Apparently we think of money in different terms. The price premium this carries over 2 x 2GB GTX285 is not very much money in terms of what people spend on their hobbies, basically change.
Assuming finite and limiting resources, I would prefer to buy a high end card every, say, 6 months than one megalithic one every year, i reckon your net performance compared with the average is increased that way.
^^^ This. Some people just don't seem to understand the transient nature of the computer market, nor how to get the most performance out of the money they spend. That's where the skill and experience in system building comes in, not spending load of cash on the most expensive components regardless of performance, just because you can. Judging from your avatar and user title nRollo, you also seem like the sort of person that would pay more for a slower nVidia card than a cheaper, faster ATI card. Being a fanboy is an expensive occupation when it comes to computers On a side note, can I have one of your GTX 295s once you're done with them?
There aren't any faster ATi cards though, so you can only pay more and get more from NVIDIA. Whether they're worth the difference is something the individual user has to determine, but I like PhysX and I love 3d Vision. (so to me they're worth more for those alone) As far as this card goes, as I noted, there's nothing "value" to consider here. It's the "best of best" and as such you'll pay the bill or you won't have it. It's a solution for the guy with money who doesn't want to buy three GTX260s, OC them and get more performance. The buyer for this wants to say he owns it, and that's half the point with real high end stuff. The guys that buy this card probably wouldn't want it if it cost $50, because there's got to be something else out there everyone can't have. Personally I'd call computers a "mid range" hobby. I spend more on my rec property and boating than I do on computers, I know people who spend more on collectable cars, travel, being a pilot, and skiing than you really could on computers. Computers are more than hiking in a park or watching sports on tv though, and you're right, buying high end stuff costs more than going to see the Packers.
Props to you nRollo - you managed not to rage at the word "fanboy". That's a sick card, but like most top-of-the-range cards it's just like tits on a bull to most folk. All it is really is an epeen extension for a tech at nVidia so they can see their card go straight to the world record places in various benchmarks and hold the "fastest card in the world" title.
a bit more rollo? you can build a whole rig for one of these- and game on it maxed out! some people have alot of money to throw around and they live in a different world than the rest of us.. if you don't fall into this category and buy this anyways (like put on a cc to pay off) your just a fool! sorry but that's not my opinion just facts!
True, and I see what you're saying, but it was more a hypothetical, and the competition in the low and mid range cards (as much as you might scoff at the thought of them ) is much closer.
Exactly. And it's marketed to be an epeen extension for the buyers. You buy this card for the same reason you buy this car: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/112_0802_2009_chevrolet_corvette_zr1_first_look/index.html (If you buy American anyway)
Bad example, nRollo.. The ZR1 is an awesome value if you want a really fast car, it beats cars that are triple the price. Asus is just filling a needed slot in the graphics card market, there always has been a ridiculously expensive top top end card, and the Mars is just a particularly expensive one.
Nah, it's a good example as I qualified it with "if you buy American" - leaves the Europeans out of the picture. http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=6456 Nothing about the ZR1's performance justifies it's 40% higher price, especially with American speed limits. It's an epeen car. Which is not to say it isn't the best American sports car, just that it's not a good "value".
Heh, if you're factoring in speed limits, every American might as well drive Smart ForTwos. Sorry about that, I didn't notice the 'if you buy American' thing, but it still beats the Ford GT, Saleen S7, SSC Aero, Hennessey Viper, etc etc for value. Any Corvette is an irl peen car, and did you notice that every single figure about the ZR1 in that article had 'est' next to it?.. [we're a little off topic lol] ..and therefore, the Corvette ZR1 doesn't equal the ASUS Mars, for American cars, that would be the Saleen S7.
The only thing I'm wondering: why the LE? And this isn't as awesome as the 7800GT X2 or the HD3850 Trinity.
So: i7-920 - £240 Gigabyte El Cheapo Mobo - £150 Antec 902 - £100 ATI 4870x2 - £240 (I got mine new for less, but Scan's price for the XFX was £240 at the time, before anyone says "How cheap???") 6GB fast RAM - £100 Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB - £65 Big-ish PSU - £100 Titan Fenrir - £35 So, at rough estimates, £1030 for a pimped PC, capable of handling everything thrown at it... or one of these? I know what I'd go for!
You apparently aren't understanding that there are people in the world who don't necessarily factor "value" into the equation. For example I usually pay a good deal more for cpus with unlocked multipliers because I don't want to be bothered with FSB OCs. There are people who will buy these because they're the fastest, most expensive card- those people won't own any of the parts listed in your rig because they want a rig built of "the best", not the "pretty good, but a darn good bargain!". Their perspective and buying habits are no better or worse than yours, just different. The fact that most people need to think about "value" more than the customers of this doesn't mean they're "right", it just means they have less money. Given equal pricing, everyone would take the top end parts- which sort of proves those who don't are compromising.
Not really. It is possible (believe it or not) to have too much, depending on what you do with it. Therefore anything over and above that is pointless and a waste of money, no matter who you are.
Those who don't are sensible, not compromising. There's a term known as 'bang for your buck' - it doesn't necessarily mean the budget option, it's considered for pretty much anything at any price and measures the performance you're getting for your money. The 295's 'bang for buck' is pants, tbh. Not a sensible choice. If you're pooing gold and weeing oil, then fair enough, go for it, because it'll eventually lower the cost of the tech and make it a better price-performance ratio.
