As PC gamers hunger for better performance at lower price points, Nvidia and AMD both recently launched very attractive sub-$250 cards: the GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 3870. Both cards' prices, however, seem to have magically inflated by around $30 or more and have been in short supply since day one.
The Tech Report has revealed some information about why the recently launched AMD Radeon HD 3870 hasn't shown up in volume for people to buy. According to the article, the Radeon HD 3870's scarceness was caused by a resistor issue on the 3870 models, which should be resolved early next week. Furthermore, AMD has reportedly ramped up production of Radeon 3870 boards to compensate for the lack of supply.
Although AMD officially announced the cards at a retail price of $219, users waiting to get their hands on a 3870 next week can expect to pay a few extra bucks, while the price stabilizes at around $229 once shipments of the cards increase.