AMD increased the prices.
I know, i know. There was never a time a 7970 cost $549 and had crappy drivers, crappy performance and a 50% higher MSRP over the 6970.
:whiste:
You seem to have lost a sense of context. It makes no difference what HD7970 cost 12 months ago. We are in the year 2013 and Titan's price should be compared to today's cards prices, not some imaginary $549 price of 925mhz 7970 that sold on Jan 9th, 2012. 1Ghz 7970 is now selling for
$380 with
5 free games. Titan is 2.6x more expensive for less than 40% faster.
Here I'll do the math for you.
$499 (1 month from launch) GTX280 was 18% faster than $299 4870 ==> $11.11 for each 1% increase in performance
$499 GTX480 was 17% faster than $369 5870 ==> $7.65 for each 1% increase in performance
$499 GTX580 was 15% faster than $369 6970 ==> $8.67 for each 1% increase in performance
$999 Titan is barely 35% faster than a $430 1100mhz 7970 ==>
$15.83 for each 1% increase in performance.
If you calculate the per $ premium you paid for GTX280/480/580 over 4870/5870/6970 relative to 280/480/580's performance advantages, this is the
biggest price hike by NV in more than half a decade. :whiste:
This is not NV premium pricing. This is a straight up rip-off.