News - AMD Radeon HD 7950: Launch-day pricing and availability

[HEXUS]

Is the price right for AMD's second 'Tahiti' graphics card?

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[atmadden]

Scan the dearest again I see.

[cptwhite_uk]

£340 for a brand new card that's roughly 20% faster than the GTX570 I bought for £195 (second hand) around 6 months ago...how can this be considered value for money, do they think we're all mugs?

Make it £250 and then we'll talk, sorry AMD I remember when your high end cards came in at £250 - it wasn't so long ago, maybe 3 years, this is a poor show on the price front.

[kalniel]

£340 for a brand new card that's roughly 20% faster than the GTX570 I bought for £195 (second hand) around 6 months ago...how can this be considered value for money, do they think we're all mugs?

You're comparing a brand new tech and a new card against a second hand unit, really? As Hexus note, nVidia are still charging more than the 7950 for the gtx 580, and this card trumps it.

Or is it OK for nVidia to charge high prices but not AMD?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

£340 for a brand new card that's roughly 20% faster than the GTX570 I bought for £195 (second hand) around 6 months ago...how can this be considered value for money, do they think we're all mugs?

Make it £250 and then we'll talk, sorry AMD I remember when your high end cards came in at £250 - it wasn't so long ago, maybe 3 years, this is a poor show on the price front.

£195!! That is too expensive!!

My HD5850 1GB is only 25% to 30% slower than your GTX570 and cost me £90(also got a few quid back in cashback too) in mint condition early last year:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...TX_570/27.html

Only when it is 120% faster will it be similar value!!

My card also came with a copy of DiRT2.0,and was a pre-overclocked model. The GPU can also be overclocked by around 30% too.






Actually some of the best value new cards were the HD5850 1GB cards available for around £100 to £110 last year and the GTX480 cards which were available for around £160(IIRC).

[funke_munke]

Also need to this to drop a fair bit below £300. Will wait for the inevitable Nvidia retaliation and the price wars to ensue before thinking of picking one up. Tasty card though. Love the noise levels considering the power.

[danroyle]

You're comparing a brand new tech and a new card against a second hand unit, really? As Hexus note, nVidia are still charging more than the 7950 for the gtx 580, and this card trumps it.

Or is it OK for nVidia to charge high prices but not AMD?

The cheapest 7950 is the same price I paid for my aftermarket cooled 580 if I were to go like for like twin frozer versions then the gtx580 is £50 less. As for trumping it the 7950 is slightly better. I've had my cards 8 months and it punches weight with the new and card so I'm with cptwhite these are not good value really

[Terbinator]

Actually some of the best value new cards were the HD5850 1GB cards available for around £100 to £110 last year and the GTX480 cards which were available for around £160(IIRC).

Slapped a Gelid cooler on my cheap 480, overlcoked to the wall and it laughs at 570's

[Valinor]

The cheapest 7950 is the same price I paid for my aftermarket cooled 580 if I were to go like for like twin frozer versions then the gtx580 is £50 less. As for trumping it the 7950 is slightly better. I've had my cards 8 months and it punches weight with the new and card so I'm with cptwhite these are not good value really

As was said, investment in 28nm needs to pay off - you could hardly expect lower prices than current gen if AMD moved to a new architecture and smaller process..

Also, I can't seem to find any new GTX 580's for less than £349.99, so as far as the 7950 goes, it'd be the better choice if you had to upgrade now and were comparing it to the 580.

[cptwhite_uk]

I'm saying they're all over priced at the moment. AMD and Nvidia (huh, I automatically put AMD, not ATI, sad times )

I take your point CAT re: 5850 but you got that at a stonking price and it was only available for a limited time in limited quantity. But then you always go for the mega bargains The GTX570 when I bought mine second hand were going for about £235-240 new, yet I look now and going rate is about £260...(ok 1 brand is at £240) but they're certainly no cheaper.

I'm assuming it's something to do with the exchange rate but regardless the prices are not competitive at the moment. I'd sooner wait 6 months and get a second GTX570 at £175 in the clearance.

Graphics cards are strange things, high initial price, slower tapering off (or rising in this case), falling dramatically during stock clearance while the new range comes in (normally around 1-2 months after the new generation), before rising again and presumably gathering dust in warehouses everywhere.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Slapped a Gelid cooler on my cheap 480, overlcoked to the wall and it laughs at 570's

I think my Shuttle would have exploded with a GTX480!! But for the price it has some impressive performance. I got the HD5850 1GB since it was well suited for an SFF rig.

I'm saying they're all over priced at the moment. AMD and Nvidia (huh, I automatically put AMD, not ATI, sad times )

I take your point CAT re: 5850 but you got that at a stonking price and it was only available for a limited time in limited quantity. But then you always go for the mega bargains The GTX570 when I bought mine second hand were going for about £235-240 new, yet I look now and going rate is about £260...(ok 1 brand is at £240) but they're certainly no cheaper.

I'm assuming it's something to do with the exchange rate but regardless the prices are not competitive at the moment. I'd sooner wait 6 months and get a second GTX570 at £175 in the clearance.

Graphics cards are strange things, high initial price, slower tapering off (or rising in this case), falling dramatically during stock clearance while the new range comes in (normally around 1-2 months after the new generation), before rising again and presumably gathering dust in warehouses everywhere.

I actually got a second-hand HD5850 1GB(it was an XFX HD5850 1GB Black Edition) as I needed a reference model with a blower cooler. The other alternative was an EVGA GTX460 1GB SC EE,but the HD5850 1GB was cheaper.

Generally,good bargains are to be had at the end of each generation. I suspect their might be a few this generation,but of course this depends on what Nvidia releases.

[Animus404]

Actually I think top tier cards have always been this expensive, some years ago I bought a ATi Radeon 9700 Pro during the launch week and I seem to remember that costing £330(I could have this wrong, the only prices I can find on old reviews state $350 for the card)

[Terbinator]

I think my Shuttle would have exploded with a GTX480!! But for the price it has some impressive performance. I got the HD5850 1GB since it was well suited for an SFF rig.

Set to 40% fan - its silent and still doesn't go over 70c - mighty fine cooling solution by Gelid. That and it shows just how pants the reference 480 cooler was.

[jigger]

I think £349 (best price I can find) is a little expensive even considering its well priced against the GTX580 cards.

What is the AMD RRP?

[kalniel]

i think £349 (best price i can find) is a little expensive even considering its well priced against the gtx580 cards.

What is the amd rrp?

£349.99, but there's obviously more flexibility due to no reference board.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

For a short period you could have got a Novatech HD7950 3GB for around £329 delivered if you included the cashback:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/amd-...vatech-1132926