The latest news is that AMD is about to lower the suggested retail prices for the Radeon HD 7970 with up to $60, which would bring prices down to around $450 depending on manufacturer and model.

The same data suggest that the Radeon HD 7950 price tag gets adjusted down by about $55, resulting in new consumer prices of about $400.

However, something that prevents an all-out price war is that there’s a shortage of 28nm chips from TSMC (which is the factory used by both AMD and Nvidia). Allegedly, this will give priority to the manufacturers that produce AMD Radeon graphics cards exclusively, while those that also put out GeForce cards will get no such price cuts. That would include major manufacturers such as MSI and ASUS.

With such a (comparatively) low price point on Nvidia’s monster card, the pressure is on AMD to put the Radeon HD 7970 in a better position. Considering that both teams are now in the market with excellent high-end GPUs, the situation could trigger an all-out price war. Any reduction in prices of the Radeon HD 7970 would also force adjustments to other graphics cards in the 7000 series, such as the HD 7950, to maintain the appropriate pricing separation between the models.

Speaking of which, once Nvidia rolls out more GPUs in the mainstream segment from the 600 series, future upgrades could get a whole lot cheaper for gamers eager to get on the 28nm bandwagon.

The new graphics card is very similar to its predecessor, the GeForce GTX 470 with 448 units, 320-bit memory bus and 1280 MB of memory. Its standard clock frequencies are slightly lower than the standard GTX 560 Ti – 730 MHz for the GPU and 3800MHz for the GDDR5 VRAM. The specifications also show that the TDP value ends up at 210 W, which is only 9 watts below the GTX 570.

Nvidia partially avoids the risk of name confusion by renaming the new model to GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448. Meanwhile, partner manufacturers have the opportunity to highlight the differences in their own naming of the graphics cards, which they no doubt will. After all, this is a scaled down GTX 570/580 rather than an improved GTX 560 Ti. It is also likely that there will be plenty of factory overclocked versions of the card as usual. The price is expected to land at approximately the same level as the current 560 Ti or slightly above.

The newcomer is based on Nvidia’s GF114 GPU with 384 CUDA cores, which gives us a total of 786 cores–50 percent more than the GTX 580 that is currently topping the charts for Nvidia. The card comes with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory divided into two 256-bit memory buses, and four video outputs–three DVI-D and one Mini HDMI. The latter provides support for 3D Vision Surround with a single graphics card.

Naturally, the clock frequencies are also higher than normal. EVGA has turned up the knobs to 850MHz in the GPU core and 1700 MHz for the shaders. This is not a huge increase from the reference design’s 822 and 1645 MHz, but that can no doubt be amended with some tweaking. The memory frequency, however, remains at 4000 MHz (effective, GDDR5).

The actual PCB measures 29.5 cm and is covered by a cooler with four heat pipes and three temperature-controlled fans that takes up an extra expansion slot. The power supply requires two 8-pin PCI Express cables. The new graphics card is currently available from EVGA’s U.S. online store for $520, which is quite good value for this card. According to EVGA, this card will perform 30% better than a single GTX 580, which has prompted the manufacturer to call it the “GTX 585″.

Otherwise the Leadtek WinFast GTX 560 Ti Hurricane has a lot in common with other current offerings in terms of hardware based on the GTX 560 Ti chip from NVIDIA. The graphics card has a 822MHz graphics core, which is the standard core clock for the Ti version of the GTX 560 and its 384 CUDA cores. However, considering the dual fan setup and the already low noise levels, this card should have pretty good overclocking potential.

In terms of connectivity, there are dual DVI-D outputs on the card, along with a mini HDMI port that is also capable of carrying HD audio through the HDMI output. It can be configured in 2-way SLI and should be available in stores soon.

The PowerColor Devil 13 HD6970 looks about as much enthusiast-oriented as a graphics card can be and thanks to the (at least om paper) exceptional cooling solution it should do well in the competition with similar enthusiast cards from the likes of Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI. We have pegged the HD 6970 at number 4 in our top ten graphics card ranking, but this particular card might be worth kicking up a notch. The Devil 13 have been built around a custom-made circuit board where PowerColor has made room for a full 12 power phases but also points of tension and LEDs that provide status indicators for the graphics card’s GPU.

Among the components on the card we find prodalizer capacitors (but sadly no flux capacitor), 2GB of GDDR5 memory and a sizable cooler with dual 92mm fans that will allegedly provide 60% better airflow than the standard 80mm fans–allowing you to bring those clocks up a bit further. The cooler also has four large 8mm heat pipes that are routed to a larger copper base.

