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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CeriseCogburn - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
ROFLSniper Elite V2 is part of AMDs Gaming Evolved program
shame on you amd
CeriseCogburn - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Russian in your techreport chart the 660Ti BEATS the 7950 - card most to upper left wins...If you're looking fps 70 vs 72 is margin of error, then you've got the $25 price difference, and the endless extra features set of the nVidia card.
So, EVERYONE is saying what thejian is saying, not no one.
RussianSensation - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
GTX660SLi is just 6% faster at 2560x1440 4AA against HD7970 GE:http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/20...
You can buy HD7970 GE for $450-460 against a $600 GTX660SLI setup:
1) Vapor-X 7970 GE ($457 usually can get $10-15 coupon code on the front page)
This card comes with 8 Black Diamond Chokes and exact same cooler from the HD7970 Sapphire TOXIC. That's value for 27 inch screens!
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-7970GH...
2) Visiontek HD7970 GE with Lifetime Warranty for $430 + $8 shipping = $438
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Looks like AMD still has the price performance locked down and 660Ti SLI looks awful in comparison for $600 since it can't handle MSAA at 2560x1440/1600.
Just because you have a 5850 doesn't mean you come off as objective. Stick to the facts, not opinions.
TheJian - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
Read the wall responding to ryan. It's CHALK full of all the facts you need.You act like you can't overclock anything but Radeons.
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/08/21/galaxy_gefor...
Geforce 660TI running at 1.3ghz. Memory at 7.71ghz (that's 1.71ghz OVER stock). and the card comes with 3GB for $339 at newegg.
Nuff said? Need more? Read my wall, argue if you can. Make sure you read ryans initial response to me first though, to keep it in context :)
I'm not saying radeons suck. I OWN one and love it. But I don't want a heater for my room thanks. I already know 7950's are great overclockers. I even pointed to the guru3d 7950 OC article. I couldn't have used more facts if I tried. :)
Saying I own a Radeon 5850 is not an opinion. It's a FACT. The insinuation by YOU that I'm not being objective? That is the definition of an OPINION. Which you more than have a right to as long as you can prove it. ;)
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/08/21/galaxy_gefor...
Batman Arkham @2560x1600 (one of the games you mention the 660ti gets crushed in by the way), yet it's the radeon that spends a LOT of time between 10-15fps while the 660TI never goes below 28fps.
Skyrim, 8xMSAA and running 37fps min...Can't handle what? That's 8xMSAA compared to ryan running at 4xmsaa. Prove it can't run MSAA please. Out of the box this card ran at 1188mhz. He did nothing to get that. The card does it.
RussianSensation - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
Heater for your room?That's exactly why I noted in AT forums that people will use HD7950B power consumption to make wrong comments like yours. HD7950B uses 1.25V because it accounts for 50-60% ASIC binned 7950 that were terrible chips.
How about MSI TwinFrozr 3 that has > 80% ASIC binned Tahiti XT chips and chips with 0.993-1.03V stock voltage at 880mhz?
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=36567
HD7950 TF3 = 142W
http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=41801
GTX660Ti PE = 134W
Just 8W of power separate an 880mhz 7950 TF3 and the MSI PE 660Ti.
TheJian - Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - link
LOL, and how many more cherry picked are left?OLD 7950, NOT BOOST at 1.25 at guru 3D pushing 217 watts over regular clocked 7950 he started with at 138. That's 80 watts on the OLD BINNED great one.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-7950-overc...
217 watts. Hitting ONLY 1150 at 1.25 stable and 217 watts, 80 extra watts for that 1150. Meanwhile 660's hit 1300 and out of the box at .987v...ROFL really dude? Are you going to keep this up?
http://www.behardware.com/articles/853-18/roundup-...
11 cards based on the OLD 7950's & 7970's, not BOOST chips. Only ONE hit 1200 at 1.225 and the only other to get there took 1.275. FOUR of those cards are 7970's! The freaking BINNED ones. The BOOST chips didn't exist on MAY 9th 2012, the date of that article! Check that chart!
http://www.behardware.com/medias/photos_news/00/36...
Doesn't look good for your old binned chips now does it? Incorrectly pointing to boost chips? Read much?
