> if you were a SAM owner, would you want to spend $150 on an HD 7750 when you
> could get an earlier card for $20-30?

If I was a Sam460 owner then this would certainly be the case because I wanted to also run OS4 with a 3D-supported graphics card. Thus, I would of course spend the surcharge (just found a new HD 7750 on eBay Germany for 88 EUR (= 93 USD) and a used one for 25 EUR (= 26 USD)) for a 3D-supported GCN-based card instead of buying a cheaper pre-GCN card unsupported in terms of 3D.

>> IMHO it makes the most sense to start with whatever shipped with the X5000.
>> Then support earlier/later generations after that.

> throwing in your two cents with this "it ought to be done now to the exclusion of
> the earlier cards" crap

Supporting earlier cards later on wouldn't equal exclusion. And I think takemehomegrandma has a point.