AMD R9 280 Release

[FourOh]

Disappointed to see the specs have changed from what was anticipated - SP/DP GFLOPS are 3340/835 as expected but the TDP has gone from 200W to 250W. I was in line for one at 200W; at 250W I think I'll hold out for 280X prices to come down or start looking for a 2nd hand 7950.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7828/amd-announces-radeon-r9-280-radeon-hd-7950b-returns
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2104284/amd-announces-radeon-r9-280-graphics-card-hopes-litecoin-miners-stay-away.html

[conf]

They are 7970Ghz edition and need the same power.
Ignoring warranty you can set them back to 7970 clock speeds and the power consumption and noise will be lower.
7950 is hard to get at a reasonable price. I got one last september for 200,- Euro now they cost more.

[FourOh]

The R9 280 has landed - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600489223&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20R9%20280

At only $10 over the anticipated launch price of $280... I don't think that pricetag will last. This is a repackaging of the 7950 Boost, and those are going for $300-330 on ebay.

[FourOh]

Sapphire R9 280 on Newegg $270 with Free Shipping - that's $10 under MSRP release price for the R9 280. This is a good sign that the cryptocurrency miners are moving on from this generation of technology and vendors are responding!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202099

[rgathright]

... This is a good sign that the cryptocurrency miners are moving on from this generation of technology and vendors are responding!

#1)
You are correct, the days of AMD powered Litecoin miners are gone. New ASIC Scrypt units are flooding the market right now.
#2)
Please note that Litecoin has dropped in value again and the total hash output has dropped as well. Fewer new graphics card miners are coming online at this point. Many of us (speaking for the miners) are hoping that prices stay low so we can pick up some fire sale USB ASIC Bitcoin miners off Ebay. :cool:

In conclusion, you should wait at least a week before buying any AMD graphics cards. Let the marketplace absorb both of these factors and you should be able to get some very good prices.