Will Nvidia be cutting prices soon? New PC Build Quandry

[AravanLandorin]

Hey Folks,

As the world turns, so do our computers die! My motherboard in my desktop finally gave out 3 weeks ago after 4 years. I had been looking at upgrading for a few months, but I just haven't had the funds until now. I am building a budget gaming rig and looking at purchasing all of the components around November 1st. I was wondering if anyone has heard whether Nvidia is going to be dropping the price on their GTX275/285 cards in response to the release of the 5850. Newegg and other sites are finally shipping the ATI 5850's, so as of right now, I can see no reason why anyone would pay $320 for a GTX285 vs $260 for the 5850. On the same front, $220 for a GTX275 just doesn't meet the price/performance when $40 bucks more gets you the 5850.

I have a total of about $1200 dollars and would like to squeeze in Windows 7 to my purchase. To do that, I was looking at buying a GTX275 once the price dropped. I was estimating that it would need to drop down to around $180 and the GTX285 would need to drop to around $230. I just don't see the GTX285 being able to warrant a price tag of $240 or more when the 5850 outperforms it in a majority of games and comes with EyeFinity and DX11 support.

If Nvidia hasn't dropped the prices by the time I make my purchase, then I will be foregoing Windows 7 in exchange for an ATI 5850 and will pick up a copy of Windows 7 for Christmas. I will be going with a P55 motherboard and a Core I5 750 which I plan on overclocking to 4Ghz. This will be a single GPU build, so worries about CrossFireX and SLI don't apply for me. Any info or suggestions on what I should do? Play the wait and see game and hope the prices drop by November 1st? I really want to have my system built and ready to go for Modern Warfare 2.

 

[BenSkywalker]

It is possible that the prices will see some movement, but I wouldn't really count on it.

The amount of boards they are selling is still too high, and they are going to be dropping the SKUs soon to make room for their DX11 parts. The only way they are really going to be making any real move with their prices is if their volume drops down far enough where they fear they aren't going to have a decent flush on the channels prior to Fermi hitting.

 

[v8envy]

I'm afraid that you'll need to pay a price premium if you want PhysX and CUDA as opposed to DX11 and DirectCompute. NV partners are already bleeding money on producing those high end cards according to some less-than-reliable sources, so their ability and interest in competing on price is limited.

At the moment the 4890 and 5850 are two local maximums for price/performance. You would opt for the NV solutions if you have a very specific need -- and specific needs justify higher prices.

 

[BladeVenom]

From what I've read, it doesn't sound like they are going to be cutting prices anytime soon.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Right now the GTX275, 285, and 295 just don't make sense at their current prices, yet it seems like Nvidia isn't going to adjust them.

 

[Schmide]

Nothing makes sense to buy right now. It's the lull before the holiday sales.

 

[RussianSensation]

Even in some of today's games like Batteforge and HAWX GTX275 already can't keep up once 4890 enables DX10.1.

I say you just put another $50 and get the 5850 over GTX275 or 4890 at $170.

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Even in some of today's games like Batteforge and HAWX GTX275 already can't keep up once 4890 enables DX10.1.

I say you just put another $50 and get the 5850 over GTX275 or 4890 at $170.

+1

Both cards seem like bargains against the cards they compete with.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: SlowSpyder
Right now the GTX275, 285, and 295 just don't make sense at their current prices, yet it seems like Nvidia isn't going to adjust them.

Unfortunately, neither do the 5750 or 5770.

 

[v8envy]

Originally posted by: s44
Unfortunately, neither do the 5750 or 5770.

Major difference being: nv doesn't have a lot of pricing wiggle room, while the 5770 should have plenty of pricing cussion. Since the major difference between the 5750 and 5770 is the GPU core and cooling it would be reasonable to expect 5770s at the 5750's MSRP and even below shortly.

We may see $100 rebated, hot deal 5770s before the end of this year. I wouldn't hold your breath for the same on the 260.

 

[blckgrffn]

Isn't the speculation that the 5770 die size is half of that of the 48xx series? If that is true, could we not expect them at the same prices (or less) once the 48xx inventory dries up? $100 (and lower) for a 4850 seems to have been the going rate for a while now, so the 5770 at that price should have a better return to AMD. I think the issue is what do you use to fill the gap between the 5770 and 5850? Keeping the 4890/4870 around doesn't seem to make much sense... are we going to see a big push down when the x2's launch on the 58xx series cards?

Nat