Radeon HD 7850 Prices Fall Again
by Ryan Smith on October 5, 2012 12:00 PM ESTUpdate 10/07: AMD sent us a clarification this morning stating that they were not the ones responsible for the recent reduction in 7850 prices, bur rather that it was a result of the "natural economics that are governing the channel, promotions and agressive pricing that the ecosystem is driving on its own". While we typically take what AMD says at face value, it's hard to imagine partners are able to undercut AMD's MSRP by $20+ on a sub-$200 part if AMD has not changed the prices they're charging their partners.
AMD’s initial launch prices for the Radeon HD 7000 series were not well received by the thrifty. But as AMD has since discovered, starting high means you can make a big deal of price cuts, and that’s exactly what they’ve been doing for roughly the past 6 months. Through a few different rounds of publically announced price cuts on the 7900, 7800, and 7700 series, AMD has not only improved their competitive positioning versus NVIDIA and their old products alike, but has also quickly won favor with a budget-conscientious public.
It should come as no surprise then that AMD is continuing this campaign of public price cuts this fall with yet another round of price cuts. As part of AMD‘s preparations for future events AMD’s cheaper 7800 series card, the Radeon HD 7850, is receiving an all-but-official price cut to shore up the card’s competitive positioning.
| Fall 2012 Radeon HD 7000 Series Price Cuts | |||||||
| Card | Launch Price | Spring MSRP | Late Summer MSRP | Fall Retail Price | |||
| Radeon HD 7970GE | $499 | N/A | $499 | $449 | |||
| Radeon HD 7970 | $549 | $479 | $429 | $399 | |||
| Radeon HD 7950 | $449 | $399 | $319 | $309 | |||
| Radeon HD 7870 | $349 | $349 | $249 | $239 | |||
| Radeon HD 7850 2GB | $249 | $249 | $209 | $189 | |||
| Radeon HD 7850 1GB | N/A | N/A | $199 | $169 | |||
| Radeon HD 7770 | $159 | $139 | $119 | $119 | |||
| Radeon HD 7750 | $109 | $109 | $99 | $99 | |||
For this latest round of cuts AMD is reducing prices on the 7850 by a further $20, putting the market price on the 2GB 7850 at around $189. Meanwhile the largely neglected 1GB 7850 has also seen its market price come down to what’s best called a very rough $169, with individual SKU prices being relatively scattered due to the very small number of SKUs on the market (4, up for 2 a week ago). As with prior cuts the 2GB 7850 will remain as AMD’s primary 7850, with the less common 1GB model covering a specific niche for AMD.
These latest cuts follow AMD’s last round of price cuts in August, where between the launches of the GeForce GTX 660 Ti and GTX 660 we saw the 7870 move from $299 to $249 and the 2GB 7850 move from $239 to $209. Unlike past cuts though these new prices are technically not going to be MSRPs – AMD is making sure not to call them that – but the end result is much the same. Using market prices allows AMD to quote a number that more closely reflects the price of basic feature cards, which in the case of the 7850 have typically undercut the official MSRP by $10.
Source: AMD
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Ryan Smith - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link
"Question, is the 1GB 7850 any slower than the 2GB model?"Yes, there is a tangible difference in games that can burn through more than 1GB of VRAM. Otherwise the two are identical.
KineticHummus - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
If only playing at 1920x1080, and knowing I dont play bf3, would only 1GB be limiting me in most games? Im not sure which games would use more than that at my resolution. Or does card that pretty much only cater to the people who game at 1280x720RussianSensation - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7850...I would imagine 1GB would become a factor in next generation games or if you play Shogun 2, Skyrim with mods.
Early benchmark leaks show GTX650Ti trailing substantially to the 7850 in performance. If HD7850 2GB is dropping to $189 MSRP, I do not think it will be long before you can find one for $160-165 after rebates. Right now Newegg has two HD7850 2GB cards for $185 after rebates and HD7870 for $195 (PowerColor PCS+).
The other small perk of HD7850 is that it has good overclocking headroom that allows it to reach GTX580 level of performance. $185 for 7850 2GB that can hit the performance level of a $499 GTX580 about 2 years since GTX580 came out is good progress. Too bad it took 8 months for these price drops to happen since NV decided to delay its entire low- and mid-range desktop 28nm lineup by 6-8 months.
Belard - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
Found a small benchmark review between two 7850s running at the same clock rate in which the 1GB card was a bit faster than the 2GB version in 1920x1200.RussianSensation - Sunday, October 7, 2012 - link
Hi Ryan, I think while the new price for 7850 1GB is $169, AIBs will be offering rebates to bring it down to $159:http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/graphics/display/2012...
So I think it's $169, and for those who want to offer rebates, $159 MSRP:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
bitterman0 - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link
It is truly a pity to see 7850 to drop below $200 (where it really belonged from the start) because of AMD's brain-dead policy to not support Windows Server in its Catalyst drivers since 10.x (don't recall the exact version, but still remember the time when the support was there). I guess, less aggravation with drivers is worth the extra $20 to get a comparable card from Nvidia.Alexvrb - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link
OK first off, the 7850 used to cost more because it was almost unchallenged in the mid-range. Nvidia was pitting last gen cards against it until very recently, so even at those higher prices it was not a bad deal - and benchmarks backed this up. As Nvidia eventually launched some Keplers in this range, AMD dropped prices as necessary. This is completely normal and happens every generation.Second, why would a box running Windows Server need a 7850? I can maybe see a case for a FirePro, which *has* unified drivers for Server 2008. But a gaming card? Windows 7.
CeriseCogburn - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
AMD is a greedy fat corporate pig who only cares about how many more millions they can stuff in their fattened criminal executive pockets.They scalp all you punks then you bow down and kiss it.
just4U - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - link
lol... thoughts on Nvidia? (especially around their pricing of the 560TI)medi01 - Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - link
They are pigs, unless you compare it to much bigger pigs, the nVidia.