Before I get to the nitty gritty, I'd like to introduce myself. I've been building comps for over 12 years, into online gaming ect... for over 8 years, and just all around knowledgeable in the comp industry. Newbs need not respond.
You clowns need to stop spending so much on vid cards. The more people who buy into these rediculous prices, the steeper the prices are going to be in the future. You guys are shooting yourselves in the feet. Looking at newegg, I see they have ATi / Sapphire x850 xt-pe for a mere $800. Anybody stupid enough to pay that much for that card should be roped to a bumper and taken for a cruise down the interstate (I take no responsibility for anybody who ties their neighbors leg to the car and speeds down the street, after finding out they spent $700+ on a video card, you are a sick person, possibly a post office worker).
ATi & NVidia are getting so filthy rich off you enthusiasts (idiots) that they'll likely never drop their prices back into reasonable ranges, and are even now bumping up the prices on their mid-range cards as well (after all, they don't want everybody abandoning the high end range).
I feel sorry for the newbs, just getting into the comp scene and spending a small fortune on these cards... it makes me wish I had the power to do something about it... It seems anymore, if you want a decent rig, you have to wait for atleast 30-60 days for that killer deal, otherwise you're dropping unprecidented money on a card.
But prices seem to be raising all across the board... Me for example. I picked up an MSI Rx9800 Pro back in July for $160 shipped. You can't find a pricetag like that anywhere but ebay as of now, as prices are clearing $200 (EDIT: $250 on ati.com). I see things like this and think to myself... W T F
Take a look at mobo's. 2 years ago the top end mobo would sell for $120, they've doubled the pricetag since then, and thats with even more competition on the market. CPU's are even worse... $1000 for top end cpu's is gut wrenching to say the least. All in all, I'd be lying if I said I don't think there is some sort of coordination between these big companies. Intel and AMD for example; at one point in time, back when AMD was making a name for itself, the competition was VERY healthy, as the Athlon was the first CPU to hit the 1GHz marker and sold for less than the P3 @ 800 MHz, Intel and AMD were breaking their balls to produce cheaper pricetags on faster processors to compete with its counterpart. Now it seems to be one big monopoly. Prices soar higher than ever before on their high end vector, and the fan base for both companies are large enough that they don't have to worry about competition. They make their $$$ the new fashioned way, which is a simple equation. The rate of PC users is growing at a staggering rate, especially now over seas, and to many users, having the envy of others over a cooler PC is like a competition. <=== these are the idiots I mentioned earlier)
So, with record #'s of users, comes record #'s of sales, in comes the marketing strategy. To those who may think otherwise, the mid-end cpu's and gpu's are where these corperations make their most money, as most people see it as uncanny to pay so much for a computer. So, what should they do to rape us out of money? Create the high end with numb skull prices, and that comes with 2 major advantages. One: the obvious of the 2, they make great profits off bloated sales prices. Two: they can raise the prices of their mid-range chips, having the prices seem much more appealing and realistic in comparison to the high-end, and thats what stuffs their wallets.
On the other hand, if any of you are looking for a good business venture, try this; Start a small company, designate yourself on one main idea, high end sales, high end prices. Go direct thru ATi and NVidia manufacturers and buy up a whole mess of their high end cards at whole sale prices just as soon as they are available, sit on them for a couple weeks to a month, then do like everybody else when they are rarely in stock anywhere, jack the prices up over $100 each and just role in the dough. It works for newegg and others, it'll work for you too. Just be sure to pay some decent money for a nice looking (and working) web interface, have a good customer service and fast shipping, and you will prosper.
I've saw this industry come a long way, and from the trends I've been noticing over the years, the future looks bleak. This post, wont cause any riots or boycotts, and I know fully well I'm going to get flamed by more than a few individuals who don't like being called an idiot, but if even 1 person read this and it opened his/her eyes, I'll feel better about it already.
You clowns need to stop spending so much on vid cards. The more people who buy into these rediculous prices, the steeper the prices are going to be in the future. You guys are shooting yourselves in the feet. Looking at newegg, I see they have ATi / Sapphire x850 xt-pe for a mere $800. Anybody stupid enough to pay that much for that card should be roped to a bumper and taken for a cruise down the interstate (I take no responsibility for anybody who ties their neighbors leg to the car and speeds down the street, after finding out they spent $700+ on a video card, you are a sick person, possibly a post office worker).
ATi & NVidia are getting so filthy rich off you enthusiasts (idiots) that they'll likely never drop their prices back into reasonable ranges, and are even now bumping up the prices on their mid-range cards as well (after all, they don't want everybody abandoning the high end range).
I feel sorry for the newbs, just getting into the comp scene and spending a small fortune on these cards... it makes me wish I had the power to do something about it... It seems anymore, if you want a decent rig, you have to wait for atleast 30-60 days for that killer deal, otherwise you're dropping unprecidented money on a card.
But prices seem to be raising all across the board... Me for example. I picked up an MSI Rx9800 Pro back in July for $160 shipped. You can't find a pricetag like that anywhere but ebay as of now, as prices are clearing $200 (EDIT: $250 on ati.com). I see things like this and think to myself... W T F
Take a look at mobo's. 2 years ago the top end mobo would sell for $120, they've doubled the pricetag since then, and thats with even more competition on the market. CPU's are even worse... $1000 for top end cpu's is gut wrenching to say the least. All in all, I'd be lying if I said I don't think there is some sort of coordination between these big companies. Intel and AMD for example; at one point in time, back when AMD was making a name for itself, the competition was VERY healthy, as the Athlon was the first CPU to hit the 1GHz marker and sold for less than the P3 @ 800 MHz, Intel and AMD were breaking their balls to produce cheaper pricetags on faster processors to compete with its counterpart. Now it seems to be one big monopoly. Prices soar higher than ever before on their high end vector, and the fan base for both companies are large enough that they don't have to worry about competition. They make their $$$ the new fashioned way, which is a simple equation. The rate of PC users is growing at a staggering rate, especially now over seas, and to many users, having the envy of others over a cooler PC is like a competition. <=== these are the idiots I mentioned earlier)
So, with record #'s of users, comes record #'s of sales, in comes the marketing strategy. To those who may think otherwise, the mid-end cpu's and gpu's are where these corperations make their most money, as most people see it as uncanny to pay so much for a computer. So, what should they do to rape us out of money? Create the high end with numb skull prices, and that comes with 2 major advantages. One: the obvious of the 2, they make great profits off bloated sales prices. Two: they can raise the prices of their mid-range chips, having the prices seem much more appealing and realistic in comparison to the high-end, and thats what stuffs their wallets.
On the other hand, if any of you are looking for a good business venture, try this; Start a small company, designate yourself on one main idea, high end sales, high end prices. Go direct thru ATi and NVidia manufacturers and buy up a whole mess of their high end cards at whole sale prices just as soon as they are available, sit on them for a couple weeks to a month, then do like everybody else when they are rarely in stock anywhere, jack the prices up over $100 each and just role in the dough. It works for newegg and others, it'll work for you too. Just be sure to pay some decent money for a nice looking (and working) web interface, have a good customer service and fast shipping, and you will prosper.
I've saw this industry come a long way, and from the trends I've been noticing over the years, the future looks bleak. This post, wont cause any riots or boycotts, and I know fully well I'm going to get flamed by more than a few individuals who don't like being called an idiot, but if even 1 person read this and it opened his/her eyes, I'll feel better about it already.