As you know, we have been following the story of pricing and availability of the latest ATI cards for some time now. The story started with the introduction of the Radeon X800 series of graphics cards last spring and the subsequent availability problems with certain models, especially the Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition. High-end cards from both NVIDIA and ATI were scarce for a good portion of 2004, especially in consumer retail and "e-tail" channels, causing consternation among would-be buyers. "Stunt cards" like the X800 Platinum Edition and GeForce 6800 Ultra "Extreme" caused reviewers and consumers further problems, because they essentially existed only to be benchmarked, not to be sold. In response, we extended a meaty middle digit toward this discouraging trend in our year-end wrap for 2004.

Radeon X800, XL Distribution Costs Revealed