AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series Price Cuts, New Game Bundle Inbound
by Ryan Smith on August 20, 2012 9:00 PM ESTIn another quick shift in the hyper-competitive performance video card market, AMD sends word this afternoon that they are enacting some price cuts that will be taking effect later this week. This latest round of price cuts comes hot on the heels of last week’s launch of the GeForce GTX 660 Ti, which saw NVIDIA introduce their first 28nm performance video card at $299.
The bulk of the cuts here will be for the 7800 series, where the 7870 in particular is finding itself somewhat displaced after the launch of the GTX 660 Ti. The $299 660 Ti isn’t necessarily in direct competition with the already-cheaper 7870 – which had a street price of around $279 last week – and since AMD had already quietly shuffled prices around ahead of the GTX 660 Ti launch, we weren’t expecting any further changes here. But it would appear that the gap between the 7870 and GTX 660 Ti is closer than AMD would like.
As a result the 7870 will be getting a slight price cut to push prices towards $249. This would make the card a full $50 cheaper than the GTX 660 Ti, which is apparently the kind of leverage AMD wants right now.
Meanwhile because the 7870 is getting a price cut, so is the 7850. AMD is expecting the street prices on the 2GB 7850 to fall to around $209 after the price cuts take effect, putting it $40 below the newly repriced 7870. The 2GB 7850 has been averaging $239 in the past week, so this would represent a price cut of around $30. Meanwhile the extremely rare 1GB version of the card would end up below $200, though given how few of those cards exist it’s hard to say if it will hit AMD’s $189 price target.
Alongside those price cuts the 7800 series will be receiving a new game bundle promotion in a few weeks. The AMD Gaming Evolved title Sleeping Dogs will be AMD’s latest bundle, replacing the outgoing DiRT Showdown bundle. This will sit opposite NVIDIA's existing Borderlands 2 promotion, which went live last week. As with past bundles this is being done at a retailer level, so it’s primarily geared towards online retailers (e.g. Newegg) that can quickly bundle vouchers with new cards.
| Second Summer 2012 Radeon HD 7000 Series Price Cuts | |||||||
| Card | Launch Price | Spring MSRP | Summer MSRP | Second Summer MSRP | |||
| Radeon HD 7970GE | $499 | N/A | N/A | $499 | |||
| Radeon HD 7970 | $549 | $479 | $429 | $429 | |||
| Radeon HD 7950 | $449 | $399 | $349 | $319 | |||
| Radeon HD 7870 | $349 | $349 | $299 | $249 | |||
| Radeon HD 7850 | $249 | $249 | $239 | $209 | |||
| Radeon HD 7770 | $159 | $139 | ~$119 | ~$119 | |||
| Radeon HD 7750 | $109 | $109 | ~$99 | ~$99 | |||
Meanwhile, along with the 7800 series the 7950 is also technically getting a price cut. We say “technically” because AMD seems to be rubber stamping price cuts that have already happened. The 7950 has been readily available below its $349 MSRP for quite some time now, and AMD’s new MSRP of $319 reflects the price of cards that are already available.
Finally, it should be noted that despite AMD’s official announcement we wouldn’t be all that surprised if only a few cards ended up reaching these new MSRPs. AMD lists their MSRPs as “starting at”, which means that AMD is listing the price of the cheapest card. This is largely how the previous round of price cuts played out, so pickings right at these new MSRPs may be slim.
| Post-Cut Summer 2012 GPU Pricing Comparison | |||||
| AMD | Price | NVIDIA | |||
| Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | $469/$499 | GeForce GTX 680 | |||
| Radeon HD 7970 | $429/$399 | GeForce GTX 670 | |||
| Radeon HD 7950 | $319/$299 | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | |||
| $279 | GeForce GTX 570 | ||||
| Radeon HD 7870 | $249 | ||||
| Radeon HD 7850 | $209 | ||||
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tuteja1986 - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
2560x1600 benchmark is import for me as i also play games on my U2711. Also after getting this monitor i bought myself second used GTX 570 instead of new GTX 680 as SLI is more beneficial for 2560x1400 resolution.TheJian - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
Proving my point to Ryan once again...Thanks.You are CORRECT sir :) Dual cards. My point in my WALL response to ryan in the comments section of his 660 TI review ;)
Ryan, you reading this stuff? Go read the wall Ryan ;) I dare you to respond again.
Another guy with an $850 monitor, and money for duals too. The PROPER way to go (or an expensive 680 as he mentioned). People like this guy don't game on their $850 monitor with a $300 SINGLE card and expect good results. Which I proved with multiple data points and links.
