XFX HD 5970 Auctioned on eBay for $10,499
A limited edition ATI HD 5970 card was supposedly stolen and auctioned off on ebay.
This eBay auction lists a supposed limited edition of the XFX HD 5970 Black Edition #68, one of a thousand that card manufacturer XFX will ever make. As of this writing, the current bid is at $10,499 USD, and is scheduled to end on May 3. The auction even looks legit, showing pics of the unboxed graphics card and the hardware specs.
So how did this seller get his hands on an un-released ATI card? He doesn't specify. "I don't have a box, packaging, user manuals, or even drivers but I am sure they will be released online soon," the seller claims. "It does come with a pretty awesome GUN CASE though."
According to XFX, the card was stolen. The company supposedly released a warning to registered consumers, indicating that the hot hardware is now up for sale on the Internet, and to stay away. There was even mention of a criminal investigation.
However an additional email led honest patrons to a video found on YouTube showing two guys breaking into XFX and snagging the card. XFX then added a caption at the bottom of the eBay listing, saying that the auction of #68 was legit, and that the winning bidder would be committed into purchasing the item. Wait. What? So what does that mean?
It was all a lie to sell a product, that's what it means.
Evidently XFX has now gone into the viral advertising business. Was the card stolen? No. The entire auction and video package was just a promotional tool. Is it really up for auction? Yes.
Draw your own conclusions in the comments!
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Hmmm... For that kind of money you could buy 10 ordinary 5970's and still have plenty left over for two i7-980x's. Nuts.
10000 bucks????
As a marketing stunt, this sure isn't bad (it's even profitable, how many advertising campaigns can say that?), but the fact that some people are willing to pay $10000 for a graphics card proves human stupidity is indeed infinite...
That kind of price is even beyond the level of Apple fanboy retardation.
I got the email mentioned due to owning one of their 260's and have to say it left me confused more then anything.
Would't suprise me if they gave someone the cash to buy it.
*Picks jaw back off the ground.*
Aye this is part of the Ad Campaign. I'm sure ebay guy selling this is one of the guys that went into the secret warehouse following the hot chick. Good PR.
And ya I will be buying one!
I'm sorry but since when was the 5970 Black Edition a difficult card to get hold of?
Overclockers have 10+ in stock right now - +1 for human idiocy rearing it's retarded head.
What happened to all the comments?
Mine said some thine along the lines of "This isn't marketing, it's fraud plain and simple."
@ LePhuronn:
Im sorry but maybe you should improve your reading comphrension and maybe take your brain for a walk once in a while. This card is not the 5970 Black that is currently on the market. It is an HD 5970 which is really the 5970 eyefinity 6 edition which has 6 display ports and 4gb of ram. The card has not even been released yet and is set to sell for $950-1k USD
And good luck trying to get your hands on one when they are released. Took me 4 months to get a 5970. Now they are releasing one with ram that can actually handle AA at 5760x1080. FU ATI.
Why the hell would one pay $10000 for that when he can get it for 10 times less in a few weeks ...?
Lol, that is pretty awesome. No money will ever change hands, i am sure that the bidding history on that auction will show user: XFX1 and user: XFX2 fighting it out for a long while yet.
Massive prices on eBay cause people to notice and websites to publish it. I like the idea, certianly got me interested by its release.
11k atm lol i'd buy a imba rig for that ammount of money.
Stupid ammount of money!!!
@ LePhuronn:Im sorry but maybe you should improve your reading comphrension and maybe take your brain for a walk once in a while. This card is not the 5970 Black that is currently on the market. It is an HD 5970 which is really the 5970 eyefinity 6 edition which has 6 display ports and 4gb of ram. The card has not even been released yet and is set to sell for $950-1k USD
Oh for crying out loud - what is it with people round here? What's wrong with just saying "LePhuronn, that's not the traditional 5970 Blacks, that's an Eyefinity 6 version not out yet - you missed the bit about the gun case" and just being fucking polite about it? But no, you got to prefix with unnecessary bullshit about my brain power and ability to read. I read the article in a rush, missed the bit about the gun case and therefore so no other indication that this card wasn't the Black Edition already available.
So fucking sue me.
Maybe you should improve your tolerance of others who trip up occasionally and take your politeness for a walk once in a while.
@ LePhuronn
forums are full of people like that ... well played tho
@ LePhuronnforums are full of people like that ... well played tho
Normally I don't say anything, but there's something about having a fortnight from hell that makes you somewhat more sensitive to the usual forum douchbaggery.