X1900 Series and 7900 Series- Who Owns What? An attempt for an accurate check.

[HeavyH20]

as of April 8, 2006 1:42 PM

So, according to the poll numbers, it looks like NVIDIA has shipped enough 7900 series cards in the last 3 weeks to exceed all sales by ATI for the x1900 series for the past 10 weeks. So, assuming the ratios and time, that means 30% of the refresh video cards from ATI would have been purchased in the past 3 weeks, or 28. Compare that to the NVIDIA 7900 series cards, and it appears NVIDIA is selling their cards over the past month at a 4 to 1 ratio. It is a bit of a play on the numbers, but it does show a trend. Demand looks to be the real reason for the supply issues, not the ability to produce cards. This mirrors the findings of a recent article at The Tech Report.

We weren't able to get any e-tailers to go on record with proportional sales data on ATI and NVIDIA cards, but we did get a clear sense that the picture NVIDIA painted of the situation is fairly accurate. GeForce 7900 cards are outselling the ATI-based competition by well over four-to-one ratios at some online vendors, amazingly enough. The supply is substantial, too: shipments of 7900 cards are arriving on palettes and selling out within the space of a day or two—sometimes less. Vendors are not satisfied with the volumes of cards they are getting, of course; they would like more. But this is not a simple case of extended, persistent lack of product from NVIDIA and stellar supply from ATI. NVIDIA appears to be moving many more high-end GeForces through e-tail than ATI is high-end Radeons.

This poll will try to determine the current footprint of delivered refresh product at [H]. The poll includes the card type and allows for Crossfire and SLI card counts. Let's see if we can get an accurate picture.

I put in a Crossfire XTX, since some people have bought the XT master and paired it with an existing XTX. Most people opt for the X1900XT with the Crossfire master.

I also included a couple of extra poll options to determine who is waiting for the 7900 to come back in stock. We know the X1900 is readily available, so no need to ask about that.

I suspect that the 7900 GT will be most popular of all the cards. It is the least expensive, is a 24 pipe card and has good memory. It is basically an improved 7800 GTX.

I suspect that we will see a 50/50 split on the refresh delivery on both sides.





Count Summary

April 05 10:00 PM

ATI ------------------------ 69 (60 instances with 9 XT/XTX Crossfire)
NVIDIA ------------------- 82 (63 instances with 19 GT/ GTX SLI)
Waiting for a 7900 ----- 14


April 04 11:38 PM

ATI ------------------------ 61 (53 instances with 8 XT/XTX Crossfire)
NVIDIA -------------------- 79 (61 instances with 18 GT/ GTX SLI)
Waiting for a 7900 ----- 14


April 03 6:48PM

ATI -------------------------- 43 (35 instances with 4 XT/XTX Crossfire)
NVIDIA ---------------------- 44 (38 instances with 6 GT/ GTX SLI)
Waiting for a 7900 ------- 12


April 02 9:56 PM

ATI ------------------------- 17 (15 instances with 2 XTX Crossfire)
NVIDIA --------------------- 19 (16 instances with 1 GT SLI and 2 GTX SLI)
Waiting for a 7900 ------- 4

 

[pxc]

Why didn't you vote? There's a X1900XTX in your sig and the poll shows 0 right now.

 

[HeavyH20]

Well, actually, I just sold that card and bought two 7900 GTX's. So, the X1900XTX is in a box ready to ship.

 

[BBA]

Why didn't you vote? There's a X1900XTX in your sig and the poll shows 0 right now.

The problem with these polls is you can only vote once. Not a way to get an accurate picture.

 

[HeavyH20]

Voting once is the only good way. Otherwise, someone could skew the result. And multiple choice could also skew results since I could check XT, XT Crossfire, XTX and XTX Crossfire to pad ATI if I wanted to (add 6 cards to the result).

 

[Dark Prodigy]

XFX 7800 GT Extreme Edition in SLI right now.... but will be upgrading to the XFX 7900 GT Extreme Gaming in SLI in very near future...