Head to hardocp for 5760x1200 results etc...He likes running those benches :)
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/08/21/galaxy_gefor...
His reviews are great, but once I nailed him (politely even), unlike Ryan (so far) Kyle Deleted me :( Not surprised though, Ryan will have a headache too...ROFL. Hats off to Ryan for actually responding to my first criticism. But I don't think he'll be able to stomach doing it again.
While I understand the results are important for some, I took issue with his conclusions and excuses for them. I mean a $400 monitor from Korea? No usa sellers? etc?
TheJian - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
Said the one guy in the room with $850 for a monitor from newegg. Congrats, ryan wrote his GTX 660 TI conclusion for you. :)According you Ryan you are a "rich enthusiast".
But poor me I'm not with just a 24 dell, 22 LG and a radeon 5850 etc... :) Bummer for me.
Seriously though, I am jealous of the monitor :) mmmm...WANT ONE ;)
CeriseCogburn - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Dude, these people are not serious, they are wacked out fanboys.You call them on the facts, and they offer hatred and lies and fudging and flawed side points and it never ends.
A GTX680 or a 7970GE are NOT ENOUGH for 1920x1200.
When I spend 2 grand + on a new build, I don't want to have to screw around and knock down the settings in most games.
I let all these fools know it on guess what release.
But they all know everything, with no facts, just their feelings. If the facts can be twisted to how they feel, all the better. If there are no facts, they'll make up a speculation.
When the facts hit them in the face, their brain takes a verdetrol trip. LOL
You did us all a service, I'll say that, and it will eventually sink in. By then it may be too late, but it's going to do some good.
Now, Crysis is still being shown as a test here - let's take the recent 660Ti review - 7970 @ 1920x1200 and they have it on 4xAA - and 54 fps... 2560x is 31 frames - unplayable in both cases amd best show, and it's not even cranked.
Once again, not even the top single core cards now handle 1920x1200. They crumble before moving on.
Now, you can stretch em out... but you're compromising.
( Dirt 3 is playable, the point is, the best games, sales and hype and IQ, you knock em down to play)
That's the facts period.
Let's not forget, most these whining joes do not have an OC 2500K or better rig - a LOT of them have an AMD spider platform LOL....
Heck, that's even worse for 1920x1200 - the cpu makes a lot of fps difference nowadays as offloading to it started becoming more relevant a couple years ago.
So the FPS sighted is the monster system on a clean install not connected to a 64 player server, etc.
In other words, your point on resolution fits not only for the price or availability or those who are using such, it fits because the cards themselves are lacking SEVERELY at that resolution.
I tried to hammer it home months ago...
RussianSensation - Monday, August 20, 2012 - link
12 Professional reviews average:800mhz 7950 > GTX660Ti
http://www.3dcenter.org/artikel/launch-analyse-nvi...
HD7950 also has 30-40% overclocking headroom. So it's just as fast at stock speeds and has extra reserve to handle MSAA, mods and high resolutions. 3GB of VRAM 660Ti versions also cost $340.
Even TPU shows GTX660Ti not any better than a stock 7950. See the "Blue graph":
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Palit/GeForce_GTX_660_Ti...
That's against an 800mhz 7950.
There are 880mhz HD7950 MSI TwinFrozr 3, 900mhz Gigabyte Windforce 3x 7950 for $330 on Newegg and those prices should fall even more soon.
Enthusiasts who buy 2500k/3570k know where it's at --> OCed 7950 crushes the 660Ti.
TheJian - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
You keep pointing to things I can't or wouldn't buy. A ref clocked 660ti? What for? They come out of the box for $299 @1015+ core/1115 boost. Why would I buy a ref clock for the same $299?You point to charts where I can't even see how it's being tested, setup, speeds etc. I looked at your chart...It tells me nothing. The entire $280-350 range will dip so much below 30fps (unplayable territory) in so many games it's pointless to act like people buy these for that 2560x1600 resolution besides the fact that NO 27in or below monitor even uses it.
See my wall to ryan. 68 newegg 24in monitors don't go above 1920x1200 native. NONE and that's all they sell. 27in, same story. It's 2560x1440 and bandwidth isn't an issue when you can't run your game above 30fps in almost all games on a $300 card at 2560x1600 as everyone seems to want to test in. It's not important if my car can do 300mph but there are no streets to drive on. It's not important if I run out of bandwidth at a resolution that not even people who spend $850 for a u2711 at newegg would run in (2560x1440, it doesn't run at 2560x1600) and if you run a 7870, 7950 or 660ti at 2560x1600 you won't do it above 30fps in many games without hitting BELOW 30fps and having a generally crappy experience. SLI/Crossfire is for this...See the wall I explain everything since you don't seem to get my point.
