Gun hobby expensive? Think about $1,800 graphics cards for PC gaming.

[Boilers]

I know some people like PC Gaming, but I would find it hard to believe that a graphics card for a PC is worth $1,800 to get just a bit better performance during online gaming...

ATI's $1,800 2GB FirePro V8750 GPU introduced and reviewed

I mentioned something like this once at a Game Stop (My sons make me go) and the kids working the counter said "Every 6 months I budge $4,000 on a new gaming PC".



I would imagine, though I could be wrong, he still has his room and board covered by the umbilically-attached mother.

Just kidding for those of you that DO spend this kind of money....

 

[Remington1100]

Thats way to much money for a computer. All you need is a computer that has the internet, so that you can get on INGO.

 

[CSK22]

Thats way to much for a pc part, assuming it will most likely be replaced in a few number of years, once you open it, it depreciates, once you use it, it depreciates, and the longer you have it it depreciates. Amazing how that works, I love my guns because eventually they become collectors items, and they are always in demand by fellow gun lovers dont get me wrong, guns can lose value, but not like this will if their taken care of.

 

[Fletch]

I have always made it a policy to buy computers one step behind the bleeding edge. Drivers and software are more stable, bugs have been shaken out, and I save quite a bit of money while still having a decent computer to play games on.

 

[mikea46996]

For $1,800 it had better not just make my porn look life like it had better be like Weird Science and make it come to life...

Computers are just for INGO, Porn, and Shopping in that order right??

 

[Sinner Man]

Yep. Forget 3D gaming. If it can run streaming video from uh, well, um, then it's good to go. Not that I don't know how to build one that does, it's just not worth it!

 

[Dryden]

In the 90's I tried to keep up with it. I went thru every Intel chip, Nvidia graphics card, Seagate Hard drive, 28k modems, Zip Drives, dot matrix/ink jet printers, ........ etc.

It's impossible to actually notice the speed change nowadays. Even a plain vanilla PC can do some amazing things. Save your money for ammo.

 

[jsgolfman]

Up until a year or so ago, I used to review PC hardware, software, etc. for an online review site. Luckily, I never had to pay for the items I reviewed as the costs were ridiculous compared to the benefits. Unfortunately, if you wanted to play the most recently introduced games you had no choice. Game developers worked with the cutting edge technology and optimized thier games for that technology. Shader 2.0 no longer worked, even though you just upgraded two months ago, now you needed 3.0 just to run the game.

That being said, this is not a graphics card for gaming. It is a workstation GPU. It is utilized for engineering, digital content creation, scientific modeling, etc. Hence the extreme cost. They have driver support for these uses while the mainstream cards do not. Still, you can spend upwards of $500 on a top of the line gaming card.

 

[Boilers]

Good point.

 

[Griffeycom]

Reasons like this are why PC Gaming will never overcome by Console gaming. I used to be a big PC Gamer, and still enjoy playing games on PC than consoles, but I can't keep my PC up with the constant hardware requirement increases! I plan on building a budget gaming PC in the next few months though, FEAR 2 has been calling my name for too long

 

[Clay]

This hobby is like all the others Ive been into.......... you can spend as little (Hi-Points) or as much (machine guns) as you want.

 

[Litlratt]

Try gaming at 2560X1600 on a 30" monitor and you'll know why some of us spend $2k on vcards and water blocks for them.

 

[MACHINEGUN]

That's insane, no way would I pay that much for any graphics card.

 

[Scutter01]

IIRC, the FirePro line is designed for CAD work, not gaming. High-end CAD workstations have some pretty hefty graphics requirements (which are different from 3D games), plus they're being purchased on the company dime so "price is no object" so to speak.

 

[Boilers]

You guys are right. workstation card.
But still, you know a gaming card similar/based on this is just around the corner.

I was just shocked at $1,800.

 

[jsgolfman]

BFG has one out right now that is around $750 I believe and it is a gaming card, not workstation. Not to mention you can get dual SLI motherboards so you can run two cards in sync, now you can get close to that $1800 for one gaming PC vid setup.

 

[Litlratt]

Actually, you can run Tri-SLI. I do.

 

[Plague421]

About 2 years ago I built my computer and spent about $3,500. I can promise that my PC has handled anything I have thrown at it like a champ. I have used and still use 3Ds Max, Adobe Master Suit, video editing and special effects, and with gaming I always get 45+ FPS on max settings in DX10 at 1920x1080 resolution. My computer runs all of these programs amazingly.

Yeah it was a big investment but I do more than just browse the web. It really has been worth the money IMO to have the faster operation of everything, even the high end programs.

I never have understood why people get upset about upgrading computers/parts. I mean your not buying a car, its not supposed to last you 15+ years before you need a new one. I strongly feel that if you just do a little research, and by research I don't mean walk into BestBuy and ask a blue shirt some questions. Figure out what all the stats and numbers mean and how they affect PC performance, then decided what the computer will be used for, make a purchase accordingly, you will save a ton of money.

BestBuy and the likes hate educated customers. They will sell anybody a $1,000+ PC the customer doesn't need under the impression "You wont have to upgrade or buy a new one for YEARS!". I have seen it and have a friend that worked PC sales that has done it.

Just my

 

[Jack Ryan]

I know some people like PC Gaming, but I would find it hard to believe that a graphics card for a PC is worth $1,800 to get just a bit better performance during online gaming...

On line gaming, lol. I wish I had all my life back I wasted on a Commadore 64.

Vid games are the biggest fraud ever slurpped up by the American public since the television.

Total waste of time.

 

[Plague421]

On line gaming, lol. I wish I had all my life back I wasted on a Commadore 64.

Vid games are the biggest fraud ever slurpped up by the American public since the television.

Total waste of time.

I am going to have to strongly and respectfully disagree with you sir.

You can read several studies about the pros and cons of playing games. One particular article I remember reading says that games improve "rapid eye movement" and I think that could benefit us greatly as real life shooters. For example, if you are shooting moving targets, or needing to identify a single target in a group quickly.

Study: Video games can improve your vision <--- Linky

Not the original article I read but same general idea. Vision is only one way they are beneficial. I firmly believe that playing FPS games increases your reaction time as well as "quick thinking".