Interesting, here in the EU the price change is not in effect when I checked yesterday and this morning, but over in the USA there are clear signs of a price drop for the Radeon R9 290X. If you look at NewEgg you'll notice for example the Radeon R9 290X GAMING 4GB for 299 USD and GIGABYTE WindForce GV-R929XOC-4GD Radeon R9 290X 4GB for as low as 279 USD ! The prices are after 20 USD rebate, but there is something going on alright. http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/nvidia-users-walk-to-amd-r9-290x-offered-at-279-usd-now.html
I like this idea because Nvidia did something stupid which they are paying the price for. Well I checked prices on Newegg and its still around $340ish and the only card for around 300 would be the Gigabyte r9 290x. I hope they cut down the prices for the r9 290s as well because any one with 1 r9 290 can get a 2nd card for Xfire and that would beat out a single gtx 970.
LOL - that's actually very smart on their part. Even though I won't part with my 970s I think this is a smart move on AMD's part.
Just because AIB's are lowering their prices, doesn't necessarily mean retailers are going to pass it on to consumers.
For $100 savings with no catches I would. I had a chance to get a 290X and save $70 but that's after a $100 rebate which may never arrive... so I didn't take it.
I'm a bit surprised since the price drop isn't major (you could get a 290X 4GB for just above €320 here already), but it's the next one, they already lowered prices a few weeks ago iirc. Of course it is a smart move, everything increasing sales for amd is a good thing, helps them boost revenue, lower stocks on those 290/Xs, increase market share, and help to get mantle to even broader use. It's just that I'm not that surprised by it after all that 970 buzz
Yes, Lisa Su told us that AMD is clearing supply channel, since they had too much goods there and storing it costs money while products there age and value diminish. It is not bad idea to simply lower prices and have investment return sooner. Because with next generation performance, prices of today's HW may drop even more. They take trend till now and predict how much they will sell at price set before new stuff is here. Then calculate what is remaining value of products in supply chain they will drop in price afterwards. And if they see that selling directly at lower price brings more money in house, then it is right decision. And I would say that we are far from saturating high end/enthusiast market demands. There are people who want very high fps with only one GPU on 1440p. And people who want constant 55-60fps at 4k with 2-way SLi/CF. GPUs capable to fill that role will sell like crazy.
Purely your decision. Do you have use for that $100? Do you rather give money to AMD or nVidia? Did you intend to go SLi/CF? With 100$ savings per GPU, you are nearly at 3x 290x at price of 2 970. (I guess you may as you have quite some Watts at your PSU.)