Your first $300+ video card purchase

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

Originally posted by: apoppin
haven't bought it yet . . . all these were new . . . but off the cutting edge

Rage Fury32 ~$180

GeForce256 [trade for CPU]

Radeon 64DDR ~$150

Radeon 8500 ~$130

9800xt two years ago for $223

x850xt for $200 last month

maybe r700 or g90

edited

was it worth it ?

well considering the P3 600e CPU was a 'gift' [[N/C] from Intel . . . i'd have to say. yYES, absolutely.

that was when i learned first hand that "Speed' - as a measure of a video card - is not as important as Image Quality.

 

[Markbnj]

My first expensive video card was an Orchid Prodesigner II.

 

[ElFenix]

does a combination of matrox millenium and canopus pure3d count?

 

[BlacKJesuS]

Originally posted by: Budarow

Originally posted by: phaxmohdem
I was just recollecting my first ever $300 video card purchase. A GeForce4 Ti4600 in Summer 02. Man that card was the bomb... coupled to my spanking new A-XP 1700+

The only other card I've purchased topping the $300 marker was my AGP x800XL which I purchased close to its debut.

When was your first departure of $300+ USD for a pretty PCB w/ heatsinks & chips on it that makes cool things happen on your monitor?

Yeah...I love my 7800GT And it was worth EVERY penny of the $359 I paid for it OKAY...OKAY...I didn't tell the "whole" truth. I got the card with a FREE mobo for $359 so I guess I "embellished" my story! I just went to "A Million Little Pieces" bwahhhhh Please don't tell Opra (she might chastise me on national tv!

oprah.....she should for you makin that joke

 

[Genx87]

6800GT, still using it, still a decent card even for todays games. It will be used until the next generation cards comes out and I build a new gaming rig.

Edit: I used to be of the thought best bang for the buck but have realized if you build a good higher end rig it can cost less over time than a lower end bang for the bucks.

My buying trends before my last build.

Spring of 02
Built XP1700+
256MB of Ram
GF3 Ti200
Cost ~800 bucks

Spring of 03
XP2400 @ 2200Mhz
1Gb of Ram
Ti4600 then upgraded to a 5900 in August
Cost ~1100 total after upgrade of card

August of 04
A64 3000+ @2200mhz
1GB of ram
6800GT

1300 bucks

First machine I got an avg monthly cost of 67 bucks
2nd machine over its 15 month lifycycle 73 bucks
3rd machine that will last ~27 months = 48 bucks a month.

The next machine I build the goal is to have it last 36 months.
The cost for this machine will most likely run right around 1700 bucks

47 bucks a month.

Reasons for previous upgrades were due to the inability to play games at my desired resolution of 1600X1200.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

first expensive card i had was a quantum3d obsidian x24. i forget how much it cost at the time cause i got it for free. then i got a voodoo 3 3000, then an elsa geforce2, then my 9800pro.

 

[therawuncut]

ATI Rage Fury 32 MB @ $190 in Summer of '98.
ATI 9800 Pro 128 MB @ $220 in Winter '02.

Next week : ATI X1800XT @ $359. Looks like I'll be in the $300+ club soon!

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

Originally posted by: apoppin
haven't bought it yet . . . all these were new . . . but off the cutting edge

Rage Fury32 ~$180

GeForce256 [trade for CPU]

Radeon 64DDR ~$150

Radeon 8500 ~$130

9800xt two years ago for $223

x850xt for $200 last month

maybe r700 or g90

edited

was it worth it ?

well considering the P3 600e CPU was a 'gift' [[N/C] from Intel . . . i'd have to say. yYES, absolutely.

that was when i learned first hand that "Speed' - as a measure of a video card - is not as important as Image Quality.

LOL!

i had a TNT2 ..... terrible

 

[erwos]

At the risk of sounding like a total noob, I've never spent more than $150 on a video card. In fact, the only time I've ever bought a really top-notch video card at release was the Creative Labs Riva TNT - a whole $125. Since then, I've had a GF2 MX, integrated GF4 MX, FX5700, and most recently, a 6800 - all of which were about at least generation behind, usually more like three.

That said, the FX5700->6800 jump really opened my eyes as to how much a video card can visually enhance a game, and I do think I finally understand why people toss down $300+ on a video card (although much beyond $450 is still a bit weird to me - oh well). If you put value on that sort of thing, I don't think it's an unreasonable purchase.

