[dribblesnort]

The inquirer has the report and I pulled out the relevant section]

5870X2 - $599.
5870 - $399.
5850 - $299.

[dribblesnort]

10 Sep 09 is the launch date!

Personally, I can't wait to see the benches for the x2.

[fusion509]

those prices seem high for ati.

[newn]

Probally they'r going to be like 275, 285, 280 geforces or something like that. Except with DirectX 11 compatibility.

[freeagent]

If they are chargeing that much for the price of admission, I bet its gonna be worth it

[Kuroimaho]

Originally Posted by fusion509

those prices seem high for ati.

I concur. Which makes me wonder, they aren't going for more market share or they believe they will grab more anyway. Maybe AMD is more in the red than we know.

I will wait until GT300 is out, would be funny if this time we would need nvidia to break down the prices.

[dribblesnort]

Originally Posted by Kuroimaho

I concur. Which makes me wonder, they aren't going for more market share or they believe they will grab more anyway. Maybe AMD is more in the red than we know.

I will wait until GT300 is out, would be funny if this time we would need nvidia to break down the prices.

Maybe, just maybe, they "know" they have a clear winner in this series of cards.

I'm just speculating, mind you...

We know there is an "early adoption = higher cost of admission" business model in play in the enthusiast market, but if they do have a real winner in this round, then maybe they can afford to charge a bit more since they feel pretty confident that they will still grab market share even with higher prices.

Just to remind everyone of the fact about early adoption, here's the cost of my initial order of (2) HD4870s when they first came out and the cost of my HD4870x2

7-13-2008
(2) VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - $589.98
($294.99 ea)

09-05-2008
(1) SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... $559.99

Aren't these cards selling currently at roughly HALF that cost? I know the 4870x2 is around $300 - $350 for a decent brand, while mine was around $600 at launch. And, I know the 512MB version of the 4870 is around $134 (not an open box) at the Egg.

[dribblesnort]

It seems the 5870X2 is priced $40 more at launch than the 4870x2.

That's not an outrageous price point at launch. I see the GTX295 going for $500 right now at the Egg. $100 more for the latest generation x2 card seems reasonable for launch-time prices, imho.

Anyone remember what the GTX295 went for at launch? I'm betting $600

[Shiggity]

The prices will stay high until Nvidia counters with their next gen. GT200 will not be able to keep up with those cards. Even with price cuts, enthusiasts will choose a new gen card over cheaper GT200 cards with similar performance, I think.

It's pretty much commonplace to charge a premium if you have the best performing GPU or CPU at the time. 4xxx came out after GT200, so they had to make it very good at the price : performance level, which it certainly was. Now ATI can press their advantage while Nvidia is struggling a little getting their new stuff out.

That's my speculation anyways

[ChinStrap]

i'll have atleast one on launch day, or whenever i can get one the soonest.

$399 for the undesputed (we hope) fastest single GPU card out doesnt seem that bad to me. if you look back over time the company with the single fastest (at the time) has always set the price, then the other company brings theirs to the table and the battle begains.

the next round looks fun. I personally also would like to see a 40mn stamp of GT200 and RV770. both those cards are very good NOW - i think they would fly @ 40nm

[EarthDog]

Not bad for launch day prices. We will see how it the retailers jack it up though... As soon as GT300 comes out those will likely fall depending on how Nvidia's cards perform.

[MadMan007]

I'm starting to think that the price war and price/performance ratios we saw for the 4000 series era was a fluke.

[EarthDog]

I disagree. ATI was just early to the game for the first time in a long time. So they are finally in a position to milk the market. Lets hope the performance is there to justify the price. I like the thought of a 5870 performing a hair less than a 4870x2.

[dribblesnort]

Originally Posted by MadMan007

I'm starting to think that the price war and price/performance ratios we saw for the 4000 series era was a fluke.

It wasn't really a fluke....If you can get your product out the door first, you can always charge a bit of a premium, so I don't begrudge AMD/ATI much for it. It will be interesting to see what happens when nVidia releases their next generation product. I would not be surprised to see the prices start to resemble the prices during the 4xxx series vs 2xxx nVidia once nVidia releases their GT300 cards.

Personally, I am debating on whether or not to get a 5870x2 the first day or wait and pick up one when the nVidia parts come out and the price on the ATI drops a bit.

I subsidized their high launch prices last year so I am unsure if I'll do it again this year. I "have" been jonesing (for a while now) for a replacement for these tired old Vision Tek HD4870 512MB cards I'm currently using (I sold the gaming computer that had my 4870x2) and with DiRT coming out soon I may end up pulling the trigger.

I just hope that the aftermarket cooler companies start producing good cooling solutions quickly because if I had to go back to the OEM crap that comes on the cards these days, I think I'd just put an icepick in my ears and twirl it around.

[Ahgemon]

don't be in a hurry to buy the first crop of the new line, 5890's are sure to follow suit in 6 months, and believe me theres not a huge wave of directx 11 games in the next 6 months or so that any of us would absolutely 'have' to get these 5000 series cards : /

games will run just fine on current cards imo

(remember the first 9800gt cards nvidia released)

[dribblesnort]

Originally Posted by Ahgemon

don't be in a hurry to buy the first crop of the new line, 5890's are sure to follow suit in 6 months, and believe me theres not a huge wave of directx 11 games in the next 6 months or so that any of us would absolutely 'have' to get these 5000 series cards : /

games will run just fine on current cards imo

(remember the first 9800gt cards nvidia released)

Nah...I'm gonna get a couple from the first batch of 5870s, and then probably get an X2 card as well as soon as they are released.

My 512MB 4870s are really startin' to get to me...They're quiet with the Musashi coolers but I keep expecting to get a Social Security check for them anyday...

(remember the first 9800gt cards nvidia released)

I try not to. I try not to.

[JonSimonzi]

The price of each card is about $100 more than I was hoping they'd launch for. But, the prices aren't that bad. $400 for the top of the line single GPU card is actually damn good. Anybody else remember a $600+ GTX280 when they first launched? I think we've (I know I have at least) been spoiled on ATI's card pricing with the latter end of the 4XXX life cycle.