From ATI's website:
RADEON 9800 128MB AGP
Product:__100-435012 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$299.00
RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB AGP
Product:__100-435002 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$299.00
RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB AGP
Product:__100-435005 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$399.00
RADEON 9800 PRO MAC EDITION 128MB AGP
Product:__100-435050 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$399.00
I'm not in the hunt for a new graphics card since I'm quite satisfied with my Geforce4Ti, but for the life of me I cannot understand why ATi would mark up their Mac edition cards in comparison to its PC counterpart. Is the developmental costs for Macintosh drivers for these cards justifying these incurring costs? I've heard that certain cards can be "flashed" to operate inside an Apple computer but I for one wouldn't plunk down $300.00 and test fate risking having a $300 silicone paperweight. As you can see, someone with a PC can get twice the VRAM, 256MB, for the same cost as someone purchasing the 9800 Radeon Pro Mac Edition w/128MB. When will the day come that the Macintosh platform as a whole stop being treated as second class citizens? That day, being said, cannot come soon enough for this lifelong Macintosh user.
RADEON 9800 128MB AGP
Product:__100-435012 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$299.00
RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB AGP
Product:__100-435002 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$299.00
RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB AGP
Product:__100-435005 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$399.00
RADEON 9800 PRO MAC EDITION 128MB AGP
Product:__100-435050 US
Unit:__EA
Price:__$399.00
I'm not in the hunt for a new graphics card since I'm quite satisfied with my Geforce4Ti, but for the life of me I cannot understand why ATi would mark up their Mac edition cards in comparison to its PC counterpart. Is the developmental costs for Macintosh drivers for these cards justifying these incurring costs? I've heard that certain cards can be "flashed" to operate inside an Apple computer but I for one wouldn't plunk down $300.00 and test fate risking having a $300 silicone paperweight. As you can see, someone with a PC can get twice the VRAM, 256MB, for the same cost as someone purchasing the 9800 Radeon Pro Mac Edition w/128MB. When will the day come that the Macintosh platform as a whole stop being treated as second class citizens? That day, being said, cannot come soon enough for this lifelong Macintosh user.