Solid release date for 4870 X2????

[magoo]

Anybody know release day for this deal????

I've seen 12 August...... anybody have the solid scoop????

 

[Astrodave]

Anybody know release day for this deal????

I've seen 12 August...... anybody have the solid scoop????

No

I've seen any date from now until the end of next month.

No. You'll know when we know because it will be in the forums.

 

[Zero82z]

The rumoured release date is the 12th of August, but there's nothing definite at the moment.

 

[known12345]

Yeah, you would think that a card that was going to propel one company past another for the first time in several years would get some countdown or something. Instead we are all left in the dark to its release date? We haven't really heard that much from fudzilla either on probable release dates another than August 12... did August 12 come from them anyway? Its been a long time (at least it feels that way waiting for that card to come out) that I cant even remember where that date came from.

 

[Zero82z]

Yeah, you would think that a card that was going to propel one company past another for the first time in several years would get some countdown or something. Instead we are all left in the dark to its release date?

GPU companies do that because back in the day, everyone used to get pissed when a company would announce a GPU and only end up shipping it a few weeks later. Now they wait until they have enough supply in the channel so people can buy the cards right away when they're announced and so prices will stay reasonable.

 

[known12345]

GPU companies do that because back in the day, everyone used to get pissed when a company would announce a GPU and only end up shipping it a few weeks later. Now they wait until they have enough supply in the channel so people can buy the cards right away when they're announced and so prices will stay reasonable.

Makes perfect sense, I could see how such a practice could prevent inflation (remember the release of the 8800gt?) as well as keep people off the company's back. But iono, waiting isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world and waiting without any information is even harder =(.

I remember when the 8800gt came out, unchallenged and extremely competitive pricing. Initial demand, fueled by stellar review, was high but product availability was low meaning massive inflation. ATI came in with the 3000 series and took a few of nvidi'a customers who were unable to get their hands on the 8800gt so I could see why a company would wait till they have enough product for everyone before releasing to prevent defections based on unavailability. However those days of unchallenged competition is over, atleast for now.

I'm sure EVERYONE here remembers the fiasco with the gtx200 series and the massive price drops that came only a few weeks after its release. If it was only, say a $100 drop in price then it would be ok but the gtx280, with an initial MSRP of $650 can be found these days as low as $430 AR with what seems like an average price of $450 No rebate on newegg. I think people are more inclined to wait a few days/weeks for price drops before jumping on the 4870x2 immediately with the knowledge that ATI, wanting to be competitive and capture market share, will lower prices with nvidia to follow accordingly meaning less demand initially and a steady steram of purchases. 1st group buys initial, 2nd group waits a week, sees prices drop, bites, 3rd isn't ready to buy, waits a few more weeks, sees deals, bites, and so on until everyone buys ones at a set price, and by then gpu companies should have enough inventory.

So in the case of the 4870x2, i'm surprised no release date has been set forth.

 

[myndcrime]

the price of the 4870x2 will not drop any time soon after release because nvidia has nothing to compete with it right now

which is why ill order mine day 1 and know it won't drop $200 in 2 weeks

 

[known12345]

the price of the 4870x2 will not drop any time soon after release because nvidia has nothing to compete with it right now

which is why ill order mine day 1 and know it won't drop $200 in 2 weeks

The price of the gtx280 is at $450 with the MSRP of the 4870x2 rumored to be between $500-$600 (I highly doubt it will be below $500 but maybe ATI will pull a fast one on nvidia). Nvidia didn't have anything to compete with the 4870 at launch but a few weeks after, the gtx260 was priced exactly with the 4870. Although the gtx280 cant compete against the 4870x2 at $450, if the price were to drop to $400 (with no MIR) its starting to look like a solid competitor and at $350 it would be a steal and I could see ATI drop the price of the 4870x2 accordingly to compete against the gtx280.