-Erwos

 

[Z33]

my first 3D card (and i think it was $300) was a VOODOO RUSH. Had 2D and 3D on 1 card! (i knew nothing about video cards back then, but it sure made all my games purty

 

[techwanabe]

$180 for my Voodoo 3 3000 was the most I ever spent on a video card as a separate piece. It is against my religion to spend more than about $200 for a video card, especially since cards in that range will usually get me good enough performance for my casual gaming habbits.

I do have a Radeon X800SE that cost me around$180 to upgrade to when I purchased my *gasp* Dell Dimension 8400 in Oct 2004. I guess those would have retailed in the $300+ range so I qualify for this thread in a round about way I guess these perforum a bit faster than the Radeon 9800XT IIRC. I'm happy with it.

 

[Snooper]

First $300 card: VooDoo 2 12Mb - Second longest lasting card in my system. Just over two years.
First $400 card: ATI 9800 Pro 128Mb - Single longest lasting card in my system. Right at 3 years.
First $550 card: ATI X1900 XT
First $750 card: ????? But it's just a matter of time...

 

[Dumac]

My first $300 dollar card was a 7800GT, and that was just a couple weeks ago.

 

[christopherzombie]

Here are all my $300+ video cards:

$320.00 Leadtek ti4400 - JUN 2002 - should have waited for a 9700np!
$300.00 S/U/M/A FX 5900 128MB - AUG 2003
$325.00 EVGA 6800 LEU @ 325/1100 16pp - OCT 2004 - Flashed to a 6800 Ultra & 100% stable @ 425/1100 for over 1 year!
$300.00 EVGA 7800GT - NOV 2005 - add free mobo
$320.00 EVGA 7800GT CO SE - DEC 2005 - Added for SLI

 

[Glavinsolo]

STB Velocity 3DFx Voodoo 2 3D Acceleration Card

These were a great idea back in the day. Buy a cheap vid card and you looped in the 3d accelerator. My brother had the VooDoo 1. I always tried to one up him in hardware.

 

[VIAN]

7800GT that I have now, must've been my first ever $300+ card.

 

[pcmodem]

Have never spent $300+ on a video card, even when I was a gamer.

Notable video card purchases:

GeForce ~$250
GeForce2 ~$250
GeForce3 ~$Free (a gift)
GeForce 6200TC ~$60

Of course, I spent $420 for my Opteron 170 at Monarch. That was the second time I've ever spent more than $300 on a PC part (the first being $400 for Klipsch Promedia 5.1 speakers), but considering the Opty performs OC'ed close to the $1125.00 FX-60, I'd say it was a worthy investment.

 

[jlbenedict]

original Diamond Monster 3D (Voodoo 1 chipset) for $299

off subject, but I remember paying $199 for the "first" 3D acccelerator, Diamond's Stealth 3D 2000 Pro (S3 Virge chipset) PCI bus.. I had it delivered COD, from CDW! Ha.. those were the days!

 

[Andres3605]

i have never payed that much,
9600 xt>$180 with free, HL2 two months after release
x800xt pe>$225 in the last ati promotion

 

[CP5670]

Diamond Voodoo2 12MB - ~$200 (still used in retro game computer)
Diamond Viper 550 TNT1 - ~$150
3dfx Voodoo3 - ~$170
Elsa Geforce 3 - ~$400 (still used in retro game computer)
BFG 6800 GT - $400 (sold last week for $320)
another Diamond Voodoo2 12MB - $15 (off ebay, added to retro game computer)
two EVGA 7800 GT COs - $300 each (used in main computer)

 

[MercenaryForHire]

I don't even think I've paid $200 for a video card, never mind 3.

- M4H

 

[NeezyDeezy]

I refuse to pay more than $200 for my total video solution. It depends on whatever "hot deal" I can get too.

This strategy is pretty sane IMO. Bleeding edge is only for rich addicts, which is not cool or 1337 in any way.

 

[rbV5]

$405 AIW 9700pro the day they were for sale at Newegg Dec'02...still using it daily in one of the kid's PC's.

 

[Brian48]

Creative 12mb Voodoo 3dfx ($299.95 + tax), Feb 1998.

Technically, the first video card I bought that officially broke the $300 barrier was my old Creative TnT2 Ultra weighing in at a $329.95+tax.

 

[mikeford]

These days I am cheap, nothing over $100 in years, but I remember paying $900 for a Viking 1152x870 monochrome card back in about 88, and I have some old video cards that were closer to $10k new, but I didn't buy them new.