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/08/21/galaxy_gefor...
I know all cards OC...Just like the 660TI from 915mhz to 1300 here.
That's a 42% overclock and he's not the only one hitting 1300. :) $339 and won't heat my house and can't be damaged. 600 series won't let you damage it. The top clock is NOT always top clock on a 660. Ryan's own review tells you the 7950 is a SALVAGED part and the put the boost at 1.25v for a REASON. He also notes it's a heater/watt user to get perf. :)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6152/amd-announces-n...
"These numbers paint an interesting picture, albeit not one that is particularly rosy. For the 7970 AMD was already working with top bin Tahiti GPUs, so to make a 7970GE they just needed to apply a bit more voltage and call it a day. The 7950 on the other hand is largely composed of salvaged GPUs that failed to meet 7970 specifications. GPUs that failed due to damaged units aren’t such a big problem here, but GPUs that failed to meet clockspeed targets are another matter. As a result of the fact that AMD is working with salvaged GPUs, AMD has to apply a lot more voltage to a 7950 to guarantee that those poorly clocking GPUs will correctly hit the 925MHz boost clock."
Go read the wall to ryan in the 660ti comments section. Argue if you can.
RussianSensation - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
Your entire argument makes keeps coming back to 2560x1600, but I am not sure why out of all people you are the only one focused on that.I just showed you in 12 professional reviews that a GTX660Ti cannot beat a 7950 and a 660Ti OC cannot beat an 850-925mhz HD7950.
TechReport even has MSI TwinFrozr III 880mhz 7950 and it beats GTX660Ti OC at 1080P:
http://techreport.com/r.x/geforce-gtx-660ti/value-...
You really don't have a point here. No one is going to buy a stock HD7950 either. Take an 880-900 $320-330 7950 and it'll be as fast as any factory pre-overclock 660Ti at 1920x1080, while 7950 has 30-40% free performance on top.
Also, I already showed you that an OCed 7950 keeps up with an OCed 670 at 1920x1080 per Guru3D. So there is no point trying to tell us that 660Ti is the fastest card at 1920x1080, since it isn't.
And if the consumer wanted to save $, they'd get an HD7850/7870 and pocket $50-90 over the 660Ti.
CeriseCogburn - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
techreport 70 fps to 72 fps, OC msi BOOST 7970, and it costs a lot more... and it's a single point chartyou showed what ? LOL fail
no rez either but most of the few games are at 2560 1440 and without dirt showdown 7950 loses
So get amd for one game and a $450 no warranty monitor with bad pixels to ship back overseas for $60 more and another chance
no thanks
RussianSensation - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
660Ti OC <<<<<<<< HD7950 OC = GTX670 OC:http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/08/23/galaxy_g...
Must be awesome to get a $300 660Ti and then not be able to use 8xMSAA in Batman AC, use mods in Skyrim with MSAA, and then have awful performance in every DirectCompute game out right now (Sleeping Dogs, Sniper Elite V2, Dirt Showdown) and all the other games where 660Ti is slow:
- Alan Wake, Bulletstorm, Anno 2070, Arma II Day-Z mod, Alan Wake, Serious Sam 3, Trine 2 with SSAA, etc.
What's 660Ti got going for it? Portal 2, Lost Planet 2, HAWX 2, Project Cars and WOW. I am running out of games.
Great. $300 for a card that loses in 90% of modern games and only has 1.5GB of usable VRAM....and can't handle MSAA.
CeriseCogburn - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Yet anyone opens the boxes and installs the 2 cards and "yours" LOSES.Let's face it, you're going to have to say who gives a **** since arma 3 is coming out with PhysX.
If you're going to use high rez and all the settings, I suggest 2xTOP single from either company for 1920x1200.
Also make certain you have an OC 2500K minimum and NO AMD cpu.
The 7950 loses to the 600Ti, and the 660Ti won't be burrned to a crisp and dead like your 7950 after you try desperately to get stable clocks that in a few games get a bare win against the 660Ti.
Go ahead burn it to the ground, the housefire will get you either way, for lack of features, for an enormous electric bill, or the sad GSOD, BSOD, and all the other amd driver fails, including 6 months before they could run the common games without crashing.
Forget the amd junk.