I was checking GPU prices as I occasionally do and I found some very interesting discoveries. Both the R9 290X and R9 290 are widely available at $329 and $269 respectively. We’ve checked Amazon.com as well and the pricing seems consistent with what we’ve found on newegg. That’s considerably cheaper than the initial price reductions we reported on a few weeks back. In fact you can buy a custom cooled XFX R9 290X from Newegg for $299 after a $30 rebate. To put that into perspective, that’s a level of performance you had to pay one thousand dollars for last year.

The R9 290X is now $70 less expensive than it was just a few weeks ago. And a whopping $220 less expensive than when it was first introduced. The R9 290 is more affordable as well, exactly $30 cheaper than it was at the beginning of the AIB promotions a few weeks ago and $130 less expensive than its original launch MSRP.

AMD Just Made The High End More Attractive, Puts Pressure On Nvidia

Nvidia initially put pressure on AMD by positioning the GTX 970 at $330. Which makes this whole situation much more amusing. Because it’s AMD now that’s exerting pressure on Nvidia with the new pricing structure. The fact that Nvidia has been having supply issues with the GTX 900 series makes things even more complicated.

Between the $330 GTX 970 and the $220 GTX 760 sits a $110 gap. A gap that occupies the mainstream discrete graphics segment. A segment that’s four times larger than the $300+ high end segment according to market analysts.

Unfortunately for Nvidia this segment is currently a mess. It’s occupied by a three graphics cards, none of which is actually worth the money. The GTX 760 4GB, GTX 770 2GB and GTX 770 4GB. These are three graphics cards which have suddenly been made completely irrelevant by the new R9 290 positioning. Amusingly just as the GTX 970 made both the R9 290X and R9 290 irrelevant at $550 and $400 when it was first introduced at $330.

The R9 290 is unquestionably the fastest card in this segment and by a very significant margin. At $269 it has also become just as affordable if not more affordable than the alternatives in this segment.

Read more: http://wccftech.com/amd-r9-290x-290-nvidia-gtx-980-970/#ixzz3IG1eJrwU

I need to upgraded my outdated PC. This might be a good choice thanks to the price drop! I'll definitely need a better PSU as well if I want a 290 though.

I was thinking of waiting for the GTX 960 though, and wouldn't need a new PSU and cooling solution for that.