Obvious damage control PR after people started criticizing their misleading marketing. We will see how much stock they allocate to different editions now.
Damage control from what exactly? Point me to the official PR where AMD stated that RX Vega will be going up $100.00? Like things have never been made up on the internet before or false rumors and propaganda has never made the rounds.....The same guy who said Vega 56 had a hash rate of 70 m/hases is the same guy who said msrp was going to raise. If he is your source of truth or you believe he is AMD's official PR, then you're way too gullible....and happily misguided.
The forced bundles are bad, but when taken together the products don't go above msrp.
That said, bundles aren't a thing in most of Europe, but the GPU price hikes sure are. I've never seen anything quite like it in my country, to be frank.
The bundles are not forced. AMD wanted to push the freesync+vega a while before launch, you remember all those blind tests they had, yet, for only $100.00 more you get two games and discounts on a monitor,mb and ryzen etc....That's a good deal for new builders...There were also standalone cards, so don't pretend the only option you had was to buy a bundle...
The problem at launch for the customer or for those who wanted one, was that demand outstripped supply, it happens for highly anticipated products all the time. What AMD addressed soon after when all this whining online began was simple...."They reiterated their suggested MSRP" and said they would be pushing more stock in the coming weeks to address the issue. AMD can only suggest the MSRP, they have no tight reigns over how a vendor chooses to sell their cards after they've purchased it from AMD, especially in high demand situations like this.
AMD also has no control over who starts rumors on 70-100 m/hash rates and a markup on their suggested MSRP after launch. You believe that there are not people on the green team who would run with this and make a big issue despite AMD saying nothing on price markups at all, absolutely nothing. They never said the cards will go up, but we take Gibbo's words as coming straight from AMD, what type of person do you believe would fuel these flames?
The only issue AMD had to address was the supply issue, because they know that's the only reason there is a markup in prices. The more stock there is in the channel means that more vendors will have the cards and would therefore be more inclined to maintain suggested MSRP....and that's exactly how AMD can regulate the situation and that's what they're doing...
I must say, I've lost lots of respect for Jayztwocents and others jumping the gun here on what is false rumors. Some people are just unfair in their deliberations...we've already discussed demand vs supply and of course "precedent", from any anticipated product in history since forever...but beyond that...
1.) Nvidia said the GTX 970 had 4GB of ram, they said it, everybody thought and exepected that it's would be 4GB of fast ram, but no it was not, it was 3.5GB of fast ram with .5Gb of much slower ram, now that is deception at the highest level....Jayztwocents only asid Nvidia was wrong on that, he never said he would not recommend or accept NV products in the future, a practice where NV was sued and had to settle mind you....but for something AMD never said, what a reaction from this man..he won't accept AMD cards, neither will he recommend them, all on a useless riumor....you do the math here..
2.) People are shitting on the bundles, but tell me this, when the FE went for $100.00 more at launch, did it have a great vrm, did it have a nice shroud, did those FE's have water cooling perhaps? What justified the price markup? Did the FE come with games or coupons? My goodness, AMD is offering gamers several discounts on computer hardware, two games etc...at the same $100.00 markup and they're the devil...This industry and the double standards man. Some people are just not fair in their deliberations or lack thereof, this whole thing has been unfair to AMD and painted them in a light not warranted, all because of an unsubstantiated and false rumor.....Nvidia and die-hard NV fans must be feeling happy about this, but any balanced and fair person can see right through this....
All AMD has to do now is to improve those drivers and open up the bios/hbm and vrm restrictions so AIB's can hit the custom cards out the park, normal overclockers too...They have a good product on their hands and they should open all doors to ensure their hardware does the talking, primarily their Vega 56....I think those false rumors and all this vitriol will have the reverse of it's intended effect in a few weeks and months...of that I'm certain....
