I dunno about you guys but I like to give my main rig an upgrade every two years, at boxing day. This year is Upgrade Year (yay), but restricted budgets (boo) dictate I shall be purchasing but a videocard...preferably not of the high-end variety.

I've been going over features, specs, needs, budget and I think I've pretty much figured this out. I am calling upon the infinite wisdom of this forum to confirm my reasoning.

Here are the citeria of what the car needs to do/be
1. Faster than my current 8800GT
2. Below 200$
4. Maximum CUDA compliance/future proofing

The ONE card that I could determine fits all the criteria is the GTX 260.

Actualy the G200 chip featured on the GTX260 is pretty much the only one supporting CUDA Compute Capability 1.3 outside of the Pro stuff. CUDA 1.3 is a requirement for MilkyWay and might become one for other projects too as CUDA apps get refined/expanded.

Street price for GTX260 cards is just a hair above 200$ right now, and I'm counting on Boxing Day to make that parameter fit.

This make sense to any of you or I am missing something obvious ?

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mambo

I dunno about you guys but I like to give my main rig an upgrade every two years, at boxing day. This year is Upgrade Year (yay), but restricted budgets (boo) dictate I shall be purchasing but a videocard...preferably not of the high-end variety.

I've been going over features, specs, needs, budget and I think I've pretty much figured this out. I am calling upon the infinite wisdom of this forum to confirm my reasoning.

Here are the citeria of what the car needs to do/be
1. Faster than my current 8800GT
2. Below 200$
4. Maximum CUDA compliance/future proofing

The ONE card that I could determine fits all the criteria is the GTX 260.

Actualy the G200 chip featured on the GTX260 is pretty much the only one supporting CUDA Compute Capability 1.3 outside of the Pro stuff. CUDA 1.3 is a requirement for MilkyWay and might become one for other projects too as CUDA apps get refined/expanded.

Street price for GTX260 cards is just a hair above 200$ right now, and I'm counting on Boxing Day to make that parameter fit.

This make sense to any of you or I am missing something obvious ?

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

I have a GTX 260 and think it is well worth it for seti and everything else. I went from and ATI 1950 and expect this one to last also.

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Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

hiamps I'm glad you have the same impressions about the 260. nVidia's lineup is getting quite confusing with all the cross-series rebadgin of parts. One has to pay attention to the actual chip being put on the board and not so much the product name.

SJ I had no idea NewEgg had a Canadian outlet... I guess this is what I get for having a bi-annual buying cycle. As you noticed the price is hovering around my allowance. I'm hoping Boxing Day will take care of taxes and shipping :D.

Is it Christmas yet ?

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mambo

hiamps I'm glad you have the same impressions about the 260. nVidia's lineup is getting quite confusing with all the cross-series rebadgin of parts. One has to pay attention to the actual chip being put on the board and not so much the product name.

SJ I had no idea NewEgg had a Canadian outlet... I guess this is what I get for having a bi-annual buying cycle. As you noticed the price is hovering around my allowance. I'm hoping Boxing Day will take care of taxes and shipping :D.

Is it Christmas yet ?

Not until the 25th around here for Most, Me and My Extended Family have to wait until the 26th as that's when My Sister in Law has a Day off work, So until then I better not drive as I only have about 3.5-4 gallons in the gas tank and until the 31st I'm broke again. :D

Yer lucky Amazon Canada is much more expensive as they start at CDN$203.54 and that is before shipping and that's an MSI Here.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

Weird that ZOTAC GTX 260 is 189.99 in USD & CAD.

---

SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

Weird that ZOTAC GTX 260 is 189.99 in USD & CAD.

Yeah, I noticed that, Weird, But what do I know.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

Weird that ZOTAC GTX 260 is 189.99 in USD & CAD.

Yeah, I noticed that, Weird, But what do I know.

I get lots of orders from Canada lately, does the exchange rate favor buying here or there? I may upgrade my 2 manager computers since they both use onboard video.

---

Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

Weird that ZOTAC GTX 260 is 189.99 in USD & CAD.

Yeah, I noticed that, Weird, But what do I know.

I get lots of orders from Canada lately, does the exchange rate favor buying here or there? I may upgrade my 2 manager computers since they both use onboard video.

I have no idea hiamps. :(

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

Weird that ZOTAC GTX 260 is 189.99 in USD & CAD.

Yeah, I noticed that, Weird, But what do I know.

I get lots of orders from Canada lately, does the exchange rate favor buying here or there? I may upgrade my 2 manager computers since they both use onboard video.

I have no idea hiamps. :(

Exchange rates today for CND were 0.9473 USD.

Source : http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchange.html

From a human perspective this suggests the difference is negligible on amounts smaller than 1000$.

Sometimes products retail for less on the US market, because of manufacturer policies. For example a pair of Sennheiser HD201 headphones retails at 17$ in the states but 58$ in Canada, because of a "regional" promotion. With a .04 echange rate it makes sense to order that product from the US.

---

mambo

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

Weird that ZOTAC GTX 260 is 189.99 in USD & CAD.

Yeah, I noticed that, Weird, But what do I know.

I get lots of orders from Canada lately, does the exchange rate favor buying here or there? I may upgrade my 2 manager computers since they both use onboard video.

I have no idea hiamps. :(

Exchange rates today for CND were 0.9473 USD.

Source : http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchange.html

From a human perspective this suggests the difference is negligible on amounts smaller than 1000$.

