http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...on%20HD%205850
More than half of the HD 5850 SKU's are between the $200.00 and $300.00 price mark, and the HD 5830 issue isn't only its impotence, its the fact that previous generations of nVidia/AMD hardware performer very well. I do expect that the HD 6770 price launch will be $199 unfortunately...
Come on now, those 5850s are all priced well over $250, and most of them are $275 (after rebates/discounts) or more, with many still well over $300. Just because there are plenty of people on these forums that try their hardest to push for one company over another and spread FUD doesn't mean you have to "fight fire with fire".
It's all about price/performance and it all comes down to the fact that we're still on 40nm. AMD has been forced into a position where they have to try and deliver higher performance on the same process, so unless the 6700s are going to be little to no faster than the 5700s they're bound to be bigger and more expensive (along with faster).
You're still hugging a pipe dream that 6700 automatically means ~$100-200 range. But, just like the early hopes and dreams that the 5800s would somehow be priced $199 and $299 just like the 4800s, things change and its all about price/performance and market competition.
Its certainly possible that the 6700s occupy the same spot that the 5700s do, but the rumors of a 256bit bus suggests they'll be higher performing parts that would justify higher prices.
But this isn't the same situation as the 5700s vs. the 4800s. 55nm -> 40nm + GDDR3/256bit -> GDDR5/128bit meant the 5700s were going to offer 4800 level performance do it for cheap. 40nm with a larger die size for the 6700s + 256bit means the 6700s will more than likely occupy a higher price bracket.
And not to get too far off topic, as the performance of the GTS450 suggests, AMD has little reason to put out a faster 6700 for 5700 prices when the 5700 look like they already hold their own against the GTS450. What they don't have an answer for is the GTX460, and thus I would fully expect the 6700s to fill that gap and even possibly encroach on the 5800s.
Also your point doesn't make much sense, because if AMD prices the HD 6770 around $200-$300, how much do you expect AMD will charge for an HD 6850/HD 6870.
What doesn't make sense? If the 6800's are still on 40nm and they're going to be larger/faster chips than the 5800s then its reasonable to assume they're going to be priced higher, just like the 5850 and 5870 were priced higher than the 4850 and 4870.
but again we're still going on a ton of rumor and hearsay, I could be wrong and AMD might have found a way to drastically improve efficiency allowing them to release parts that perform better with the same resources and thus can be priced at the same levels...but I'm not going to hold my breath.