Introduction
01
NVIDIA and ATI, the two major discrete GPU designers, segment retail
costing such that their partners can hit defined price-points. In turn,
distributors and e-tailers make their margins, leading to the cards you
see across the web and brick-and-mortar stores.
Having strong products at the £50, £100,
£150, and £200+ price-points is crucial; people
tend to identify with round numbers, so that's where both companies
tend to be strongest.
Cards attract a premium when launched, reinforcing the supply vs.
demand model, but competition inevitably drives them lower. Over time,
too, newer
SKUs supplant present ones, pushing the cost to you, the consumer, even
lower.
Trawling the web today, £100, including VAT, will be enough
to purchase a
GeForce
9600 GT 512MiB or, even, an
ATI
Radeon HD 3870
512MiB card. Spend just a little more and an
NVIDIA
GeForce 8800 GT can be
yours, too.
Trouble is, having a stock-clocked card doesn't offer a partner much
scope for differentiation, and that's why nearly all offer at least one
overclocked
model in the range.
Inno3D is no different, and we take a look at its GeForce 9600 GT OC
Edition, currently priced at £110.
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