Well that's not a surprise obviously but by the end of this summer expect the prices to be somewhere around $450 anyway. The GT version should be a big hit aswell, though it's clockspeeds aren't real high they don't need to be with the same number of pipes and vertex shaders as it's bigger bro (24/8) you'll get a lot of card for the money. "WHEN NV spinners announced the 7800GTX on its "Editors Day", many of my colleagues were unpleasently suprised with the fact that the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) started at 649 dead presidents, while it offered "only" 256MB of GDDR-3 memory. By launch time, the MSRP price got adjusted to US$599, and with the same-day availability, prices stayed at that mark. However, couple of weeks after the launch, we're seeing prices going down to $550 range, and it isn't scheduled to stop anytime soon. My sources are telling me the trend will continue to go down, and we can expect $499 price as a regular one within weeks from now, and of course - pay attention to our Desire's weekend specials - a recent one included 7800GTX for "only" $504 dollars from a well known UK on-line shop. Things will get even more heated when Nvidia introduces the 7800GT, which is supposed to retail for $449 (supposed Nvidia MSRP), but one AIB we've talked with expects a somewhat lower, $399 street-price. That would wave good-bye to 6800GT's and X800XL's as "high-end mainstream" kings. 7800GT is expected to work at 335 MHz for the core and 1100 MHz for the memory (in the first batch, 7800GT is probably not more than 7800GTX's which failed higher-clockspeed QA test), and one german web-site has a "pre-review" of 7800GT hidden inside its 7800GTX review (downclocked the 7800GTX). The number of pipes should remain the same (8 VS/24 PS/16 ROP), and you can expect immediate availability in stores just like its elder brother. Launch date? Back to school period, of course." From the Inquirer
