6xxx series price reduction?

Hello,

I've been patiently waiting (for the past 8 months or so) for the price of the 6950 to come down with the release of the new 7xxx series of cards. Now that the next gen is starting to come out, do the current gens prices drop significantly in the near future? Just wanted the opinions of those who may be in the know, or have been through new gpu releases pretty regulalry

Keep in mind that only a paper launch of the HD7000 has occurred at this point. Until it is actually available do not expect market prices to fluctuate much. I think the steepest discounts will occur around the last week of February or the first half of March (around the release of the HD7770). However that is purely just a guess.

Hold out just a little longer. Prices most likely will drop soon.

AMD and partners have been slowing down on 6xxx series shipments for a while now. I think they don't want to be left with too much inventory that will have to be sold cheap latter as has happened previously. I expect for prices to drop once the 7xxx series has launched in volume so around March or so. For the 6950 specifically prices will drop once the 78xxx series replacements start showing up.

Just my opinion:

New retail 6xxx series will not drop in price for some time. They are still costly to make, and the new market for replacement units, and for second crossfire units are inelastic. There is nowhere else to go if you need a new one.

The used market for 6xxx units will drop to be price competitive with the new price performance curve of the new units.

The 7xxx cards will be fully priced for whatever the market will bear. At least until Nvidia has a competing card.

There is not much sense in waiting, unless you are in the market for a top card like the 7970 or kepler.