Radeon HD 5670 price drop to kill GT430 ?

KitGuru constantly monitors product pricing across the globe. We do this intelligently – using a smart surveillance system. Early alerts, which we have flagged as ‘strange behaviour' are then checked and re-checked to ensure accuracy. From there, we can extrapolate patterns and understand what is really going on. So how does that relate to the GT430?  Let's see.

From the launch of the Radeon HD 5850/5870, pricing from AMD was very firm. Indeed, under the cover of a ‘memory prices have gone up' story, AMD actually increased the price of these cards after launch – maximising its position as the only supplier of DX11 in town.

There was a little price movement around the GTX480/470 launch, but not much. Let's not even go into the ill-fated GTX465.

Then came the GTX460.

AMD was not prepared for quite how good a card this was. Not only could is b*tch-slap the 5830 in the same price space, but it was also very affordable, very overclockable, highly-scalable in SLi configuration and it had the added advantage of several price drops in a row, which kept it in the news as a hot item.

However, it proved to be a one off. The GTS450 suffered from nVidia's constant price drops on the GTX460, as well as aggressive price cuts from AMD on products like the 5770. People are still buying the GTS450, but the GTX460 remains a much stronger draw.

So with the up-coming GT430, will AMD leave the market as it is – product pricing unchanged?   Or will it take action and cut prices on cards which (until yesterday) sat in the £75-85 price bracket?

The KitGuru AWACS price system (Avdanced Warning that AMD Could Slash) flagged a move from Play.com at the start of the weekend. Momentary flash traffic picked up a >£20 price move on the 1GB Radeon HD 5670. Interesting. When we clicked on the link, it was actually back up to its previous level.  How do we interpret this?  We assume that a series of price changes has been pushed through, been picked up by Google Shopping etc, but then reset because the time was not right.

And this morning?

Well, Play.com's twitch at the line of scrimmage has made everyone move.

We're seeing multiple entries, for a number of different 1GB Radeon HD 5670 cards, from a series of retailers – and all of them seem to be pointing in one direction. Which direction? Simple. This card will be moving into the £65 to £69 price range, including VAT, ready for the launch of nVidia's GT430.

How much of a difference will this make to the success or otherwise of nVidia's latest Fermi card, we'll have to wait and see.

KitGuru says: Moving something as fast and powerful as the Radeon HD 5670 into the GT430's face spells serious intent from AMD. Let's see what happens once the reviews come out.

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