8800GTX bargains to be had - is this a sign of things to come?

Had my weekly email from Overclockers this morning. They're selling a XFX GeForce 8800 GTX XXX 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI for £135 inc. VAT. The same thing not too long ago cost me over £400. Keep an eye on those former high-end cards, people - the arse is falling out of the market.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...m_medium=email

Its a good deal, but perhaps doesn't qualify as a bargain. OcUK are selling a 4870 for £176.24 inc VAT, which is 40 pounds more for newer tech that performs better. However, if you have a SLI supporting motherboard and a single 8800GTX perhaps buying a second would be a good idea. Overall its good to see them dropping the prices on the older tech (if you don't own it - if you own it then you just get pissed off): usually high end tech goes from expensive to End of life without dropping much.

Also was reading today the 2.66Ghz Nehalem will be $284 rather than the $316 that was expected (USD, per 1000 units), and will be released in October rather than November-December. Awfully tempting to sell my current rig soon and go back till the stone age (P4, 6600GT) until Nehalem. My logic is:
Q2 2008
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 release price =USD $316 (per 1000)
Australian price on release = $400 to $450
Q4 2008
Nehalem Bloomsfield 2.66Ghz = USD $284? (per 1000)
Australian price on release = $390?

The arse isn't falling out of the market. This type of price drop is normal in the computer biz. As new cards come out, and/or production yields increase, the old ones drop in price. And, yes, the 8800 is now an 'old one'. Just check out the prices for the new GTX 260/280, if you want to spend more.

well, not always.

prices will drop if there are competition for that particular part. if there are little competition against it, the part will remain expensive. for example, geforce 6200 PCI and radeon X1300 PCI still remain expensive (some of them around $110) because there aren't anything that competes against them.

the same with the 8800GTX. it's been the reigning king of performance for more than a year now. there had been more efficient parts available during that time, but none of them can actually beat the 8800GTX in pure performance (excluding SLI and crossfire on a stick solutions). that's why its price stayed at around $330 USD for so long.

now finally there are parts that can actually beat it in pure performance: the HD4800 series and GTX200 series. as such, there's now market incentive for the drop in price, because FINALLY the 8800GTX can be considered obsolete.

DDR2 systems in general will be dropping in price before they go back up, due to small demand. The price on the 8800gtx is great. I do hope that nahalm gets launched around my birthday, that would be sweet. I for 1 will NOT be the 1st out the gate tho. I want specific brands for hardware. I suspect that the x260/x280 will have a die shrink around the time of launch of nahalm. By the time the motherboard makers create a mobo I want the nahalm should also be releasing the goodness. Not to mention that this go round I am building a water cooled system and will need to wait for water blocks....

Told you.

But really, the reason for the Nehalem's low price point is because Intel has perfected their 45nm process, and is almost ready to transition to their 32nm fabs (which I am hoping are not a flop.)