Price drop on ATI 4870 512mb/1GB

[thilanliyan]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/v...on_HD_4870_to_199.html

You can get the regular GTX 260 for the same price right now at Newegg I think.



Alright, this one has gone way downhill since last night, so I'm locking it down.

This thread started off fine...before the bickering by both sides about things unrelated to hardware pricing set in.

- AmberClad

 

[ronnn]

Hard to get people to part with their cash right now.

 

[Borealis7]

wont be that hard with me! 4870 for 200? where do i sign up?

sucks that i dont live in the US and cant order online...

 

[nosfe]

same here, i'm in a developing country so of course we can afford a 4870 for 333$ or a gtx 260 for 360$, i mean minimum wage around here is only about 200$ so its no problem, and then they do the same thing with the software and wonder why the piracy rate is so high

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: nosfe
same here, i'm in a developing country so of course we can afford a 4870 for 333$ or a gtx 260 for 360$, i mean minimum wage around here is only about 200$ so its no problem, and then they do the same thing with the software and wonder why the piracy rate is so high

The United States turned into a developing country

 

[MarcVenice]

Two HD4870's for $200 on newegg.com, and $190 AR. I wonder how long it will take for these prices to trickle down into other country's/continents.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: nosfe
same here, i'm in a developing country so of course we can afford a 4870 for 333$ or a gtx 260 for 360$, i mean minimum wage around here is only about 200$ so its no problem, and then they do the same thing with the software and wonder why the piracy rate is so high

Yes, I feel the pain - it's enough to drive you to sarcasm.

It's a Catch-22 situation, because of the low average wage there is a low demand for high-end hardware, so the vendor can't buy them in sufficient quantities to get discounts, so there are no margins of scale to pass on to the end buyer. So the market never develops beyond a few small traders (low volume, high prices).

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: thilan29
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/v...on_HD_4870_to_199.html

You can get the regular GTX 260 for the same price right now at Newegg I think.

158.00 actually with rebate and promo.

GTX260 in hot deals section

 

[MarcVenice]

Thats and with reabtes AND it's the gtx260 192. You have to admit the HD4870 512mb for 199$ from good vendors like HIS and Saphire is unbeatable right now ...

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Thats and with reabtes AND it's the gtx260 192. You have to admit the HD4870 512mb for 199$ from good vendors like HIS and Saphire is unbeatable right now ...

ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY EIGHT DOLLARS. Who cares how you get there. And the GTX 260 192 is dead even with the 4870.

Anything else?

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY EIGHT DOLLARS. Who cares how you get there. And the GTX 260 192 is dead even with the 4870.

Anything else?

If you bothered to read that thread keysplayr2003 you'd notice that the rebate isn't valid together with other promotions (not verified yet... hardly surprising considering you have to wait quite a lot for the rebate). So it leaves a coupon code (perhaps already expired...) + live.com cashback. 180$ (with promotions) vs 200$ (MSRP). Deals with coupons/MIR/etc are bound to happen for the Radeon too.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Qbah

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY EIGHT DOLLARS. Who cares how you get there. And the GTX 260 192 is dead even with the 4870.

Anything else?

If you bothered to read that thread keysplayr2003 you'd notice that the rebate isn't valid together with other promotions (not verified yet... hardly surprising considering you have to wait quite a lot for the rebate). So it leaves a coupon code (perhaps already expired...) + live.com cashback. 180$ (with promotions) vs 200$ (MSRP). Deals with coupons/MIR/etc are bound to happen for the Radeon too.

Qbah, like most hot deals, details will change, and promotions will expire. The final cost to a consumer is 178.xx. Still over 20.00 cheaper than a 4870 512.

Keep in mind, that I do know that 199.00 is an very good price for the 4870 512. Not even talking about the 4870 1GB model here.
The 192shader GTX260 896MB is just a better buy at this time. And deals on the 216 GTX260 are incredible right now as well. Some bundled with games.

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Qbah

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY EIGHT DOLLARS. Who cares how you get there. And the GTX 260 192 is dead even with the 4870.

Anything else?

If you bothered to read that thread keysplayr2003 you'd notice that the rebate isn't valid together with other promotions (not verified yet... hardly surprising considering you have to wait quite a lot for the rebate). So it leaves a coupon code (perhaps already expired...) + live.com cashback. 180$ (with promotions) vs 200$ (MSRP). Deals with coupons/MIR/etc are bound to happen for the Radeon too.

