AMD partners NOT instructed to lower prices to compete with Nvidia.

[Smizzlopi]

Hello! I'm James

This is my first post on OC3D! I've been lurking around the website and forums for quite some time, but news of a reporter position caught my eye on Facebook, so I decided I would have a bash at writing a little article for your pleasure. I read through the OC3D is Hiring! thread but I didn't see any specific requirements for how to apply, so I thought the best way would be to start a new thread, give a little information about myself and then wow you with the article itself

With the introduction out of the way, let's get to why I would like to write news articles for OC3D As I previously stated, I've been lurking around here for a while, watching YouTube uploads and generally enjoying the place! I have a big interest in PC hardware, whether it's cases or fans, I usually indulge myself in specs and reviews, trying to convince myself I actually need a big Noctua NH-D15, despite owning a tiny Corsair 250D. Games have been a big part of my life, mostly on consoles, but I've moved over to PC games as I have matured. Like a fine cheese, my taste has improved with age. I've moved from hoarding Call of Duty games to fulfilling childhood fantasies in The Elder Scrolls series and becoming reacquainted with old friends such as Lara Croft and Duke Nukem. To be able to share news about subjects which excite me is a mouth-watering thought. The opportunity to write for OC3D is akin to roaming the streets, shouting that NZXT's new fan hub makes you go all tight in the pants! Sharing what you love with people who have an interest in the same thing is probably the main reason I'm typing this.

A little bit more information about myself, if you're interested I work for a SME in Cambridgeshire as a Validation Engineer, which is a little like working in SQA but the team is a lot smaller and we usually end up with incomplete software builds which isn't anything like what the customer will see. If something isn't working, I find out why and report back to the developers. It's exposed me to some interesting technology and been a great job to have since graduating from University.

And now for the main event...

When the long awaited Maxwell GTX 970 and GTX 980 were released, consumers and the media were incredibly surprised at the aggressive pricing given to the high performing, low power-consuming cards. This pricing gave everyone the impression that AMD would have no choice but to cut the costs of their 290 and 290X range. As everyone expected, price cuts from AMD soon followed, with XFX leading the way by dropping their R9 290 and R9 290X by $150 in the US.

AMD, determined for these price cuts not to be mistaken as an acceptance of defeat, decided to set the records straight. AMD Gaming Scientist Richard Huddy decided to get in touch with another technology news website and inform them of what has actually happened. Huddy has stated that AMD have not informed partners that price cuts are necessary, at this time. He said that expected price cuts have 'agitated' AMD executives and any price cuts made are completely the decision of AMD's partners.

XFX have been seen leading the way in the UK by allowing reputable retailers such as Scan and Overclockers UK to start their 290 pricing as low as £215. This leaves other AMD partners at a crossroad; Do they lower their prices to compete with XFX and the new Maxwell series, or do they risk losing out on sales? The next lowest price for a Radeon R9 290 is MSI at £239.

AMD still insist that the 290 and 290X are great competitors for the GTX 970 and 980, especially at higher resolutions. The added bonus of Mantle, CrossFire and the Radeon Gold Reward game bundle is what gives Huddy the opportunity to claim that AMD offer a better gaming ecosystem than Nvidia.

The problem AMD face is that Nvidia are providing GPU's to consumers who may not be looking to upgrade their entire system. If you have an ageing HP desktop and want to throw a cheap graphics cards for the kids to play Minecraft, personally, I would look at the GTX 750ti. You don't need extra power to make it run games at very impressive frame rates and they don't cost the earth. If you are going for a brand new custom build, the option of less heat, lower power consumption and a quieter system is hard to say no to, which is where the GTX 970 and 980 can potentially overshadow the R9 series. Looking at the comparison below, it's clear to see that, in some comparisons, the GTX 970 is a better performer than AMD's partner offerings. Check out Tom's ASUS GTX 970 Strix review for the several comparisons.

