AMD Radeon R9 290X price still inflated, but only in North America

[Scorpus]

If you've headed to a retailer recently in the hopes of purchasing one of AMD's high-end graphics cards, you may have discovered the prices have rocketed above what was set at launch. While the Radeon R9 290X's price was set at $550 when the card launched, retailers such as Amazon are currently selling the card as high as $800: a price hike of $250, or 45%.

At one point, Newegg listed the R9 290X at a whopping $900, however the retailer has since responded to price inflation pressure and reduced the price slightly. They're selling the card for $699, which is still a whole $150 over the recommended retail price.

It's not just the R9 290X either, with the Radeon R9 290 costing at least $600 (up $200, or 50%) at some retailers, and the R9 280X - essentially a re-branded HD 7970 from two years ago - going for around $500 (also up $200 from its $300 launch price).

The people to blame for such ridiculous GPU prices are cryptocurrency miners, who are using AMD graphics cards for the work as they have the best price-to-performance ratio, even in spite of price hikes. Miners are hoping that with the one-off purchase of an $800 card like the R9 290X, eventually they will make back that money from the coins earned through mining and start to turn a profit.

However for PC gamers, AMD's high-end cards are simply too expensive to justify. Nvidia's GeForce GTX 780 Ti is marginally faster than the Radeon R9 290X, yet retails for around $700, or $100 less than AMD's competitor. The GTX 780 at just over $500 is also around $100 cheaper than the R9 290, and the $350 GTX 770 can be had for $150 less than the R9 280X.

Interestingly, AMD graphics card prices seem to have only been inflated in North America. Here in Australia, it's easy to find an R9 290X for AU$590 before tax (~US$535) or an R9 290 for AU$455 before tax (~US$410). Similar prices can also be found in the UK market, where the R9 290X retails for £335 excluding VAT (~US$560).

It's rare to see PC hardware costing more in North America than internationally, especially with such wide margins. Let's hope the cryptocurrency mining scene calms down so gamers can return to buying graphics cards at their suggested retail prices.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/55689-amd-radeon-r9-290x-price-still-inflated-but-only-in-north-america.html

 

[VitalyT]

"Only those lucky to get in early will profit" - is the core notion of a financial pyramid, where currency mining fits in perfectly. Sad to see IT folks making most of those panders, but I guess being a techie doesn't pay to understand financial scams.

 

[Eddo22]

Why are miners to blame for high prices? Greedy sellers are just trying to make an extra buck if you ask me.

 

[EEatGDL]

Here in Mexico the R9 290 4GB costs $5,830 MXN before tax (~USD $432) and I was surprised when I saw the price in Amazon.

 

[Relic]

This crazy mining price inflation isn't only hitting the high end; AMD’s midrange lineup is unfortunately also being hammered. The R9 270 & R9 270X retailed at an MSRP of $179 & $199. They are currently sitting at $250 - $260 and $300 - $320 respectively, which is insane, and almost in line with their original MSRP when these cards launched in 2012 as the 7850/7870 ($250/$350).

It’s a bad time to be a PC gamer looking for a GPU upgrade, as AMD’s price-to-performance ratio is out the window and Nvidia is your only realistic option.

 

[richalone442]

Doesn't AMD have the ability to rain in these retailers, this is plain and simple price gouging. AMD could and should just sell the GPUs directly from their warehouses at the suggested retail prices and cut the throats of the gougers. I will wait until the prices come way down before I buy one of these GPUs, or I might just order it overseas and save a bunch, I will have to pay more and wait a bit on shipping though. People that pay more the the Suggested Retail Price are either stupid or just have more money than brains.

 

[Guest]

Its basic economics. Its not about AMD being greedy. Since demand is larger than supply it drives the prices up. This is so it can cool down the demand so that AMD 's supply can keep up with demand.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I still have an XFX HD6670 I have never even installed yet. Can somebody tell me the exact features that these graphics cards use for this crypto-mining process? Does the HD6670 have these features that would inflate its worth?

 

[dividebyzero]

I still have an XFX HD6670 I have never even installed yet. Can somebody tell me the exact features that these graphics cards use for this crypto-mining process?

Mining on a GPU is basically an integer (shift) function. AMD's architectures are prioritized for this.

Does the HD6670 have these features that would inflate its worth?

No. It will mine, but mining worth is governed by performance per watt and the overall hashing rate. While performance per watt might be acceptable, expending a PCI-E slot for the 6670's productivity makes it a marginal product. I presume from the way you phrased your question you're looking to resell the card, so it depends on what you paid for it. Newegg's only in stock 6670 is $55 -also an XFX (after MIR).

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Mining on a GPU is basically an integer (shift) function. AMD's architectures are prioritized for this.

No. It will mine, but mining worth is governed by performance per watt and the overall hashing rate. While performance per watt might be acceptable, expending a PCI-E slot for the 6670's productivity makes it a marginal product. I presume from the way you phrased your question you're looking to resell the card, so it depends on what you paid for it. Newegg's only in stock 6670 is $55 -also an XFX (after MIR).

The webpage you posted a link to above shows that the 5970 smokes my 6670, wth? I want my money back. The newer numbers are always supposed to be better and faster than the older numbers. I'm calling my attorney.

 

[veLa]

These inflated prices are the reason I went with a GTX 770 instead of an R9 280x.

