AMD adds to its 3D card lineup

As more or less expected, AMD announced the availability of a new ATI graphics card today, the Radeon HD 2900 Pro. The announcement came with no pricing, nor any specific clock speeds, although the general assumption is that the Pro is a cheaper, slightly slower version of the $399 Radeon HD 2900 XT that came out earlier this year. The press release cites 1GB and 512MB variations of the Pro card, as well as 9-inch and 12-inch versions, depending on the fan and heatsink assembly.

ATI announced the Radeon HD 2900 Pro today, a presumably dialed-down version of the Radeon HD 2900 XT pictured here.

(Credit: AMD)

Our hope is that the HD 2900 Pro will finally deliver the midrange, next-generation 3D card ATI has lacked here in the Windows Vista era. Your choices so far have been the sluggish Radeon HD 2600 XT for $150, or the $400 Radeon HD 2900 XT powerhouse, leaving the true $200 to $300 midrange sweet spot to Nvidia. The Radeon 2900 Pro may not come in below $300 (especially if the laws of supply and demand come into play due to the card's initial availability "on a limited basis subject to supply contraints," as reported by AMD's press release), but we welcome any expansion of the Radeon product line, if only to help keep consumer-friendly competition alive in the graphics card market.

[karlengblom]

Prices not going down anymore

For some reason, the rapid price drops for graphics cards seems to have abruptly stopped. Around here, the 8800gtx still costs pretty much the same as when it was released almost a year ago. Can someone explain why?

[karlengblom]

Prices not going down anymore

For some reason, the rapid price drops for graphics cards seems to have abruptly stopped. Around here, the 8800gtx still costs pretty much the same as when it was released almost a year ago. Can someone explain why?