So, what do you guys think? Is the R9 series really as competitive as AMD believe? If you were upgrading or building a brand new machine, would you go for a 290/290x or a 970/980? Do you think that other AMD partners will follow in XFX's footsteps? Personally, I'm waiting for some of the 970's to come back in stock. They have proved very popular and seem to be out of stock in most places. I'm hoping that AMD will show their hand and release some more Tonga based cards before I settle down for one particular card. Competition is always good for us consumers!

Source: http://hexus.net/tech/news/graphics/75613-amd-cutting-price-radeon-r9-290-r9-290x-gpus/

I hope you enjoyed this piece!

 

[tinytomlogan]

Hello! I'm James

This is my first post on OC3D!

I hope you enjoyed this piece!

I did actually.....

 

[barnsley]

LOL HUNTINGDON GET OUT.

/jk

Nvidia have beat AMD at their own game and actually price things pretty well. However, with the 960 delayed AMD still have the lower end locked down pretty well. I'll be interested to see what AMD will release next and how it'll be priced. I'd guess whatever they release to go against the 980 will be slightly cheaper though.

 

[Excalabur50]

G'day Welcome to OC3D and a nice news piece and TBH I think I would buy the Nvidia over AMD atm due to the fact that to run a pair of 290/X's you need a bigger power supply than 2 970/80's, cooler, quieter and more aggressively priced whats not to like about Nvidia's products atm.

 

[SieB]

Welcome to the forums A well written article as well.

I recently sold my 290 to get a 970 and i'm glad I did. Don't get me wrong, my 290 was great. It was cool, quiet, overclocked really well and there was no real reason for me to switch cards, but after reading reviews and seeing how good Maxwell is I wanted to try one out.
Not only do they overclock really well, but they do it with hardly any extra voltage if any at all, I have my 970 at 1500 on the core without any extra volts needed. Add on top of that they (most models) run passive up to 60*c and even when they go over, which isn't by much, the fans spin so slow you can't even tell they are spinning.

If I was buying a new GPU or advising someone on which to buy, it would definitely be either the 970 or 980. The 290 and 290X are still great cards and they still perform around the same as the 970 and 980, but the new Nvidia cards are just better in nearly every way.

I look forward to seeing what AMD come out with next though, they will always beet Nvidia on price to performance in my opinion, but at the moment I can honestly say the extra for the 970 and 980 is worth it. And that isn't something I would usually say about Nvidia's price premium over AMD

 

[WillSK]

Really liked this piece. It was to the point and just flowed well. Very important as it prevents it just become a boring wall of text.

With regards to the discussion. I would 100% opt for the newer tech of the Nvidia cards over the AMDs. Admittedly I am a bit of an Nvidia fan boy but I will always consider both teams when making a decision.
I just feel with the reviews coming out stating the overclocking potential of the Nvidia cards it seems crazy to not spend that bit more and get a 970 at least

 

[shambles1980]

the r9 290's are good performers. but personally "even though i do have amd cards in my system and have done constantly since the hd 3xxx cards."
with the 970's at the price they are with the specs they have.. i really dont think i could justify buying a 290 any more.
the 970's easily compete with the 780's
and although mantle may be something right now, unless we have a huge change in api's and opperating systems. dx12 will be the next thing to look out for which also improves so much on the bear mettal access of hardware.

to be honest with you IF a system with a 290x needed mantle to play games then it would be a sorry state of affairs. when you get up to the higer ranks of gpu performance mantle is not really that big of a concern as the rest of your system would probably be right up there in terms of raw performance as well.

so my personall opinion is if you have the money "or nearly have the money" either get a 970/980 or save up untill you can.
it will most likley serve you better in the long run.

i dont think you can even justify buying a 780 now even at the lower prices. which makes a very hard case for buying a 290

 

[WYP]

