AMD's first Radeon HD 7700-series graphics cards are here, and the general consensus is that the cards don't quite punch at the levels suggested by their respective price tags.
But graphics card pricing can be fickle at the best of times, and with mid-to-low-end solutions such as the Radeon HD 7770 and Radeon HD 7750, a shift of just 10-or-so pounds in either direction can make or break a product.
It's important, then, to look past the manufacturer's suggested street price and reflect on what's really happening at retail on day one. Here's a look at pricing and availability for both cards as of 12:30pm today:
Radeon HD 7770 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| retailer | product | availability | price |
 |
Gigabyte HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £129.55* |
| ScanFX HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £134.36* | |
| PowerColor HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £134.40* | |
| Sapphire HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £137.99* | |
| MSI HD 7770 1GB OC | Pre-order | £143.72* | |
| Sapphire HD 7770 1GB OC | Pre-order | £143.99* | |
| XFX HD 7770 1GB DD Edition | Pre-order | £144.92* | |
| ASUS HD 7770 1GB DirectCU | Pre-order | £148.00* | |
| ebuyer.com | PowerColor HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £122.68 |
| dabs.com | Gigabyte HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £114.99 |
| VTX3D HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £124.99 | |
| Sapphire HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £129.99 | |
| XFX HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £129.99 | |
| XFX HD 7770 1GB DD Edition | Pre-order | £131.98 | |
| XFX HD 7770 1GB Black Edition | Pre-order | £134.98 | |
| XFX HD 7770 1GB Black DD Edition | Pre-order | £139.99 | |
| novatech.co.uk | PowerColor HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £119.99 |
| Sapphire HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £124.99 | |
| overclockers.co.uk | Sapphire HD 7770 1GB | Pre-order | £109.99 |
| Sapphire HD 7770 1GB OC | Pre-order | £119.99 | |
*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum. |
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Numerous partners are on board for the Radeon HD 7770, and there's a good variety of custom-cooled and pre-overclocked cards. But let's not skirt around the obvious issue here; if you're in the market for a Radeon HD 7770, you'll struggle to find one at any of the major online retailers.
At the time of writing, we couldn't find a single Radeon HD 7770 in stock at Scan, Ebuyer, Dabs, Novatech or Overclockers. It's an embarrassing situation for any graphics card launch, and while certain retailers are stating that they expect stock in the very near future, this is far from an ideal launch for the third product based on AMD's new GCN architecture.
Pricing is certainly interesting, though. AMD's partners had suggested that reference 7770 cards would arrive at around £125, with overclocked models adding a further few pounds to the price. A couple of retailers are keeping in line with that, but shop around and you can find HD 7770 listings starting at just under £110. Such numbers add to the appeal of the product, but it'll be interesting to see where the price tags end up when stock filters through the channel.
Radeon HD 7750 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| retailer | product | availability | price |
|
Sapphire HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £95.99* |
| Gigabyte HD 7750 1GB OC | Pre-order | £98.40* | |
| ScanFX HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £99.59* | |
| PowerColor HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £102.00* | |
| MSI HD 7750 1GB OC | Pre-order | £110.10* | |
| ASUS HD 7750 1GB OC | Pre-order | £119.70* | |
| ebuyer.com | PowerColor HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £86.30 |
| Sapphire HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £100.46 | |
| dabs.com | Sapphire HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £84.99 |
| Gigabyte HD 7750 1GB OC | Pre-order | £89.98 | |
| VTX3D HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £89.98 | |
| novatech.co.uk | PowerColor HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £99.98 |
| overclockers.co.uk | Sapphire HD 7750 1GB | Pre-order | £79.99 |
*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum. |
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Meanwhile, on the Radeon HD 7750 front, card availability is no better. The card launches today, it's now lunch time, but there's still no stock at any of the usual suspects. Once again, prices vary and there are cards up for pre-order from as little as £79.99. If these prices are maintained, the 7750 could become an interesting choice for low-power media PCs - particularly if passively-cooled cards make an appearance.
It's not often we say this, but launch-day pricing is lower than anticipated. Has AMD looked at the card's relative performance and opted to shave a few pounds off the price tag? It's possible, and if the cards become available at or around these prices, the Radeon HD 7770 and HD 7750 could go from 'meh' to 'hmm,' if you understand our meaning.
