ATI and NVidia actually lose money on their top of the line products. They don't sell enough of them to be profitable, yet they still have to have a line open to produce them. The mid range and low priced cards are actually their bread and butter. They simply use the top of the line cards for market recognition.
I have to agree though, the last few round of mid range cards were pretty pathetic. Back when cards like the 9600 Pro and XT models were around, those were some decent mid range boards, along with NVidia's 6600 line. Back then, you could expect at least 75% or better the performance of the top of the line boards, but lately, the mid-ranged boards are pathetic, only offering half or even less of the perf of the top of the line versions.
I broke down and paid $570 + tax for my current x1900 XTX and I wouldn't dream of buying anything less than a top range boards these days. So, I guess they can lose money on me!
-S
PS. I'm skipping this first generation of 8800's and 2900's. They are power hogs! I already think my current x1900 XTX is way more a power hog than I would like.
PPS. Don't bank on the ATI reviews this time around. If I am able to predict anything, AMD will not care to release a top notch card this product cycle. They have more important plans for their resources by cramming a fast GPU into their multi core archetecture - called Fusion. Not sure where this will leave NVidia in the future, but NVidia may be left holding the bag - imagine a GPU/CPU on the same die, maybe even dual core GPU/CPU on the same die with no annoying bus in between. The speed and idea is scary, and should be very scary for NVidia.
PPPS. I wonder if NVidia will be bought up by Intel as a result? Seems like the only logical conclusion. Intel's multi core technology sucks compared to AMD's though, so it won't work as well.
PPPPS. Imagine way fast floating point and way fast integer performance on the same exact die? I need to get my hands on the AMD Fusion!
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