Hello! I'm James

This is my first post on OC3D! I've been lurking around the website and forums for quite some time, but news of a reporter position caught my eye on Facebook, so I decided I would have a bash at writing a little article for your pleasure. I read through the OC3D is Hiring! thread but I didn't see any specific requirements for how to apply, so I thought the best way would be to start a new thread, give a little information about myself and then wow you with the article itself

With the introduction out of the way, let's get to why I would like to write news articles for OC3D As I previously stated, I've been lurking around here for a while, watching YouTube uploads and generally enjoying the place! I have a big interest in PC hardware, whether it's cases or fans, I usually indulge myself in specs and reviews, trying to convince myself I actually need a big Noctua NH-D15, despite owning a tiny Corsair 250D. Games have been a big part of my life, mostly on consoles, but I've moved over to PC games as I have matured. Like a fine cheese, my taste has improved with age. I've moved from hoarding Call of Duty games to fulfilling childhood fantasies in The Elder Scrolls series and becoming reacquainted with old friends such as Lara Croft and Duke Nukem. To be able to share news about subjects which excite me is a mouth-watering thought. The opportunity to write for OC3D is akin to roaming the streets, shouting that NZXT's new fan hub makes you go all tight in the pants! Sharing what you love with people who have an interest in the same thing is probably the main reason I'm typing this.

A little bit more information about myself, if you're interested I work for a SME in Cambridgeshire as a Validation Engineer, which is a little like working in SQA but the team is a lot smaller and we usually end up with incomplete software builds which isn't anything like what the customer will see. If something isn't working, I find out why and report back to the developers. It's exposed me to some interesting technology and been a great job to have since graduating from University.

And now for the main event...

When the long awaited Maxwell GTX 970 and GTX 980 were released, consumers and the media were incredibly surprised at the aggressive pricing given to the high performing, low power-consuming cards. This pricing gave everyone the impression that AMD would have no choice but to cut the costs of their 290 and 290X range. As everyone expected, price cuts from AMD soon followed, with XFX leading the way by dropping their R9 290 and R9 290X by $150 in the US.

AMD, determined for these price cuts not to be mistaken as an acceptance of defeat, decided to set the records straight. AMD Gaming Scientist Richard Huddy decided to get in touch with another technology news website and inform them of what has actually happened. Huddy has stated that AMD have not informed partners that price cuts are necessary, at this time. He said that expected price cuts have 'agitated' AMD executives and any price cuts made are completely the decision of AMD's partners.

XFX have been seen leading the way in the UK by allowing reputable retailers such as Scan and Overclockers UK to start their 290 pricing as low as £215. This leaves other AMD partners at a crossroad; Do they lower their prices to compete with XFX and the new Maxwell series, or do they risk losing out on sales? The next lowest price for a Radeon R9 290 is MSI at £239.

AMD still insist that the 290 and 290X are great competitors for the GTX 970 and 980, especially at higher resolutions. The added bonus of Mantle, CrossFire and the Radeon Gold Reward game bundle is what gives Huddy the opportunity to claim that AMD offer a better gaming ecosystem than Nvidia.

The problem AMD face is that Nvidia are providing GPU's to consumers who may not be looking to upgrade their entire system. If you have an ageing HP desktop and want to throw a cheap graphics cards for the kids to play Minecraft, personally, I would look at the GTX 750ti. You don't need extra power to make it run games at very impressive frame rates and they don't cost the earth. If you are going for a brand new custom build, the option of less heat, lower power consumption and a quieter system is hard to say no to, which is where the GTX 970 and 980 can potentially overshadow the R9 series. Looking at the comparison below, it's clear to see that, in some comparisons, the GTX 970 is a better performer than AMD's partner offerings. Check out Tom's ASUS GTX 970 Strix review for the several comparisons.

So, what do you guys think? Is the R9 series really as competitive as AMD believe? If you were upgrading or building a brand new machine, would you go for a 290/290x or a 970/980? Do you think that other AMD partners will follow in XFX's footsteps? Personally, I'm waiting for some of the 970's to come back in stock. They have proved very popular and seem to be out of stock in most places. I'm hoping that AMD will show their hand and release some more Tonga based cards before I settle down for one particular card. Competition is always good for us consumers!