Qbah, like most hot deals, details will change, and promotions will expire. The final cost to a consumer is 178.xx. Still over 20.00 cheaper than a 4870 512.

Keep in mind, that I do know that 199.00 is an very good price for the 4870 512. Not even talking about the 4870 1GB model here.
The 192shader GTX260 896MB is just a better buy at this time. And deals on the 216 GTX260 are incredible right now as well. Some bundled with games.

Yes, that's a great deal. It would be nice to be more permanent, since that NewEgg card is with an instant -40$ "Weekend specials, while supplies last". So unless you buy it today at the latest, you're out of luck. Standard price is 239$. Now I didn't see the Radeons HD4870 for 199$ yet (not to mention I live in the EU ) but still, that makes a regular deal: 239$ vs 199$. Now tell me it's better to buy the GTX260

Also... There's a Sapphire HD4870 with a custom cooling for 189 after a 10$ MIR with the same "Weekend specials, while supplies last" (-50$) First one to pop out once browsing the 4870s with lowest price.

EDIT: Removed the link, it is not the Hot Deals forum

EDIT2: I guess the link is fine, so there
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102810

 

[Bateluer]

Amazing deal, I paid a hair over 300 for my 4870 512 shortly after its release. I'm tempted to buy a 4870 1GB, but I don't think the performance benefit would be worth it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Qbah
EDIT: Removed the link, it is not the Hot Deals forum

It's ok to post links to deals in other forums you know. It's not entirely off-topic to post a video card deal in video.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Qbah

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Qbah

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY EIGHT DOLLARS. Who cares how you get there. And the GTX 260 192 is dead even with the 4870.

Anything else?

If you bothered to read that thread keysplayr2003 you'd notice that the rebate isn't valid together with other promotions (not verified yet... hardly surprising considering you have to wait quite a lot for the rebate). So it leaves a coupon code (perhaps already expired...) + live.com cashback. 180$ (with promotions) vs 200$ (MSRP). Deals with coupons/MIR/etc are bound to happen for the Radeon too.

Qbah, like most hot deals, details will change, and promotions will expire. The final cost to a consumer is 178.xx. Still over 20.00 cheaper than a 4870 512.

Keep in mind, that I do know that 199.00 is an very good price for the 4870 512. Not even talking about the 4870 1GB model here.
The 192shader GTX260 896MB is just a better buy at this time. And deals on the 216 GTX260 are incredible right now as well. Some bundled with games.

Yes, that's a great deal. It would be nice to be more permanent, since that NewEgg card is with an instant -40$ "Weekend specials, while supplies last". So unless you buy it today at the latest, you're out of luck. Standard price is 239$. Now I didn't see the Radeons HD4870 for 199$ yet (not to mention I live in the EU ) but still, that makes a regular deal: 239$ vs 199$. Now tell me it's better to buy the GTX260

Also... There's a Sapphire HD4870 with a custom cooling for 189 after a 10$ MIR with the same "Weekend specials, while supplies last" (-50$) First one to pop out once browsing the 4870s with lowest price.

EDIT: Removed the link, it is not the Hot Deals forum

EDIT2: I guess the link is fine, so there
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102810

Even after all the semantics from you and I, your still comparing a 512MB card with a 896MB card with a bundled Far Cry 2. Still comparing one to the other? No brainer. Both with equal power, and trade blows with pricing. And, you know what time of year this is. There are, and will continue to be NUMEROUS sales and promotions to move all kinds of PC components.

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Amazing deal, I paid a hair over 300 for my 4870 512 shortly after its release. I'm tempted to buy a 4870 1GB, but I don't think the performance benefit would be worth it.

Yeah, it's great. I paid for my HD4870 512 2000DKK (that's ~345$ or 270?) on launch day in Denmark... And the cards cost a bit less now. The cheapest are for ~1700DKK - 290$ - which is still pretty nice compared to a GTX260 here - cheapest for 2000DKK - 345$.

And those prices are very low compared to not some long ago... I paid 3500DKK for my X1950XTX - 600$ !

 

[chizow]

Wonder why they didn't drop the price of the 4870X2 also, it falls way behind in terms of price to performance now.

Good prices though, looks like they're matching NV's drops from a few weeks ago. Would definitely recommend the 1GB version for $30 more if you're buying new. Plenty of reviews out there showing significant benefit from the extra VRAM even as low as 1680!