So you POINT me to a chart that shows exactly what I'm saying. Your perfect example is already over the 660ti at 142 watts. It will be OVER the 217 then from the one I pointed to at the SAME FREAKING JOINT you pointed to but the one I point to is even better in the OC article at 138 watts...ROFLMAO. It hit 217w at 1150. You are worse than ryan or obama...LOL. "Business is good in the private sector"...LOL. "You didn't build that, the govt did"...LOL. OK man...Just 8 watts separate them BEFORE you OC the crap out of it to hit 1150 and hit 217w+ a few because yours is worse than the one in the OC 7950 article I just pointed to at guru3d. You sure play fast and loose with the facts eh?
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/08/21/galaxy_gefor...
Batman 10fps minimum on 7950...No amount will help that hit 28fps of 660TI minimum...ROFL. 2560x1600. But no, these cards are NOT for that res. You still don't get it...Skyrim at 8xMsaa there too, 37fps minimum. Pretty crushed by MSAA and ryan only ran at 4xMSAA. AGain 2560x1600...Nope still don't believe you want to run these there. Too many games DIP below 30fps like your lovely OLD radeon 7950 which stays between 10-15 fps for a LONG part of that graph. Witcher 2, again 18 660ti and 16 for 7950...Both totally unplayable at 2560x1600. Are you getting the message yet? Still don't understand? Read my response to Ryan page 4 of the ALL COMMENTS on 660ti. Once you run at 1920x1200 bandwidth will NEVER be a problem on 660TI (the only advantage, though hard to show, of the 7950 OLD chip). At 1920x1200 zotac (easily had clocks for $299 out of the box as already linked time and again for you at newegg) runs roughshod over your 7950B:
First the 7870:
660TI vs. 7870 @1920x1200
Civ5 >3% faster
Skyrim >6% faster
Battlefield3 >37% faster (above 50% or so in FXAA High!!)
Portal 2 >62% faster (same in 2560x...even though it's useless IMHO)
Batman Arkham >22% faster
Shogun 2 >31% faster
Dirt3 >11% faster
Metro 2033>15% faster
Warhead ~wash (all 660 38.8fps-40.4 & 7870 is 39.9) WASH
STARCRAFT 2: 7970ghz (108FPS) VS. GTX670 (121FPS) @1920x1200
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6096/evga-geforce-gt...
So for $20 you won't notice the difference (in this res this card would be bought for) with these phenomenal results vs. the 7870. Faster in everything, 31%, 37%, 62%, 15%, 11%, 22% & 50%+ (starcraft2)...People won't notice a card running this much faster in most of the games you tested? You really want to stand by that statement?
That's from the wall response to him :)
And now the 7950B (from the same post, all his benchmarks):
"while the 7950 is anywhere between a bit faster to a bit slower depending on what benchmarks you favor." HERE WE GO AGAIN PEOPLE: Follow along:
Civ5 <5% slower
Skyrim >7% faster
Battlefield3 >25% faster (above 40% or so in FXAA High)
Portal 2 >54% faster (same in 2560x...even though it's useless IMHO)
Batman Arkham >6% faster
Shogun 2 >25% faster
Dirt3 >6% faster
Metro 2033 =WASH (ztac 51.5 vs. 7950 51...margin of error..LOL)
Crysis Warhead =WASH (ref 7950 (66.9) lost to ref 660 (67.1), and 7950B 73.1 vs 72.5/70.9/70.2fps for other 3 660's) this is a WASH either way.
STARCRAFT 2: 7950 (88.2fps) VS. GTX670 (121.2fps) @1920x1200
So another roughly 37% victory for 660TI extrapolated? I'll give you 5 frames for the Boost version...Which still makes it ~30% faster in Starcraft 2.