Source: http://hexus.net/tech/news/graphics/75613-amd-cutting-price-radeon-r9-290-r9-290x-gpus/

I hope you enjoyed this piece!

Well done sir. A great read.

 

[Smizzlopi]

I did actually.....

Thanks, Tom Glad you got the chance to give it a glance!

I have to admit, I was a little worried that people would think the title was far to much like 'click-bait' but I am pleased I appear to have got the balance about right.

LOL HUNTINGDON GET OUT.

I didn't have much choice I moved from the north west and thought it seemed ok... Little did I know! I shall be moving to Godmanchester in November! Do you know the area well?

whats not to like about Nvidia's products atm.

That was also my stance. Their latest products are really hard to dismiss, for any reason. It's a shame because I used to really like the Club3D brand. Their cooling solution worked relatively well and their prices were always competitive. It's a shame they won't ever be making Nvidia products again. I was tempted by the R9 290 RoyalKing, but when it came to it, the release of the 9xx series was too close for me to pull the trigger without at least considering Nvidia.

Really liked this piece. It was to the point and just flowed well. Very important as it prevents it just become a boring wall of text.

Thanks! I was trying to add in a picture but it was asking me to upload the picture instead of linking it in. Considering this is the first hardware forum I've actually participated in, adding a photo was the least of my worries!

Well done sir. A great read.

Thank you kindly! A Guru giving positive feedback is always appreciated

 

[shambles1980]

you can upload them to any hosting site you like then bb code tag them
or you can leach them from the host..
Picture.url [ /img]

its best not to leach images though as people tend to not apretiate that.

 

[WillSK]

imgur.com, upload and then just paste the link where you want the image in the artice

 

[Smizzlopi]

you can upload them to any hosting site you like then bb code tag them
or you can leach them from the host..

its best not to leach images though as people tend to not apretiate that.

Thanks, but that's what I was trying. I kept getting:

"1. Please do not use remote images, upload them instead."

Even when I try to post the http:// link to imgur in the wrapper, it gives me the same mess...mething to do with me being a new user? :sad:

 

[barnsley]

I didn't have much choice I moved from the north west and thought it seemed ok... Little did I know! I shall be moving to Godmanchester in November! Do you know the area well?

I used to drive through there a few times, it seems pretty nice .

 

[hmmblah]

Thanks, but that's what I was trying. I kept getting:

"1. Please do not use remote images, upload them instead."

Even when I try to post the http:// link to imgur in the wrapper, it gives me the same mess... to tie different parts of the site together.

 

[Smizzlopi]

I used to drive through there a few times, it seems pretty nice .

I much prefer Godmanchester. It brings back fond memories of Manchester... Oh how I miss it! If you're in Cambridge, does that mean you're one of the dreaded cyclists who try to take my life whenever I walk through Cambridge?

*Edit* The only reason for bringing back memories is the name!

Yes, it's because you are a new user. It should still allow you to do it, but the post will need to be reviewed and approved by a moderator before it will show up to the public.

Nice article, down to the point and your writing style makes it easy to read. Also, awesome job summarizing the source material and adding your own spin to it instead of copy/pasting another writer's article.

Edit: Also like the fact that you linked one of OC3D's reviews in your post. Great way to tie different parts of the site together.

Thanks I'd much rather present something in my own words and have it appear a little more thought out. I understand it can't be done for everything but when there's quite a meaty article to be had, I think copy/paste is *too* lazy. I understand that for very brief new stories, it can be difficult to word it vastly different to the source. I just like to personalise things a little more.

 

[SPS]

Please edit posts instead of double posting, thanks!

 

[Smizzlopi]

I do apologise. It just didn't occur to me that an edit would be the most logical option!

 

[Damien c]

Really nice write up and easy to read.