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Even after all the semantics from you and I, your still comparing a 512MB card with a 896MB card with a bundled Far Cry 2. Still comparing one to the other? No brainer. Both with equal power, and trade blows with pricing. And, you know what time of year this is. There are, and will continue to be NUMEROUS sales and promotions to move all kinds of PC components.

We could argue till we're both blue in the face but won't convince one another You tend to forget that the extra RAM does squat for the GTX260 in every imaginable valid setting (ie. the Radeon pushing 5FPS compared to 7FPS on the GTX260 doesn't make it a worse card ). That has been shown in every review comparing both cards. And the MSI GTX260 bundle doesn't say it has FarCry 2... where did you read that? They mention FarCry 2 in regards to a different card from eVGA which they don't even link.

Anyway - holiday time - a win for the customer. A lot of hot deals around. All one has to do is look around. Just wish the prices would drop here in the EU as they do in US...

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Qbah

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Even after all the semantics from you and I, your still comparing a 512MB card with a 896MB card with a bundled Far Cry 2. Still comparing one to the other? No brainer. Both with equal power, and trade blows with pricing. And, you know what time of year this is. There are, and will continue to be NUMEROUS sales and promotions to move all kinds of PC components.

We could argue till we're both blue in the face but won't convince one another You tend to forget that the extra RAM does squat for the GTX260 in every imaginable valid setting (ie. the Radeon pushing 5FPS compared to 7FPS on the GTX260 doesn't make it a worse card ). That has been shown in every review comparing both cards. And the MSI GTX260 bundle doesn't say it has FarCry 2... where did you read that? They mention FarCry 2 in regards to a different card from eVGA which they don't even link.

Anyway - holiday time - a win for the customer. A lot of hot deals around. All one has to do is look around. Just wish the prices would drop here in the EU as they do in US...

Can't turn on AA in FarCry2 with 512MB 4870 at 1920x1200 without getting terrible performance (borderline unplayable) because the min fps drops below acceptable levels. This is with everything maxed out in DX10. The 1GB part can enable 4x aa and get a mim/avg/max fps of 32/51/41.3 compared to the 512MB card's 33/62/50.8 with 0xAA/16xAF. By comparason the original GTX260 has 4xAA/16xAF with maxed settings in dx10 running 32/48/40 min/max/avg. The GTX260 C216 has 4xAA/16xAF with 33/40/41.9. So yes the extra memory does help at "valid settings" and these settings are valid. It's a playable game and a good experience at 1920x1200 in FC2.

http://hardocp.com/article.htm...wzLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

Now lets examine Fallout 3 1920x1200 with everything in the game at it's highest setting again it's min/max/avg fps.

GTX260 c216 4xAA/16xAF 24/76/51.3
GTX260 c192 4xAA/16xAF 25/63/50.1
4870 512MB 4xAA/16xAF 21/63/48.7
4870 1GB 8xAA/16xAF 20/63/48.4

http://hardocp.com/article.htm...w1LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

Compare the 2 scores for the 512MB and 1GB card. With the 1GB card you average the same FPS with 8xAA vs only 4x for the 512MB card. The GTX260 cards are pretty even, and 8xAA dropped performance below what was deemed acceptable.

Whatever you think of hardocp doesn't matter really, they're the only site I can find that does these types of comparasons. Turning details on in the game, and AA/AF on for the cards, and comparing the highest settings that were smooth and playable. They obviously tried 8xAA on the 512MB card but noted it was too slow to enjoy the game with.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Qbah

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Even after all the semantics from you and I, your still comparing a 512MB card with a 896MB card with a bundled Far Cry 2. Still comparing one to the other? No brainer. Both with equal power, and trade blows with pricing. And, you know what time of year this is. There are, and will continue to be NUMEROUS sales and promotions to move all kinds of PC components.

We could argue till we're both blue in the face but won't convince one another You tend to forget that the extra RAM does squat for the GTX260 in every imaginable valid setting (ie. the Radeon pushing 5FPS compared to 7FPS on the GTX260 doesn't make it a worse card ). That has been shown in every review comparing both cards. And the MSI GTX260 bundle doesn't say it has FarCry 2... where did you read that? They mention FarCry 2 in regards to a different card from eVGA which they don't even link.

Anyway - holiday time - a win for the customer. A lot of hot deals around. All one has to do is look around. Just wish the prices would drop here in the EU as they do in US...

