In what could be a serious blow to AMD's R700 dreams as the company struggles to survive, NVIDIA could be working out another price-slash for the GeForce GTX 200 series, signs of which are already surfacing. You can get a GeForce GTX 280 for US $440. American e-tailer Newegg has already put several brands' GeForce GTX 280 on shelves for $440 (listed here), lower than the launch-price of the GeForce GTX 260.
Implications are:
* This paves the way for a 'GeForce GTX 280 Extreme', a new model which has been put on pre-order on British website OCUK (covered here).
* While board partners seemed displeased at the current market trend with the GTX 200 series (covered here), all of a sudden, they are all offering price-cuts. Could NVIDIA be subsidizing these products, given that some reports suggest poor reception of these products in the North American markets?
* Assuming the R700 comes in at around $499 and $549, it loses badly to the GTX 280 at its newest price on both fronts of price/performance and performance per Watt.
* No price-cuts for GTX 260 have been noted, showing this cut is very much specific to the GTX 280, serves two purposes: 1. Phasing out the 65nm parts, 2. striking R700 when it hurts the most, during launch.
* While NVIDIA has the resources to maintain the leadership of GeForce GTX 200 (by affording to slash prices), AMD doesn't.
Although the new $440 price tag looks tempting, you could wait for the R700 to launch, following which a more informed decision on your part could be made.
http://www.techpowerup.com/66174/R700_Launch_in_for_Wet-Weather_GTX_280_Slash_Coming_Up.html