why is this card so FReakin expensive?!

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I know for a FACT that the price is higher because they don't move as much of the product. It's a simple law of economics.
ehh no....cards that work in programs like CAD aren't meant for gaming...these cards aren't meant for joe blow home buyer as well....as we've discussed they are for desktop workstations and doing a different kind of rendering compared to computer games.

Read the specs below it and it is pretty much common sense

The NVIDIA Quadro® FX 4400 sets a new bar for professional graphics, shattering the limits of performance, programmability, precision, and quality for professional CAD, DCC, and scientific applications

Optimized compilers for Cg, OpenGL shading language, and Microsoft HLSL
OpenGL 1.5 and DirectX 9.0 support
Open source compiler

Yes it's got support for DX9, but it's not because they are meant to play games at all.

Those cards dont work on the same kind of instructions

It has nothing to do with them not 'moving enough of them' or this so called 'simply economics' that you're blatantly wrong about.

Yeah of course they dont sell them like graphic cards because theres a crapload of gamers out there...but of places that use CAD and other such programs will buy those things in bulk for multiple work stations.
 
To complement that last sentence...I live in the city that has Blizzard's Headquarters (Makers of World of Warcraft); Blizzard uses Quadros to power their workstations. They say that conventional video cards can't handle the load...go figure.
 
wow... you guys are fooling yourselves. I never said they were weak. I never said they weren't optimized for something. I'm telling Flanker that these cards aren't that much more technologically advanced than a run-of-the-mill graphics card. If they SOLD the same quantities as the 6800GT for example, they'd BE AT 6800GTish prices... You guys are really kinda shooting at a target I'm not holding.

Ryan

oh, and in addition to the FX-57 remark... Let's disect that. The FX-57 costs more because yes, it is technologically more advanced. I believe this example helps explain my point a little better.

Research and development costs money, right? That's why pieces of technology cost more when they're new. They're compensating for research and marketing costs.

The FX-57 really isn't 3 times more complex than the Athlon 64 X2 3800+. Why does it cost more? Because they need to cover the cost marketing and research. Now if they sold MORE of the processors, they could lower the price because they wouldn't need as much overhead to meet costs.

Are you guys talking about what I'm talking about?
 
I'll keep it simple here

If they SOLD the same quantities as the 6800GT for example, they'd BE AT 6800GTish prices...
No they wouldn't....they might not be $1,700 and I see exactly what you're going for here and understand your point of view and argument, but no...they wouldn't be at 6800GT type prices.

They are the 'top of the line' for the type of field they are in.

I'm telling Flanker that these cards aren't that much more technologically advanced than a run-of-the-mill graphics card
You're comparing two different things here. Graphics cards are just now catching up to what these workstation cards have been for years...meaning PCI-E and a lot having 512mb cards...it's just now that the graphics cards we purchase are almost on the same level, but as has been said, it's two different tasks at hand.

Yes of course when something is being bought up rapidly then prices go down, I understand that, but these cards still wouldn't be very cheap due to the nature that they are purchased for
 
FghtinIrshNvrDi said:
I never said they were weak.

I never said you said they were weak either, but look at this;

FghtinIrshNvrDi said:
These cards aren't that much more technologically advanced than a run-of-the-mill graphics card.[/B]

These cards are like a FX-59 with 4MB L2 cache...yea they're aeren't TECHNOLOGICALLY that advanced, but as far as performance goes; they kill anything else out there.

FghtinIrshNvrDi said:
If they SOLD the same quantities as the 6800GT for example, they'd BE AT 6800GTish prices... [/B]

They obviously don't sell like 6800GTs but they aeren't totally unsold either. What you're thinking about are the Radeon 9800XT and cards like that. They're $150 and totally unfair for the price. They're prices like that because the demand for them is very low now. That isn't the case with the Quadros. They sell quite easily. Most companies that make games use Quadros...and take how many games and game-making companies there are out there...

FghtinIrshNvrDi said:
You guys are really kinda shooting at a target I'm not holding.[/B]

Haha, I liked that.
 
Game companies don't use Quadro's for designing games lol, unless their game engine runs on OpenGL or another open source API. The Quadro series is, like stated numerous times above, a very powerful workstation card designed for dual-monitor CAD professionals or mapmakers for example. These cards are optimized for 2D performance, like mapping the Athlon 64 circuitry, that alone can easily overwhelm your 6800GT but is a piece of cake for these cards.

What's ATI's workstation card?
 
What's ATI's workstation card?
Hmm don't know...I know 3dlabs and wildcat are two other companies of such cards I believe.....I think it was 3dlabs anyway.

Don't think I've ever come across an ATI owned one though
 
I'm telling Flanker that these cards aren't that much more technologically advanced than a run-of-the-mill graphics card
Oh yea? You try running those cad programs and scientific aplications on your 6800GT and see how much of a "pussy" that card really is. True graphics come out of those cards and thats why they are so exspensive. And i wouldnt be willing to bet that they get more sales off of them from companies because they are bought in bulk rather than one at a time. 1 gamer at a time < (example purposes) 500 bought for 500 workstations at a game developing place or Cad station. Then your next company comes in and buys 350 where as the gamers are buying one at a time or maybe 2 at a time for SLI. (i hope this came out right, sounded good to me)
 
P.P. - your ideas of economy are skewed. The consumer market is larger than the uber-cad workstation market. I guarun-****-tee it.

What's your point about a regular 6800GT not being able to do that stuff? It's not optimized, just the same as the hugely expensive card isn't optimized for UT2007 or what have you. Whatever graphically intense game you choose. Pull your head outa your butt.

Ryan
 
Dude, a regular 6800GT with drivers enabling it to do Quadro stuff will kill itself trying to do the Quadro stuff, ok? But a Quadro card with drivers enabling it to perform the graphics in games will perform better than 2 7800GTXs in SLIl. Its just that no one needs that kind of power.
 
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