You and I also know that I was not referring to framerate, but smoothness of play in some games that were noted across the web. Stuttering due to lack of framebuffer might miff a few gamers here and there. Wouldn't you agree? Especially those that play at higher res and eye candy. It all takes up buffer, and you'll run out of it a lot sooner with a 4870 512 than you would a GTX260 896. That is common sense.

And again, semantics. If you would only look a bit better and take some initiative, you'd see several BFG and eVGA models (stock and overclocked alike) offer a bundled game. Either Alone in the Dark, or FarCry2. One for as low as 229.00 with FarCry2 included. And considering FarCry2 is approximiately a 40.00 game, that is quite nice. I can only assume you meant to understand me in your own fashion stating that I was hinting that the 178.00 dollar GTX260 came with a bundled game. It does not. But the ones that do reflect how cheap the cards are going for in order to include FarCry2 for 229.00. Not too shabby.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Qbah
You tend to forget that the extra RAM does squat for the GTX260 in every imaginable valid setting (ie. the Radeon pushing 5FPS compared to 7FPS on the GTX260 doesn't make it a worse card ). That has been shown in every review comparing both cards.

I don't know, I can imagine a situation where that 512MB VRAM makes the 4870 look very much like one of the lower-end parts with only 512MB VRAM.

PCGH Fallout 3 Review

Even at 1680 and 4xAA there's significant difference between the 512MB 4870 and the 1GB 4870/GTX 260. Translated to actual gameplay, the lack of stuttering and texture swapping will equate to a smoother experience that a simple FPS graph can't really convey. Plenty of other reviews showing this as well, PCGH is great in this regards because they update content so frequently with the newest games, hardware and drivers.

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Compare the 2 scores for the 512MB and 1GB card. With the 1GB card you average the same FPS with 8xAA vs only 4x for the 512MB card. The GTX260 cards are pretty even, and 8xAA dropped performance below what was deemed acceptable.

Whatever you think of hardocp doesn't matter really, they're the only site I can find that does these types of comparasons. Turning details on in the game, and AA/AF on for the cards, and comparing the highest settings that were smooth and playable. They obviously tried 8xAA on the 512MB card but noted it was too slow to enjoy the game with.

You got me there with FarCry2. Clearly 512 is not enough in this case for 1920x1200 and AAx4. But then again, there are issues with the Radeons and FC2, perhaps the lower RAM adds to that? But obviously, that would speak for the GTX260.

As for the Fallou2 scores, where are those from? Also, you didn't show the score for the 1GB with AAx4. Perhaps the Radeons tend to get lower min FPS in that game in general?

As for HardOCP, they usually add an "apples-to-apples" section now, with regular comparisons. Never had a problem with their reviews anyway.

Finally, I find arguing about 20 bucks in a 200-300$ investment pretty moot. Not to mention putting arguments like 5$ difference (not here, just in general). You go out once, grab a few beers, smoke a pack of cigs and leave like 80$ in the bar... Yet you cannot spend 20$ more for something that will last you for months if not years?

Unless someone is 15 years old and doesn't drink or smoke

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: thilan29
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/v...on_HD_4870_to_199.html

You can get the regular GTX 260 for the same price right now at Newegg I think.

158.00 actually with rebate and promo.

GTX260 in hot deals section

This is a good deal. I almost pulled the trigger on it... But then I remembered the difference between a want and need, at least in relationship to my definition of the words. Anyway, this is a killer deal.

The 4870 range of cards seem to be losing apeal to myself.. The whole Far Cry 2 thing has be a bit dissapointed in general. Everyone knows I dislike nVidia as a company, but as a product, I do have to say that I *think* based upon my self admitted limited knowledge, that nVidia graphics cards seem to far more consistent than ATI's offerings. Which is a shame, because right I need ATI to do well. I need AMD to do well... We ALL need them to do well. Just my random thoughts... Sorry, I don't want to argue.

To clarify what I mean in regard to consistency is that in benchmark, you have the ATI cards sometimes doing some very wonderful things. When they fly, they really fly! But they don't fly often enough. nVidia seems to be more stable all around in all games and benchmarks. And again, this isn't an absolutest statement from me, it is what I have observed these past few months. With that said, I think both the 4870 512MB and the GTX260 192SP are great cards. I don't think anyone would be dissapointed with either.

 

[solofly]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I don't think anyone would be dissapointed with either.

Im actually disappointed with the outdated tech from Nvdia, nothing new in over 2 years and the next round doesn`t look any different...