 

[amd ati FO SHO]

x1900xt

 

[~zQ~]

EVGA 7900GTX...bought the following Thursday after launch day on Newegg.

 

[Budwise]

im pretty sure there is no X1900XTX Crossfire model. The Crossfire board is clocked to XT speeds only...

 

[BBA]

Voting once is the only good way. Otherwise, someone could skew the result. And multiple choice could also skew results since I could check XT, XT Crossfire, XTX and XTX Crossfire to pad ATI if I wanted to (add 6 cards to the result).

Thats an idiotic answer.

If a person has multiple computers, the correct option would be to select what vid card is in each computer.

 

[BBA]

So...12 ATi, 10 nvidia and 4 that want to buy an nvidia but they are out of stock.

Nice

 

[HeavyH20]

Thats an idiotic answer.

If a person has multiple computers, the correct option would be to select what vid card is in each computer.

Again, I believe that in a small percentage of cases, that may be true. If they exist, then they represent the statistically insignificant component of any survery (less than 5%). But, the ability to vote too many choices is more damaging to accurate results than not being able to choose enough. Not too many people will have two 7900 GTX SLI systems. Most people count themselves lucky to have one of the X1900 or 7900 series cards.

And, these surveys can be somewhat biased anyway. Even if you don't have the card, you can still vote your favorite. The accuracy of this poll will be dependent on the integrity of the members here at [H]. So, I suspect most people will report what they actually have.

im pretty sure there is no X1900XTX Crossfire model. The Crossfire board is clocked to XT speeds only...

Yes, it really does not exist. If you had an XTX card then decided to go Crossfire, your card is then limited by the Master card, which is X1900XT, reducing the value of the investment in the initial XTX. I created the category for this particular case. . Most people with Crossfire will know the master is at XT speeds and purchase the X1900XT in the first place. There will (should) be more X1900XT Crossfire setups reported than XTX ones.

And, by my count at this time (8:36 PM) and allowing a 2 count for all SLI and Crossfire systems, we have:

14 ATI cards versus 15 NVIDIA cards with 4 looking to buy.

 

[troisanh]

Evga 7900gtx CO here.

 

[R1ckCa1n]

Why two polls ? Just lame.

 

[HeavyH20]

Yes, it is a little lame to have to create another. But, the other one, while similarily named, actually compares all X1800XT, GTO, XL, X1900XT and XTX card counts against the 7900GT and GTX. It also does not take into account SLI or Crossfire. So, it is a completely different tact.

 

[sbin]

I have not used either 1900 or 7900 but plan to order the 7900gt and volt mod/OC it.

What is interesting is that the 7900 series is on back order and there is no shortage of 1900 series cards

 

[HeavyH20]

I have not used either 1900 or 7900 but plan to order the 7900gt and volt mod/OC it.

What is interesting is that the 7900 series is on back order and there is no shortage of 1900 series cards

They seem to be in stock at a variety of etailers. I was able to pick up a couple of EVGA 7900 GTX's within couple of days of wanting to do so from NewEgg ($539 each and free shipping)

NCIX.com (at least right now ) has the EVGA, XFX and BFG GTX cards in stock. The GT's have been easier to find. Some sites, like Monarch, have a restock of around 4/17 for back orders.

The X1900 series cards should be in good supply since they have been available 3X as long as the 7900.

 

[fallguy]

An option for the X1800XT would be nice. Its the direct competitor for the 7900 GT at $300. The XT is a little cheaper, but they're close in price, and speed.

 

[HeavyH20]

Just trying to determine availability of refresh product. If we step back to the X1800XT, it was positioned against the 7800 GTX 256, which is basically the current 7900 GT. I understand your point on the market segment. But, then we would also have to enter an option for the 7800 GTX 512. The list expands. So, it is limited to refresh X1900 and 7900 products.

 

[PureBooYah]

1900xtx. The lack of available 7900gtx's made my buying decision pretty easy when I wanted to buy a new card last week. I probably would have bought a 7900gtx if it was available. One thing's for sure, if 2 companies have pretty much equal products on the market, I'm not going to wait for one to get their cards in stock.

