UK availability
After being forced to watch AMD bask in the limelight of the Radeon HD 4870 X2, NVIDIA was yesterday able to reclaim the single-card graphics performance crown with the stupidly-fast GeForce GTX 295.
Our in-depth review highlighted the card's ability to knock out ludicrous framerates across our suite of games, but, as is often the case with launch-day products, inflated etailer prices had us all collectively saying "thanks, but no thanks".
With prices creeping up as high as £460, NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 295 managed to single-handedly make AMD's erstwhile performance champion - the potent Radeon HD 4870 X2 - look like a steal at just £345.
Nonetheless, despite a reasonable amount of availability - which, we should add, is a pleasant surprise on launch day - NVIDIA remains confident that GeForce GTX 295 pricing will dip below the £400 mark before next week. We're not quite there yet, but nearly 24 hours after the product launched, we're taking another look at availability and pricing from some of the big-name retailers, here's our summary:
UK Market |  |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| etailer | Product | Availability | Price (inc. VAT) |
| SCAN.co.uk | BFG GeForce GTX 295 | In stock | £435.03 |
| GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 295 | In stock | £412.03 | |
| EVGA GeForce GTX 295 | In stock | £446.53 | |
| XFX GeForce GTX 295 | Pre-order | £447.68 | |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 295 | Pre-order | £459.18 | |
| As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum. | |||
| dabs.com | GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 295 | In stock | £413.98 |
| XFX GeForce GTX 295 | Pre-order | £410.98 | |
| ebuyer.com | BFG GeForce GTX 295 | Pre-order | £407.24 |
| ZOTAC GeForce GTX 295 | Pre-order | £392.15 | |
| XFX GeForce GTX 295 | Pre-order | £410.68 | |
| yoyotech.co.uk | BFG GeForce GTX 295 | Pre-order | £416.69 |
Availability, then, isn't entirely widespread but the GeForce GTX 295 can be found for those who're looking.
As per NVIDIA's word, prices are beginning to creep downward toward the sub-£400 mark, with the average price of the four listed in-stock items equalling £426.89. The willing-to-wait enthusiast, however, will note that ZOTAC's GeForce GTX 295 is available to pre-order from Ebuyer.com at a tidy sum of £392.15.
UK pricing is certainly improving now that launch-day fever is behind us, but it's worth remembering that AMD's Radeon HD 4870 X2 still offers blistering performance for around £345. When spending such large chunks of moolah on a single component, however, it probably isn't a question of value for money - it's likely to be a matter of "I want the fastest possible".
Moving on, how about pricing in the rest of Europe and the US? Head on over to Page 2 for an up-to-date comparison.
