When NVIDIA launched the GTX 980 and GTX 970 last month, it shocked the discrete graphics world. The GTX 970 in particular was an amazing performer and undercut the price of the Radeon R9 290 at the time. That is something that NVIDIA rarely does and we were excited to see some competition in the market.
AMD responded with some price cuts on both the R9 290X and the R9 290 shortly thereafter (though they refuse to call them that) and it seems that AMD and its partners are at it again.
Looking on Amazon.com today we found several R9 290X and R9 290 cards at extremely low prices. For example:
- XFX Radeon R9 290X Double D – $299 (after MIR)
- Gigabyte R9 290X WindForce – $360
- MSI R9 290X Gaming – $366
The R9 290X's primary competition in terms of raw performance is the GeForce GTX 980, currently selling for $549 and up. If you can find them in stock, that means NVIDIA has a hill of $250 to climb when going against the lowest priced R9 290X.
The R9 290 looks interesting as well:
Several other R9 290 cards are selling for upwards of $300-320 making them bone-headed decisions if you can get the R9 290X for the same or lower price, but considering the GeForce GTX 970 is selling for at least $329 today (if you can find it) and you can see why consumers are paying close attention.
Will NVIDIA make any adjustments of its own? It's hard to say right now since stock is so hard to come by of both the GTX 980 and GTX 970 but it's hard to imagine NVIDIA lowering prices as long as parts continue to sell out. NVIDIA believes that its branding and technologies like G-Sync make GeForce cards more valuable and until they being to see a shift in the market, I imagine that will stay the course.
For those of you that utilize our Hardware Leaderboard you'll find that Jeremy has taken these prices into account and update a couple of the system build configurations.
I’d buy one if they weren’t
I’d buy one if they weren’t so loud and hot.
Winter is a-comin’. Might be
Winter is a-comin’. Might be worth it.
Hay! ever see videos from
Hay! ever see videos from inside an M1-A2 tank during live fire exercises, those loud fans and heat from AMD’s more affordable product adds a sense of realism to the mechanized battlefield experience, just view the video, and listen to the sounds from inside the M1-A2, hear those fans(lots of computers), and engine noises, hydraulic pump noises!
Hell, every Tank/battle/shooter game, should be directly linked into the military draft lottery, and the high scorers should get extra capsules tossed into the big random drum, for some extra pre screening, yes build up those extra capsules, with the high scorer’s draft ID capsules chosen at true random. Members of congress’/elected officials children get twice the bonus capsules. The more capsules the better your chances of winning an all expenses paid trip to Uncle Sam’s choice of global hot spots, trip comes with a paid stipend, free medical, and free living expenses.
Note_1: all trips last for a period of 1 year, with an extension requirement of 2 more years possible, or when amount of actual combat points rewarded exceeds set limits, whichever amount comes first. 10 weeks intensive training required before departing.
Note_2: Trip winners in college/with college degrees go straight to OCS, with more college classes and such, right after 10 fun weeks of orientation, there are no general student deferrals. All classes paid for by U. Sam., paid Stipend , dorm costs, and medical are free. Drills once a week on weekends(Sat, or Sun, after 1pm).
Note_3: Purchasers of Nvidia’s Titan Z, who are not filthy Rich, will receive an automatic section 8 exemption/discharge, and are advised to apply for military/civilian disability, with the option of, after receiving a fat back disability payment/reward, of confirming you disability, by purchasing more Titan Zs.
P.S. the CIA, USA MI, UK MI, MI6, allied Gov. MI/etc. get the assassin high scorers, so stock up on those cyanide capsules, and see M for all your gadget needs, UK gadgets are recommended.
I have no idea who you are,
I have no idea who you are, and I probably don’t agree with your life or opinions, and you probably don’t agree with mine, but after reading your words, I like you. As a person, As a brain, as a way of thinking. I like the cut of your jib. :]
The SAPPHIRE 290 Vapor-X,
The SAPPHIRE 290 Vapor-X, which is very cool and quiet is on Newegg right now for $299.
totally a great time to be in
totally a great time to be in the market for a powerful yet reasonbly priced gfx card. Just wish these deals were around when I built my pc awhile back.