 

[HeavyH20]

My take is that either choice is good, so go with what you can get. The X1900XTX is the best single card solution available, so it is a good choice. But, if you want a multi card solution, I would pick the 7900 GT/GTX. Anybody would be happy with any of these cards, single, SLI or Crossfire.

 

[dh19440113]

I have 7900gt SLi bios mod to xfx 7900gt xxx bios(with iceberg 5 cooler) (zalman vf700 interfere with sli and silencer/accelero don't fit but modding it will fit and void warranty as well).
I did a little research and math before choosing my setup. Crossfire always come out more expensive with their setup compare to sli. Crossfire edition cards cost 400+300 regular card . Sli cost me 298 x2 That 100 dollar difference.
The xpress 200 motherboards suck, xpress3200 with Uli cost the same as nforce4 sli. Bottomline, Sli is more performance for the money bar non.

The question I want to ask is why would Ati put forth such a inferior crossfire setup? With that huge cable in the end and expensive crossfire edition card only a loyal Ati fan would choose this solution over sli LOL.

 

[HeavyH20]

So far, it looks like the split between ATI (45%) and NVIDIA (55%) for cards shipped is close to market share (48% versus 52%). So, there are as many/more NVIDIA 7900 series cards sold to date compared to ATI X1900 cards since their respective release dates.

If we consider demand as a component, for every four people who have a 7900 series card, there is someone waiting to buy. So, 80% of those who wanted the card have been able to buy one, to date. Another item to consider is the number of people opting for the X1900 cards instead of waiting for a 7900. So, the overwhelming demand for the 7900 cards has actually been good for ATI, as well.

Either way, it actually looks like NVIDIA is keeping up quite nicely.

 

[BBA]

If you had an XTX card then decided to go Crossfire, your card is then limited in speed to the Master card, which is X1900XT, wasting any investment in the initial XTX.

Not correct. The ATi cards work at different clock speeds in Crossfire.

Have you not wondered why the XTX Crossfire always outperforms the XT crossfire? This is why. There is no down clocking.

 

[Snotrocket]

Who are the 12 people waiting to buy cards and can't find them?

They're available right at the egg at reasonable prices.

 

[pxc]

Who are the 12 people waiting to buy cards and can't find them?

Maybe some of those people are looking for particular models, or voted before several places got new shipments today.

 

[HeavyH20]

Not correct. The ATi cards work at different clock speeds in Crossfire.

Have you not wondered why the XTX Crossfire always outperforms the XT crossfire? This is why. There is no down clocking.

The Crossfire Edition board is running lower clock speeds than the XTX which happen to be identical to the X1900 XT. An XTX based Crossfire system performance may be curtailed a little but not completely. So, as you mentioned, no downclocking, however the master card is a limiting factor to the XTX.

 

[phobic]

I had a 7900GTX that I ordered on launch day (what a fiasco that was) for 2 days before I returned it for a ghetto X1900XTX (oc'd X1900XT). I guess I'm still an ATi fan-boy at heart.

I'm liking the ATi card much more.

 

[HeavyH20]

Your point is interesting. I think people are not necessarily the so-called NVIDIOTS or ATI Fan Boys for staying with a certain make, but rather, are comfortable with the OC tools, BIOS mods, and drivers for their chosen brand.

I know, for one, that the last ATI card I had was a long time ago, and I have used NVIDIA cards since. I picked up the X1900XTX, and it was a whole new world. I had to find OC tools, tweaks, etc from scratch. I was officially an ATI noob. Now, I have a 7900 GTX, and, right ouit of the box, I already feel more at home tweaking, editing and OC'ing this card. The X1900XTX was nice, but it was "uncomfortable" to use. I am sure it is the same challenge for ATI users who make the leap to NVIDIA.

 

[HeavyH20]

 

[drizzt81]

neat idea. I like the stats in the first post. Thanks for going through this much trouble.

