AMD Quad FX (4x4) prices revealed

[Yousuf Khan]

The details about what AMD is going to charge have emerged. Two FX-70's
for $599, ranging upto $999 for two FX-74's. Plus $300 for the mobo. But
the mobo will offer upto 4 PCIE 16X slots, and two Nvidia chipsets.

Looks like even if AMD can't outgun Intel with its 4-core vs. 4-core
CPUs, it's going to try to do it with 4 GeForce 8800GTX cards. No matter
what chipset Intel comes up with, it'll likely be limited to two 16X slots.

AMD blasts off Quad for PC DIYers | CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/AMD+blasts+off+Quad+for+PC+DIYers/2100-1042_3-6139465.html?tag=html.alert

 

[Tony Hill]

The details about what AMD is going to charge have emerged. Two FX-70's
for $599, ranging upto $999 for two FX-74's. Plus $300 for the mobo. But
the mobo will offer upto 4 PCIE 16X slots, and two Nvidia chipsets.

And in the end it's really just a pair of dual-core Opterons being
sold as a single unit.

Looks like even if AMD can't outgun Intel with its 4-core vs. 4-core
CPUs, it's going to try to do it with 4 GeForce 8800GTX cards. No matter
what chipset Intel comes up with, it'll likely be limited to two 16X slots.

Hmm, 4 8800GTX cards at over $600 a pop works out to two and a half
large... More than a bit out of my budget!

Actually the system can't currently support 4 GeForce 8800GTX cards
since those are all 2-slot cards. It can only physically fit 3 of
those cards (pushing up towards $2,000). I suppose you could use 4
GeForce 7950GT cards into the best for just over $1,000, but that is
likely to be slower than 2 8800GTX cards.


All in all, it's a total waste of time and money. Might be nice from
the fanfare and marketing perspective, but totally useless as an
actual product.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

And in the end it's really just a pair of dual-core Opterons being
sold as a single unit.

And there's another interesting issue. You can buy a pair of 3.0Ghz
FX-74's for $1000, but you have to pay $700 for a single 2.8Ghz FX-62.
It's probably killed the market for Socket AM2 FX's. But not only that
but it's probably killed the market for its own dual-core Opteron
workstations. Why buy Opterons when you can buy FX-7x?

AMD Quad FX Platform: More Isn't Better
"And if the ironies weren't enough, there are the contradictions. The
twin CPUs, which will be shipped in pairs, are aggressively priced. For
example, two 3.0GHz FX-74 processors will cost $999 for the pair. When
asked about the possibility of shipping a single 3.0GHz processor for
its socket 940 platform, company spokespeople acknowledged that the
product mix hasn't been fully fleshed out. So you can buy a pair of
3.0GHz, Socket 1207 processors—the same socket used for Opteron server
CPUs—for $500 each, while a single Socket 940 Athlon 64 FX-62 running at
2.8GHz will set you back about $700. "
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2065493,00.asp

Hmm, 4 8800GTX cards at over $600 a pop works out to two and a half
large... More than a bit out of my budget!

Yeah, but no one is selling this to YOU. The entire segment is for
people without sense.

Or, if you consider the former Opteron 2P workstation buyers, it's for
people with incredible sense.

Actually the system can't currently support 4 GeForce 8800GTX cards
since those are all 2-slot cards. It can only physically fit 3 of
those cards (pushing up towards $2,000). I suppose you could use 4
GeForce 7950GT cards into the best for just over $1,000, but that is
likely to be slower than 2 8800GTX cards.

Maybe Nvidia can come up with a dual-daughterboard card that uses two
slots by itself? With a special common cooling solution. Each
daughterboard can probably carry its own 8800GTX subsystem.

All in all, it's a total waste of time and money. Might be nice from
the fanfare and marketing perspective, but totally useless as an
actual product.

Oh, tut-tut, just find a way to justify it.

Yousuf Khan

 

[The little lost angel]

All in all, it's a total waste of time and money. Might be nice from
the fanfare and marketing perspective, but totally useless as an
actual product.

How about as a launch pad for the next main attack? First you throw
the boards into the market to establish an user base for dual socket
F. Then half a year later, you throw socket F quad core into the
market along with likely single card 8xxx series or more likely ATI's
version of quad crossfire into the mix. Wouldn't you have a real
killer system suddenly?

Or stick to quad core and use one of the socket for them fanciful
physics coprocessor in the works? Sure they can't sell it to you, but
it would probably make a lot of gaming sense then wouldn't it?

 

[nobody]

All in all, it's a total waste of time and money. Might be nice from
the fanfare and marketing perspective, but totally useless as an
actual product.

How about comparing it with same-speed dual Opteron professional
workstation? For most, if not all, workstation tasks you don't need
registered memory (you can get ECC unbuffered if you can't live w/o
ECC), so your savings start right here, and it's also a bit faster.
Next, 2 x FX-74(3.0 GHz) cost only $999, whereas 2 x Opty2220 (2.8
GHz) will set you back $1500 (pricewatch numbers), and the mobo for
these will cost you the same 300 (ASUS KFN5-D at NewEgg $299 + S&H).
The PCIe slots will take Quadro/FireGL graphics cards just as happily
as gaming varieties thereof. So if you are in the market for a dual
socket workstation, this one is a no-brainer - faster system for
$hundreds less. Oh, and it should also look cooler - have not seen the
pics but guess it's brightly colored just for lan party freaks ;-)

NNN

 

[Yousuf Khan]

How about comparing it with same-speed dual Opteron professional
workstation? For most, if not all, workstation tasks you don't need
registered memory (you can get ECC unbuffered if you can't live w/o
ECC), so your savings start right here, and it's also a bit faster.
Next, 2 x FX-74(3.0 GHz) cost only $999, whereas 2 x Opty2220 (2.8
GHz) will set you back $1500 (pricewatch numbers), and the mobo for
these will cost you the same 300 (ASUS KFN5-D at NewEgg $299 + S&H).
The PCIe slots will take Quadro/FireGL graphics cards just as happily
as gaming varieties thereof. So if you are in the market for a dual
socket workstation, this one is a no-brainer - faster system for
$hundreds less. Oh, and it should also look cooler - have not seen the
pics but guess it's brightly colored just for lan party freaks ;-)

The demo system is using the Thermaltake Armor case. Seems to have a lot
of fans on it. Although each fan is supposed to be the low-speed quiet
variety, just the total number of fans might make it loud, probably even
without a motherboard or processor on it.

http://thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/armor/va8003bws.asp

Yousuf Khan