 

[dividebyzero]

The newer numbers are always supposed to be better and faster than the older numbers. I'm calling my attorney.

You've clearly been wronged. Spurious/vague naming conventions, possible misrepresentation...maybe even pain and suffering. Smells like that great American pastime....class action!
I'd suggest these guys. They may even have an all-purpose litigation brief already set up.

 

[Guest]

The newer numbers are always supposed to be better and faster than the older numbers

Obvious troll.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

You've clearly been wronged. Spurious/vague naming conventions, possible misrepresentation...maybe even pain and suffering. Smells like that great American pastime....class action!
I'd suggest these guys. They may even have an all-purpose litigation brief already set up.

Yes, I am seriously interested in class action. It doesn't make sense that a 5970 > 6670. That is deceptive as hell. I didn't make my purchasing decision at the time based upon these numbers, but none the less, I think we have a lawsuit here! I have much pain and suffering from shattered hopes that this card would yield a profit. It's actually selling about $20.00 cheaper now than what I paid. I can't just let this go.

 

[GhostRyder]

I got mine before the price surge (2 of them) and a third partially in (575 on the powercolor version) and they are great but at the price hike its a hard sell. Im actually thinking about selling off the trio just because I could profit from the waterblocks and the GPUs right now and just grab some 780tis since they are faster even if it is not by that big a margin.

Its really annoying that the retailers are doing this though, just a way to ruin something truly nice and earn an extra couple of bucks. Selling the GPU's on their website like EVGA do might have alleviated some of this.

 

[LNCPapa]

Yes, I am seriously interested in class action. It doesn't make sense that a 5970 > 6670.

At first I thought you were serious! LOL - you almost got me.

 

[captaincranky]

You've clearly been wronged. Spurious/vague naming conventions, possible misrepresentation...maybe even pain and suffering. Smells like that great American pastime....class action!
I'd suggest these guys. They may even have an all-purpose litigation brief already set up.

I know you can get do-it-yourself Bankruptcy filing papers for under $200.00, perhaps there's paperwork for this as well.

If you play your cards right, you can claim that overpaying for the aforementioned video card, forced you into bankruptcy, and recover the cost of those papers as well!

 

[Jad Chaar]

Yes, I am seriously interested in class action. It doesn't make sense that a 5970 > 6670. That is deceptive as hell. I didn't make my purchasing decision at the time based upon these numbers, but none the less, I think we have a lawsuit here! I have much pain and suffering from shattered hopes that this card would yield a profit. It's actually selling about $20.00 cheaper now than what I paid. I can't just let this go.

It isnt deceptive... the 5970 has more processing cores than the 6670.

With your logic, it is like saying a nVidia GT 610 is more powerful than a GTX 590. Yeah right...

 

[captaincranky]

You've clearly been wronged. Spurious/vague naming conventions, possible misrepresentation...maybe even pain and suffering. Smells like that great American pastime....class action!
I'd suggest these guys. They may even have an all-purpose litigation brief already set up.

You know you've backed the right horse, when you get your personal injury lawyer, via a picture and phone number on the side of a city bus

 

[Kibaruk]

I have one word for this... 'Murica!

Well back to topic, that's how markets work, high demand + low stocks = high prices. As simple as that.

 

[cmbjive]

I picked up two ASUS 780s for $980. AMD can thank cryptominers for making up my mind to go with Nvidia over their cards even though I really do prefer Radeon over Nvidia.

 

[cmbjive]

Why are miners to blame for high prices? Greedy sellers are just trying to make an extra buck if you ask me.

How to control supply if demand outstrips what products are available?

 

[captaincranky]

..[ ]....Well back to topic, that's how markets work, high demand + low stocks = high prices. As simple as that.

Keep in mind, this post is at least as useless as anything I've put up completely off topic While I'm sure you believe your little equation is, "epic", it really is just a patently obvious, rehash of the obvious.

Next time you want to post something of this ubiquitous "magnitude", give me a shout out and I'll help you up on your soapbox.

The laws of "supply and demand", as they apply to this venue are quite different. Here, the children demand things, and their parents are forced to supply it. And do have a nice day.

 

[Kibaruk]

Keep in mind, this post is at least as useless as anything I've put up completely off topic While I'm sure you believe your little equation is, "epic", it really is just a patently obvious, rehash of the obvious.

Next time you want to post something of this ubiquitous "magnitude", give me a shout out and I'll help you up on your soapbox.

The laws of "supply and demand", as they apply to this venue are quite different. Here, the children demand things, and their parents are forced to supply it. And do have a nice day.

Just to stay "on topic" how is your post any helpful at all to the thread? Guess what finger I'm holding

Well if parents cant say no to an almost thousand buck video card... geez!

Besides what for? There is no game that will really need such a card to run on ultra settings, maybe to multi monitor gaming... but that is kind of a stretch right?

 

[GhostRyder]

The laws of "supply and demand", as they apply to this venue are quite different. Here, the children demand things, and their parents are forced to supply it. And do have a nice day.

Ain't that the truth, whatever happened to going out on bulk pickup day and digging through junked computers to collect parts for your rig...Or was that just me when I was 8

The merchants taking advantage of this is plain stupid and harms the customers more than anything mostly because the coin miners are still buying them. Shoot im at the point im going to post the 290X trio on ebay with the 6990's and see if I get any hits at 2400+ bucks and just grab some 780ti's while still making a profit.