 

[HeavyH20]

The results are kind of what I suspected. The 7900 GT is the most popular of the high end refresh. But, what was surprising to me is how close the X1900XT is in popularity compared to the GT. I would have thought half the number good. Instead, there were almost as many.

The other item that I found interesting is the almost double the number of SLI GTX systems compared to SLI GT. I would have thought there would be more SLI GT systems than GTX, considering the cost difference. SLI is relatively popular with about a third of the NVDIA 7900 owners reporting an SLI system. If these users alone did not go SLI out of the gate, there would have been 20 extra cards in the market. More than enough to satisfy the 16 who would like a card. I think the popularity of SLI is a big culprit in the supply challenge.

On the ATI multi card side, it looks like ATI Crossfire is more of an adopted technology than most would have you to believe. While a little less mature and flexible than SLI, it is still a killer gaming solution.

One tidbit. The survey encompasses almost $70,000 worth of cards purchased by the reporting [H] members, alone. There are some pretty serious PC investments here at [H].

 

[eloj]

> They're available right at the egg at reasonable prices.

That's great. Only problem is that I live on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.

Sheesh.

 

[fallguy]

The X1800XT needs to be added. Its the direct competitor to the 7900GT. The 256MB version is under $300, and the 512MB version starts about $330. The X1900's are not in the same price range as the 7900GT.

 

[HeavyH20]

The X1800's are a legacy product since they are no longer produced and are not considered part the refresh products. If you had $350 to spend right now, most people would get a newer product. So, that would be either a 7900GT or pony up the extra $50 for a X1900XT. Besides, the poll is looking at refresh product in end users hands, not market share. If we included the X1800 cards, we would have to include the 7800 GTX 512, as well.

 

[Replicant1911]

Your point is interesting. I think people are not necessarily the so-called NVIDIOTS or ATI Fan Boys for staying with a certain make, but rather, are comfortable with the OC tools, BIOS mods, and drivers for their chosen brand.

I know, for one, that the last ATI card I had was a long time ago, and I have used NVIDIA cards since. I picked up the X1900XTX, and it was a whole new world. I had to find OC tools, tweaks, etc from scratch. I was officially an ATI noob. Now, I have a 7900 GTX, and, right ouit of the box, I already feel more at home tweaking, editing and OC'ing this card. The X1900XTX was nice, but it was "uncomfortable" to use. I am sure it is the same challenge for ATI users who make the leap to NVIDIA.

I think so too. That was one of the thoughts in the back of my mind when looking at ATI. Because I already had all the tools for nvidia cards downloaded and installed and pinned to my start menu. I even went and visited the ATI website to try to find their drivers and how to install them before I ultimately ordered a 7900gt (price being the issue at heart, I wanted a x1900xt but I couldnt afford it.)

 

[killerD]

1900xtx. The lack of available 7900gtx's made my buying decision pretty easy when I wanted to buy a new card last week. I probably would have bought a 7900gtx if it was available. One thing's for sure, if 2 companies have pretty much equal products on the market, I'm not going to wait for one to get their cards in stock.

Not to mention one's universally $50 cheaper/.

 

[Dan_D]

Two 7900GTX's in SLI here.

 

[Majin]

I was up in the air.
Almost went for 7900GT SLI
But figured with all the major changes coming by the end of this year, I should stay RED.
Bought a X1900XT
oced to XTX speeds.
This Card is so much nicer than my X850XT-PE it's insane!

 

[HeavyH20]

Well, updated the numbers and they look to have stabilized. There are more NVIDIA 7900 series cards sold to date than X1900 series. But, not by that much. However, add in the 18 who want the card and assume the standard ratios (20% dual card), we would have 22 cards in queue to purchase along with the 106 purchased, so far. That is 128 NVIDIA to 92 ATI. So, 58% of the demand is for the 7900 series cards and 42% for ATI. Demand is not as far on the NVIDIA side as some have proposed.

If you look at the number of users, it is pretty much even (81 versus 83). SLI is the key factor in changing the number of cards in use, since it looks to be moremainstreamed than Crossfire