Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is highly coveted by gamers in India, but its high-end offerings have been prohibitive in terms of price.
In a market that is inundated with budget offerings, the $900 (Rs. 54,000) asking figure for cards like the GTX 780 Ti has meant that gamers looking for a high-end solution have largely had to look to the likes of the R9 290X, which costs a full $175 (Rs. 10,500) less.
That is no longer the case with Nvidia’s latest offerings in the GeForce GTX 900 series. The GTX 980 will be available at a retail price of $750 (Rs. 46,000), with the final price set to be lower than that. Considering the amount of features it offers, the GTX 980 will be an enticing option for buyers looking to upgrade their rigs. The GTX 980 is the fastest single video card solution available now, and easily outdoes what AMD (NYSE:AMD) has to offer in the R9 290X.
For those that are looking for a mid-tier video card, the GTX 970 is set to launch in the country for $455 (Rs. 28,000), which is great value for money. The GTX 970 in early benchmarks blew past the R9 290, and in certain cases outdid the R9 290X. While there is a market in India for cards like the GTX 980, it will be the GTX 970 that most gamers will be looking to buy. Retailer listings for the GTX 970 indicates that the reference design will be in the vicinity of $450 (Rs. 27,750), with factory overclocked editions running up to as much as $650 (Rs. 33,000).
With Maxwell, Nvidia has managed to deliver better overall gaming and computational results while utilizing lesser wattage. The low power consumption leaves a lot of room for overclocking, a fact Nvidia touched upon during the announcement of the card. The best testament of Nvidia’s pricing is the fact that AMD reduced the price of the R9 290X in other markets by a full $100, bringing the price of the card to $449. Nvidia has been the one to reduce the prices of its cards after every new AMD announcement for a while now, so it must feel have felt nice for the Santa Clara-based giant to know that AMD is now the one who has to slash prices of its cards to match Nvidia.
