Update 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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  • CeriseCogburn - Thursday, October 11, 2012 - link

    urr link blinky

    nVidia market share last year, 58.4 %, UP this Q, 59.3%

    amd loser share last year, 41.2 %, down this Q, 40.3 %

    nVidia gained, amd lost

    LOL it's off the link you just gave, it's exactly there it's the chart...

    http://www.techpowerup.com/171198/Graphics-Add-in-...

    Yeah, the amd sure kicked butt.... ROFL
  • HibyPrime1 - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    I bought a 7850 1GB 2 days ago, it hasn't even arrived yet
  • Patflute - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    Why wouldn't you pay $10 to double the amount of VRAM?
  • HibyPrime1 - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    Because I figure by the time games come out that need >1gb vram, I'll have to lower the resolution for playable frame rates anyway.

    The card will probably be completely obsolete by the time you need more than 1GB vram at 720p
  • HibyPrime1 - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    I probably should add that there are games out with pretty graphics that can eat up more than 1GB from, I was only referring to the games I play not needing it
  • sorten - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    I find that if you buy the latest and greatest video card two years after its introduction you can get really great deals.

    Just kidding, but right now I'm playing a couple of DirectX 9 games (including Borderlands 2) and not feeling much pressure to upgrade.
  • Patflute - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    Pretty sure its DX11...
  • gibb3h - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    dx9 according to the EXE...
  • Kjella - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    I generally considering huge early price drops to be a sign that people aren't willing to pay what you wanted, so you have to slash prices to boost sales. It might please the ones getting the lower price but it angers the people who bought a $450 card early this year and it's retailing for $310 now and it'll likely slow sales of the next generation - why buy it full price when you can get it for much less a few months later. I read a similar comparison with CPUs recently, AMD had slashed prices lots while Intel still charged almost the same as at launch - I don't think anyone thought that was an advantage for AMD. In fact, their stock has been tanking recently...
  • Belard - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link

    Shouldn't it be "AMD reduced the prices on most HD-7000 series video cards"?

    Question, is the 1GB 7850 any slower than the 2GB model?

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