Sometimes products retail for less on the US market, because of manufacturer policies. For example a pair of Sennheiser HD201 headphones retails at 17$ in the states but 58$ in Canada, because of a "regional" promotion. With a .04 echange rate it makes sense to order that product from the US.

Thanks, for the info I know it used to be a lot cheaper for me when I went to Canada but thought things had changed. Still love BC.

---

Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

hiamps I'm glad you have the same impressions about the 260. nVidia's lineup is getting quite confusing with all the cross-series rebadgin of parts. One has to pay attention to the actual chip being put on the board and not so much the product name.

SJ I had no idea NewEgg had a Canadian outlet... I guess this is what I get for having a bi-annual buying cycle. As you noticed the price is hovering around my allowance. I'm hoping Boxing Day will take care of taxes and shipping :D.

Is it Christmas yet ?

Not until the 25th around here for Most, Me and My Extended Family have to wait until the 26th as that's when My Sister in Law has a Day off work, So until then I better not drive as I only have about 3.5-4 gallons in the gas tank and until the 31st I'm broke again. :D

Yer lucky Amazon Canada is much more expensive as they start at CDN$203.54 and that is before shipping and that's an MSI Here.

I quite believe you.
In fact I am scheduled to have a nice soirée with my extended family on the 26th...because that is when my sister-in-law arrives from out of town :D. Stuff happens on the 24th too, at my place, with *some* of my folks.

---

mambo

hiamps I'm glad you have the same impressions about the 260. nVidia's lineup is getting quite confusing with all the cross-series rebadgin of parts. One has to pay attention to the actual chip being put on the board and not so much the product name.

SJ I had no idea NewEgg had a Canadian outlet... I guess this is what I get for having a bi-annual buying cycle. As you noticed the price is hovering around my allowance. I'm hoping Boxing Day will take care of taxes and shipping :D.

Is it Christmas yet ?

Not until the 25th around here for Most, Me and My Extended Family have to wait until the 26th as that's when My Sister in Law has a Day off work, So until then I better not drive as I only have about 3.5-4 gallons in the gas tank and until the 31st I'm broke again. :D

Yer lucky Amazon Canada is much more expensive as they start at CDN$203.54 and that is before shipping and that's an MSI Here.

I quite believe you.
In fact I am scheduled to have a nice soirée with my extended family on the 26th...because that is when my sister-in-law arrives from out of town :D. Stuff happens on the 24th too, at my place, with *some* of my folks.

Yeah well nothing else is happening until the 26th for Me, As It's just Angel, Me and the weather, Currently rain has terminated My phone service, So I'm lucky DSL is still working at least, for the moment at least.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Lets see how about Newegg Canada? 4 GTX 260 cards priced from $189.99 to $206.99 before any shipping and maybe tax too.

Weird that ZOTAC GTX 260 is 189.99 in USD & CAD.

Yeah, I noticed that, Weird, But what do I know.

I get lots of orders from Canada lately, does the exchange rate favor buying here or there? I may upgrade my 2 manager computers since they both use onboard video.

I have no idea hiamps. :(

Exchange rates today for CND were 0.9473 USD.

Source : http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchange.html

From a human perspective this suggests the difference is negligible on amounts smaller than 1000$.

Sometimes products retail for less on the US market, because of manufacturer policies. For example a pair of Sennheiser HD201 headphones retails at 17$ in the states but 58$ in Canada, because of a "regional" promotion. With a .04 echange rate it makes sense to order that product from the US.

Thanks, for the info I know it used to be a lot cheaper for me when I went to Canada but thought things had changed. Still love BC.

However having goods shipped from one country to another requires them to go through customs. Electronics often get a nice import fee attached to them making it not viable to order them outside of your own country.

---

SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

Interesting for me to see how first world economies/retailers work. Almost all online stores in South Africa have closed till mid-January and those that have not as yet are closing tomorrow. Brick and mortar stores are prohibitively expensive. The only bargains to be had are in the classified (second hand) forums, and those might just be busier than usual on boxing day with "unwanted gift" offers.

Interesting for me to see how first world economies/retailers work. Almost all online stores in South Africa have closed till mid-January and those that have not as yet are closing tomorrow. Brick and mortar stores are prohibitively expensive. The only bargains to be had are in the classified (second hand) forums, and those might just be busier than usual on boxing day with "unwanted gift" offers.

Strange...We are doing the opposite, with inventory to do we are closing the doors for a week but still doing will calls and shipping. It's the walk ins that take up most of our time. Yep it is hard to compete when you also have a building and real inventory that a lot of online places don't have. I buy local as much as I can but with bestbuy being the only computer store around I do shop online.

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Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

Interesting for me to see how first world economies/retailers work. Almost all online stores in South Africa have closed till mid-January and those that have not as yet are closing tomorrow. Brick and mortar stores are prohibitively expensive. The only bargains to be had are in the classified (second hand) forums, and those might just be busier than usual on boxing day with "unwanted gift" offers.

Strange...We are doing the opposite, with inventory to do we are closing the doors for a week but still doing will calls and shipping. It's the walk ins that take up most of our time. Yep it is hard to compete when you also have a building and real inventory that a lot of online places don't have. I buy local as much as I can but with bestbuy being the only computer store around I do shop online.

At least You have BestBuy, Out here Barstow has no big stores and a mom and pop computer store? Nope, None that I know of survives. So I do all My shopping online, Besides It saves gas as It's about a 25 mile round trip to Barstow and back to Yermo.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's