The most important thing for ATI right now is market share and customer loyalty. They have to build up their loyal fan base more so than profits because whois to say their next gen cards will be equal to that of nvidia? Without a loyal fan base, people would flock to the better card, with one, people may choose to take a small hit if it means supporting their brand. ATI needs this urgently right now so its offering to sell its cards at extremely low prices to take market shard. ATI could have easily sold the 4870 at the same price as the gtx260 seeing as they had similar performance. But opted instead of sell it $100 cheaper to take marketshare. Did it work? Well when I go on these forums and see threads asking "gtx260 or 4870" it seems like at least 80% recommend the 4870 even though the difference between the two is almost negligible (can be overcome by overclocking) and this is also when the price of both the 4870 and the gtx260 is essentially equal with gtx260 cards, after rebate ofcourse, are found cheaper compared to a 4870 after rebate (this is subject to change every week due to different deals appearing).

At the same time Nvidia isn't going to let ATI take this round. If you wanted any proof, the fact that the gtx260 dropped by over 25% original value in only a month is evidence that Nvidia is willing to sacrifice looking like a bunch of price gougers rather than lose market share. Nvidia has been making profits for years, they can afford to take a huge hit this round so that the next round they have a fighting chance to retake the lead.

With this in mind, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that once the 4870x2 comes out, Nvidia will automatically drop the gtx280 to $400 and slowly lower it to $350 so that gtx280 SLI looks like a more viable option. ATI will likely follow suite either dropping the price of their 4870x2 or their 4870 in which case Nvidia will follow suite with the gtx260. We may not see a $200 drop in the price of the 4870x2 but maybe a $50 within the coming weeks. Ofcourse their is a point where nvidia will be selling each gtx200 card at a loss, but like someone in the forums said a few weeks ago, selling at a loss is better than having warehouses of inventory going nowhere.

Oh and was the price drop of the gtx260 worth it for Nvidia? A few weeks ago I would have said, without a doubt, I would get a 4870 over a gtx260 because the gtx260 was high priced with similar performance. After the price drop to $300 I still would have chosen the 4870 because I respected ATI's ability to stamp out a high performing card with a company not exactly in their price. However with the gtx260 at a mere $280 with free shipping and from a reputable manufacture, and a card with good overclocking ability, these days I'm looking more and more toward Nvidia. The only reason why I would even consider the 4870 these days is because they have more aftermarket coolers compatible with the card allowing for lower temps and possibly higher oc.

 

[kadozer]

Wall of text unstealths and crits you for 3000hp.

Quite a few people cringe at just the thought of getting a Nvidia chipset motherboard even with an attractive gt280 pricetag for sli.

 

[magoo]

I'm hoping for 12 August......we'll see.

I could care less about nvidia these days. I've been a fan of SLi forever, but the unknown of the nvidia chipsets and the obvious price gouging has really done it for me.

Unless nvidia comes out with a real killer solution akin to the 8800 GTX, I'm staying with ATI and Intel based chipsets.....they are just much more stable systems in my experience.

 

[unrealsword]

Oh god I'm going to cry if it's not august 12. Want one so bad.

 

[RadXge]

I am also waiting for this card but I am not in a hurry.
If necessary, I will be ready to wait a few weeks in order to get a satisfying deal.

 

[SolidBladez]

This is what I'm looking for:

$550 + MIR ($40>)

I am probably not going to pay $550 straight up, usually a rebate of some sort will increase my interests... especially when 4-6 months pass and I look at the check thinking, "Now what is this for again?"

 

[known12345]

I am also waiting for this card but I am not in a hurry.
If necessary, I will be ready to wait a few weeks in order to get a satisfying deal.

I'm with you but get ready to wait longer if the rumor that the 55mm gtx200 series is coming out soon turns out to be true. =( Man I love competition but Jesus Christ too much competition means I'm waiting for nvidia and ATI to essentially gas out and stop releasing cards for atleast 4 months so that I am content that I wasn't ripped off!

 

[Zero82z]

This is what I'm looking for:

$550 + MIR ($40>)

I am probably not going to pay $550 straight up, usually a rebate of some sort will increase my interests... especially when 4-6 months pass and I look at the check thinking, "Now what is this for again?"

If the card is in fact released for $550, it won't stay that way for long. It'll have to go down to $500 or below in order to compete with the GTX280, which can already be had for less than $400 AR.