A few days ago we noticed a nice price drop on ATI HD 4800 series, and according to our info ATI is doing it in order to meet demand in this market segment, as HD 4770 yields are simply not good enough. We have heard and seen that ATI HD 4850 price will and has dropped to US $99/€79, and we simply wondered if the HD 4770 price will drop as well. ATI is simply saying that if you can not get an HD 4770, go for the HD 4850, its a bit faster.

According to what we have heard ATI is playing fair on this one, as it has promised a US $99 card that they simply could not deliver in volume due to low yields and high demand. In order to live up to its promise ATI has simply adjusted the price of the HD 4850 in order to keep its customers, if you want US $99 card, you can have the HD 4850.

The bad side of the story is that the 40nm HD 4770 is cooler and has lower power consumption, but on the other hand it is usually slower than the HD 4850. European retail/e-tail is slowly adjusting prices and Newegg.com already sells HIS' HD 4850 for $89.99 after mail-in rebate and Sapphire's HD 4850 for US $94.99 after mail-in rebate, and you can check them out here.

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