[k2director]

Well, my compulsive, hourly check of the Apple Store has finally paid off: I logged on this morning at 7:30am, and lo and behold, the 7800 GT card is now available as a BTO....and for $350, which is about $100 cheaper than I expected from Apple!

One less reason not to order a Quad, pronto! Enjoy...

[jamil5454]

It's a $400 upgrade on the DC 2.0.

[zac4mac]

Now they need to have an x800xt available. I don't run Nvidia cards.

Matters not, instead of a new PM, I think I'm gonna get an X800 XT, a 30" and a 23" to put on my old Dual 2.0

C'mon AAPL, hit $61 so I can sell, pay off my house and get some toys....

Z

[KarenE]

hmmmm ....

So which is a better buy ...a stock 2.3 with the 6600 or a 2.0 with the 250GB HD and the 7800? The price comes out about the same...

- Karen

[Weezer]

If it's one of the other, I would definitely get the 2.0 with the 7800. It depends what you are going to do with the machine though...However, I still think the quad is the best value of the 3 current options.

[tonywong]

Originally Posted by KarenE

hmmmm ....

So which is a better buy ...a stock 2.3 with the 6600 or a 2.0 with the 250GB HD and the 7800? The price comes out about the same...

- Karen

If a better buy is better performance (since time equals money, and better performance means time saved), then anything that requires heavy GPU use would have the 2.0/7800 machine come out faster, IME. This would most likely encompass people who play 3D games (WoW, Doom3), Motion users, some 3D modelling programs and Aperture.

The rest of the programs would most likely perform better under a 2.3/6600 setup. The resale value of this system would most likely be a bit better too, but not by anything worthwhile.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by k2director

Well, my compulsive, hourly check of the Apple Store has finally paid off: I logged on this morning at 7:30am, and lo and behold, the 7800 GT card is now available as a BTO....and for $350, which is about $100 cheaper than I expected from Apple!

I'm glad to see this card available; the difference between the GF6600 and Q4500 was huge.
I guessed it would be $300-350 upgrade a week ago, because there's a $220 price diff between the 6600 and 7800GT on the PC side, and Mac cards are usually about 50% more.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Much better value than the workstation card option. The 7800 can push almost as many texels but many more triangles.

[Gator Lager]

after changing the upgrade to the 7800, it changes to from 2 to 4 days,
to 'Estimated Ship: 6-8 weeks'

I'm looking to upgrade. and I've waited this long, guess I'll wait longer.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost

Much better value than the workstation card option. The 7800 can push almost as many texels but many more triangles.

Thw Quadro line of cards isn't about just pushing triangles; it's about reliability, ISV certification, and features.

The Quadro drivers are generally more stable than the "gamer" drivers for the GeForce line. Some third party software companies (Alias, Adobe, Autodesk, Avid, Discreet, Newtek, Softimage, etc) have gone through extensive testing to ensure their product will work optimally with the Quadro cards.

The Quadro line also has a number of features missing on the GeForce line that are useful for workstation apps: hardware anti-aliased points and lines for wire frame display, OpenGL logic operations, up to eight clip regions, hardware accelerated clip planes, optimization on memory usage for multiple graphics windows, support for two-sided lighting, hardware overlay planes, and support for quad-buffered stereo for shutter glasses.

[chme6583]

Originally Posted by Gator Lager

after changing the upgrade to the 7800, it changes to from 2 to 4 days,
to 'Estimated Ship: 6-8 weeks'

I'm looking to upgrade. and I've waited this long, guess I'll wait longer.

So should we place our order now or until after MacWorld? I know the will most likely not update this any further, but maybe MacWorld will bring us something else or lower prices or anything. Who knows?

[k2director]

Originally Posted by Gator Lager

after changing the upgrade to the 7800, it changes to from 2 to 4 days,
to 'Estimated Ship: 6-8 weeks'

Oh, that hurts.

[Footy]

Nvidia's web page has OSX listed in their spec sheet. Maybe we don't need to go through Apple at all? Guess it could be another Mac/PC card like the ATI 9600?

http://www.nvidia.com/page/specs_gf7800.html

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Footy

Nvidia's web page has OSX listed in their spec sheet. Maybe we don't need to go through Apple at all? Guess it could be another Mac/PC card like the ATI 9600?

http://www.nvidia.com/page/specs_gf7800.html

nVidia is just saying the chipset has drivers for OSX... You still need a card that is compatible with Apple's implementation of OpenFirmware (which the regular PC cards are not).

[Footy]

Thanks for clearing that up bud. Can't blame a guy for trying!