An if your in Canada, you can
An if your in Canada, you can get a R9 285 for $229
http://www.ncix.com/detail/powercolor-radeon-r9-285-turbo-11-101468-1053.htm
It’s not just the high end
It’s not just the high end they are having sales galore on, I just got a MSI R7-260 OC edition for 80$ CDN after MIR
i need to know freesync isnt
i need to know freesync isnt shit… then its a no-brainer to get one of these…
cuz freesync and mantle or variable refreshrate and low level API in the same card? = no question there
That’s always the worst part
That’s always the worst part about buying new computer gear, and it’s been this way since the 80’s, no matter how long you wait to buy there will always be something better if you wait longer. Sometimes you gota take the plunge.
Are you planing to buy a new monitor soon as well? That is the major question most people should be asking, “Will I buy a new monitor before I replace this card?” The monitor I’m on for example will be around for at least one more major upgrade cycle, possibly 2. so free-sync/Gsync is a question for a few more years down the line.
If you know what
If you know what freesync/gsync its not a question to you to change your monitor.
Also, no it has not been this way since the 80s.
While i can agree that low lvl API is “just another improvement”.
F/G sync is a gamechanger in gaming – equal to the first color TV`s compared to black&white TVs.
For that one the “dont wait” argument is not valid.
well to be fair if you don’t
well to be fair if you don’t plan on buying a new monitor to go with you’re new freesync/gsync gpu than there really is no issue to whether or not your card is compatible. And it’s not as revolutionary as ” the first color TV`s compared to black&white TVs” I understand your enthusiasm, I’m super excited for this as a feature of my next monitor, as soon or as long as that is, but cumon, it’s a cool tech, it’s the first step to perfection, but it’s just a first step (as nvidia has said already, they are working on perfecting the display and this is just 1 step}
I’m a old ATI fanboy from way back, I want free sync to be better than Gsync or at least good enough and much cheaper, but it’s taking a long time, not a lot of the news we get about AMD is super positive, personally I wouldn’t let it factor into my purchasing choices as of today. However that’s just the way I see it.
And as a fun little ps, I
And as a fun little ps, I just found out that the video card I bought last week IS on the gaming compatiable “Project FreeSync” lis t, it was not in anyway a factor in my purchasing.
by the time you find out
by the time you find out about freesync you will have DX12 and new better GPUs
These price cuts leads an
These price cuts leads an assumption that inventory is being depleted for 2 reasons, 1 being something is coming sooner than later in terms of a successor, 2nd reason to lure buyers who were potentially going to buy a 2nd gen maxwell when it’s available again. Revenue is going to be higher at the cost of profits. But if the r9 290x price vuts a permanent the likelihood of the gtx 980 cut will also be high.
I think it would be a good
I think it would be a good deal if I didn’t have to get a new PSU to drive it 🙁 . The 980’s and 970’s my PSU can drive with NP. It is big enough for the new 285.
to funny on how they go so
to funny on how they go so low. AMD profits this year were not good after october their stock drop almost half in value. Both Intel and Nvdia had gains. AMD better do something or they will filing bankruptcy.
You can’t imagine what I feel
You can’t imagine what I feel when I read such kind of news. I live in Russia and there are no price cuts or sales in this country AT ALL. The cheapest 290 I could find costs 14 500 rubles = 350 USD = 273 EUR.
290X = 18 000 rubles = 430 USD = 339 EUR
It is much cheaper to order GPU from America than to buy it in local stores: 290x for 300 USD = 12540 rubles, almost 50% cheaper than 290x in local stores.
Let me make you feel
Let me make you feel better.
