850pro: Will slowly go the way of the buffalo. I give it 6 months like the x700 before these start getting completely phased off of shelves.
x850xtpe: This will be around for a very long time. ATI loves that it is the fastest agp solution available and will keep prices high for a while.
X1600pro/xt: will explode once they hit the shelves. They are very comperable to x850pros but have all the new features of the new x1x00 series. The 6600gt will have to move over for a faster card in its pricerange, something that ATI hasn't been able to do since the release of the 6600gt.
