Print this page
There is no doubt that AMD's HD 5000 series Evergreens are the hottest cards available today, but this also seems to be their undoing to some extent. It's been just over a month since AMD introduced the first Evergreen cards, so we decided to take a look at availability and pricing in major European markets.
Sadly, even a month on, it is still not easy to get an HD 5870 and the situation is even worse if you're after the HD 5850, which offers better value for money. Our price search engine only picks up seven shops with HD 5870 cards in stock, and if this wasn't bad enough, the lowest list price is €389. The HD 5850 shows up in even less stores, at even worse prices, from €299 to €399. Some shops are still listing it for under €200, but you just can't get one at such tempting prices.
It's somewhat easier to get hold of Juniper cards. The HD 5750 is available at a couple of dozen shops. Prices are good, ranging from €115 to around €130. The beefier HD 5770 is even easier to find, and prices start €139, which sounds like a pretty good deal. The HD 5700 is simply the most sensible choice if you're looking for a future proof card but don't want to spend a fortune on 5800 cards or Fermi.
In the US, it's just as hard to find any 5800s, and the same goes for HD 5700 series cards, so we won't even talk about North American pricing.
AMD still has a strong lead on Nvidia, as there's little to no chance that the green team will manage to ship its Fermi based DirectX 11 products in volume by the end of the year. However, AMD doesn't seem to be exploiting its advantage as it just can't cope with demand. Although Q4 will be very bad for Nvidia, it won't be as good as it could have been for AMD's graphics division either as it is failing to capitalize its lead.
Published in
Graphics
HD 5800 series still facing availability issues
One month into sales
There is no doubt that AMD's HD 5000 series Evergreens are the hottest cards available today, but this also seems to be their undoing to some extent. It's been just over a month since AMD introduced the first Evergreen cards, so we decided to take a look at availability and pricing in major European markets.
Sadly, even a month on, it is still not easy to get an HD 5870 and the situation is even worse if you're after the HD 5850, which offers better value for money. Our price search engine only picks up seven shops with HD 5870 cards in stock, and if this wasn't bad enough, the lowest list price is €389. The HD 5850 shows up in even less stores, at even worse prices, from €299 to €399. Some shops are still listing it for under €200, but you just can't get one at such tempting prices.
It's somewhat easier to get hold of Juniper cards. The HD 5750 is available at a couple of dozen shops. Prices are good, ranging from €115 to around €130. The beefier HD 5770 is even easier to find, and prices start €139, which sounds like a pretty good deal. The HD 5700 is simply the most sensible choice if you're looking for a future proof card but don't want to spend a fortune on 5800 cards or Fermi.
In the US, it's just as hard to find any 5800s, and the same goes for HD 5700 series cards, so we won't even talk about North American pricing.
AMD still has a strong lead on Nvidia, as there's little to no chance that the green team will manage to ship its Fermi based DirectX 11 products in volume by the end of the year. However, AMD doesn't seem to be exploiting its advantage as it just can't cope with demand. Although Q4 will be very bad for Nvidia, it won't be as good as it could have been for AMD's graphics division either as it is failing to capitalize its lead.