Cheapest 290X in Greece
350 euros
Cheapest 290 in Greece
292 euros
Serbia
cheapest:
290 260
Serbia
cheapest:
290 260 euros
290X 375 euros
970 350 euros
980 575 euros
Latvia
Cheapest:
290 = 245
Latvia
Cheapest:
290 = 245 eur
290x = 300 eur
970 = 305 eur
980 = 520 eur
come at me bro
Russia:
Cheapest 290 –
Russia:
Cheapest 290 – 300$/236€ (XFX DD, HIS IceQ, PowerColor TurboDuo).
Cheapest 290X – 354$/280€ (Sapphire Tri-X OC).
Cheapest 970 – 370$/293€ (Friggin’ Failit, tho).
Cheapest 980 – 598$/472€ (Reference. If nonreference, then the most “cheapest” one right now is MSi’s “GAYMING 4G” – 608$/480€).
Croatia
Croatia
290x: 525$/385€
290: 425$/310€
970: 480$/355€
980: 805$/610€
All prices include 25% VAT
C-C-c-c-COMBO BREAKER!!!11
C-C-c-c-COMBO BREAKER!!!11
pretty sure all the prices
pretty sure all the prices listed here included local VAT
I am sure you took these
I am sure you took these prices from Regard. Unfortunately, this shop is not reliable due to the multiple complaints about the warranty department. Not to mention it is the only shop in Russia selling GPUs at such a low price.
These prices are based on
These prices are based on Yandex Market, regardless of the store and/or net.
P.S. By the most part, Regard has such low prices because they sell grey import (95% of all of their positions on the site) and they don’t provide full official warranty which is usually provided by the original manufacturer/OEM/distributor.
Still 50$ away from my real
Still 50$ away from my real point of interest.
Only when Sapphire’s 290X Tri-X (THE most best 290X on the market right now. Not considering Anus “Ares III”, of course) would start selling for 250$, only then I’ll be truly interested in this.
Ryan here’s Nvidia hit back
Ryan here’s Nvidia hit back to AMD about all these huge price drops
http://www.ncix.com/detail/zotac-geforce-gtx-titan-z-a8-97128-1382.htm
A titan Z for only $1750cad.
“M-M-MUH TITZ! FOR GAYMING!”
“M-M-MUH TITZ! FOR GAYMING!”
Why buy that when $1150cad
Why buy that when $1150cad gets you a faster card that’s actually in-stock.
http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-radeon-r9-295×2-1018mhz-30-96586.htm
I didn’t even know that card
I didn’t even know that card came down in price.
If I was going to get a new
If I was going to get a new card a 290x would be the one, Nvidia should respond.
even with price of a 290x,
even with price of a 290x, gtx970 is still very competitive in performance to it. Generally in most games 970 and 290x are with in a few fps of each other, Less you go in to 3 monitor or 4k then 290x pulls out a bigger lead. But anything from 1080p to 1440/1600p they are pretty closely matched.
So in other words, the 290x
So in other words, the 290x is the better card, thanks for clearing that up!
Well ever so slightly.
Well ever so slightly. Remember the 290x is the top end single gpu from AMD but the 970 is the #2 top card from Nvidia.
Not bad for a card release
Not bad for a card release 1yr ago.
lol, my comment was meant to
lol, my comment was meant to rub it in that guy’s face. Seems like all he does is try his best to put mud on AMD every single time he can. This time he didn’t do such a great job and I wanted to point that out to him. 🙂
Performance-wise somewhat
Performance-wise somewhat yes, but consumption/heat output/TDP-wise it’s waaay behind 970/980. And that is understandable. Let’s see how 295X and 3xx series perform and how much they eat/produce heat.
Asuming freesync is just as
Asuming freesync is just as good as gync…
A 290 gets you mantle + freesync. I see NO reason why anyone would pay more for the same performance (or worse perf, if you consider mantle games).
Boo hoo, youll waste a few more dollars on electricity for the year. Play the worlds smallest violin please.