So vs. the 7950B which you MADE UP YOUR MIND ON, here's your quote:
"If we had to pick something, on a pure performance-per-dollar basis the 7950 looks good both now and in the future"
we have victories of 25% (bf3), 54%(P2), 7%(skyrim), 25% (shog2) 30%+ (sc2), 6% (dirt3)
1 loss at <5% in CIV5 and the rest washes (less than 3%) ...But YOU think people should buy the card that gets it's but kicked or is a straight up wash. You said your recommendations was based on 1920x1200...NOT 2560x1600...Well, suck it up, this is the truth here in your OWN benchmarks...Yet you've ignored them and LIED. Let me quote you from ABOVE again lest you MISSED your own words:
"And 1920x1200 is what we based our concluding recommendations on. "
Then explain to me how you can have a card that wins in ONE game at <5% and BEATEN in 6 games by OVER 6%, with 4 of those 6 games BEATEN by >25%, and yet still come up with this ridiculous statement (again your conclusion):
"On the other hand due to the constant flip-flopping of the GTX 660 Ti and 7950 on our benchmarks there is no sure-fire recommendation to hand down there. If we had to pick something, on a pure performance-per-dollar basis the 7950 looks good both now and in the future"
Are you smoking crack or just BIASED? Being paid by AMD? Well? The 7950 is NOT cheaper than the 660TI. Can you explain your math sir? I'm confused. What "flip-flopping of the GTX 660 Ti and 7950"?? You're making these statements on 1920x1200 right? OR should I quote you again??...
You really should read his post first, and then the ENTIRE post from me. These are the anandtech benchmarks used here. Whip out your calculator and prove me wrong if you can. Already showed the 660 can go to 1300gpu/7.6ghz memory, far above the zotac. The zotac is NOT using a lot of watts OR HOT in this review...LOL. Lots of room to spare no doubt.
LOAD @322W...7950 is 353w before overclocking it...LOL.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6159/the-geforce-gtx... nevermind the boost (373) and the 7970 (391). Neither of which will hit 1200 reliably and need 1.225-1.275 possibly to do it:
You read the chart right?
http://www.behardware.com/medias/photos_news/00/36...
Read it again, BINNED 7970 (4)and 7950's (7) in there from MAY, no boost, just hot volts to supposedly great chips :) Look at that, your twin Frozr III in there too...ROFLMAO. Hell the sapphire 7950 OC couldn't even hit 1200. XFX black couldn't hit more than 1125, Powercolor HD 7950PCS+ stopped at 1050! LOL. MANY couldn't hit more than 1125! The default for 7970 is 1.125 and hits 391 watts already in anandtech's 660 article. What do you think it hits at these voltages?
You are quoting MINIMUM voltages as shown in the same page at behardware.com article above.
http://www.behardware.com/medias/photos_news/00/36...
You don't do those volts at 1150mhz! Also shown same page, read it again pal:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/853-18/roundup-...
Nice try though.
CeriseCogburn - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Yeah russian cheated on the power comparison - it's SAD, pathetic, sorry, lame, etc.Hey, they should just say they don't give a crap they're an amd fanboy no matter what. Having to lie makes it so sickeningly pathetic.
Be a freakin fanboy, without LYING and spinning - heck then you actually have a REASON to be one.
( I still say it's their immense OWS hatred of nVidia ) - I mean maybe they're just wacked out fanboys, but there seems to be some other mental aberration behind it all - hence we always get the who can profit, nvidia is going to lose money, they're scalping - they held back and the 680 is really a 560ti replacement... on and on and on and on as if nVidia's bottom line is the reason they have their FANGS bared in amd love it or die fashion...
YEP - see, so facts and sanity and truth do not matter - it's a freaking mission man - they're on a mission.
LOL
"it OC's to 1300 it's 40% !!!" " It's 8W diff at 880, what power prob ?"
Yeah... oki dokie.
RussianSensation - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
I compared power consumption for stock cards to disprove the point that people think HD7950 somehow uses 200-225W of power because they fail to comprehend power consumption charts using full system power at the wall, not accounting for PSU inefficiency either.Power consumption is the key topic of discussion now, 8-10W of power difference is a world of difference now? So you must have skipped GTX400/500 series entirely then.
CeriseCogburn - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Yeah, 8-10 watts, another big fat lie.Plus amd screwed you on the 7950GE with higher core voltage, heck they're converting the WHOLE LINE - SO ALL THE POWER USEAGE GOES UP DUMB DUMB !
RussianSensation - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
So much wasted space to say nothing useful.Only 1 out of 19 cards on Newegg is a reference HD7950 with GPU Boost. Sapphire DX, MSI TF3, Gigabyte Windforce 3x, HIS ICE-Q2 are all for sale and all overclock to 1100-1150 on stock 1.175V of Tahiti XT. Thanks for wasting a wall of space arguing about the reference 7950 B card no one will buy on this forum.