PowerColor’s diabolical graphics card ships with default frequencies for the Radeon HD 6970–880MHz for the GPU core and 1375MHz for the memory (5500MHz effective). However, the Devil 13 also comes with an overclocking switch, where you can activate the card’s overclocking profile that provides a GPU frequency of 960 MHz and memory frequency of 1425 MHz (5700 MHz effective). If you think it’s strange that they didn’t apply those clocks at the factory, you are not alone.

Among the outputs, we find dual DVI-I, HDMI, and dual mini-DisplayPort ports. The graphics card ships in a very slick-looking black box and for some reason also a matching set of screwdriver bits. What the final price tag will be is unclear, but the PowerColor HD 6970 Devil 13 will be on store shelves from the end of October.

#1. AMD Radeon HD 6990

The HD 6990 is a real monster. It has two high-end GPUs soldered onto the same board and the result is the most powerful graphics card on the market. It is also priced accordingly and draws a lot of power–something to bear in mind when getting a power supply for your next uber-powerful gaming rig. The two GPUs are based on the Cayman XT core, but the clocks are slightly lower to make things a little more manageable. Since each of the cores have 1,536 stream processors this card has 3,072 in total and more than five billion transistors. Needless to say, this enthusiast card will breeze through any game with all the details turn up to the maximum possible settings.

#2. Nvidia GeForce GTX 590

The GTX 590 is very close to the HD 6990 in most games and even exceeds it in some games. It is indeed created to compete with its AMD rival and just like the 6990 it comes with two GPUs on the same PCB. If you have been considering Nvidia 3D Vision in your next system, this is the manufacturer’s best-performing graphics card. Naturally, it is also the most expensive and power consuming, but if you want the best and nothing but the best and also want an Nvidia card, this is the one you’re looking for.

#3. Nvidia GeForce GTX 580

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 is an incredible piece of hardware for numerous reasons. It is the follow-up of the Fermi-based GTX 480–Nvidia’s first entry into the DX11 world–but has been improved in all possible ways; reduced noise and improved performance counts among the primary benefits of this cards. On top of that it is also the fastest single-GPU alternative on the market. It features a 512 CUDA cores, 1.5GB of GDDR5 video memory and a 384-bit memory bus. It is also considerably less expensive than the dual-GPU options, making it one of the best options available at the moment.

#4. ATI Radeon HD 6970

The card in question is AMD’s answer to the GTX 580 and the fastest single-GPU solution from this manufacturer. In most circumstances it’s not quite as fast as its Nvidia counterpart but not far from it. It is essentially a HD 6990 with one GPU instead of two and it has higher stock clocks since it doesn’t have to cope with two heat-generating components on the same PCB. The card comes standard with 2GB of GDDR5 video RAM, which is more than enough for most users and it easily plows through all your games with the details on high. The card’s 1,536 shaders, 32 ROPs and 1,375MHz memory clock will take care of that.

#5. Nvidia GeForce GTX 570

This graphics card is also based on the Fermi architecture and fully DirectX 11 compliant. The overall performance of the graphics card is good enough for any recent title at high settings, and it also comes in at a more attractive price point than the more expensive, high-end GTX 580. It is by no means significantly handicapped compared to the GTX 580; the GTX 570 comes with 480 CUDA cores running at 732MHz and an odd 1,280MB of GDDR5 video RAM clocked at 1900MHz (effective) over a 320-bit memory bus. On the whole it is actually slightly faster in most circumstances than the initial top-tier Fermi card, the GTX 480.

#6. Nvidia GeForce GTX 480

Next in line is the original Fermi design in the form of the GeForce GTX 480, which is somewhat difficult to recommend since it has been surpassed by newer and more efficient cards. However, if you manage to find one at an attractive price point it is still a viable option, but you should be aware that it’s not as power-efficient as the 500 series and it offers about the same performance as the GTX 570. That being said, it is a fast card with DX11 capabilities that produces playable frame rates at high resolutions in all current games.

#7. Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti

The GTX 560 Ti is one of the most popular GPUs at the moment, and for good reason. It hits an excellent “sweet spot” in terms of price versus performance. It is not far from the top-tier cards in the average number of frames per second it churns out in the latest games but is considerably cheaper. There are GTX 560 Ti cards available from practically all graphics card manufacturers and in different varieties. Most of them perform (or can be made to perform) about the same.

#8. ATI Radeon HD 6950

The HD 6950 is AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s GTX 560–it comes in at about the same price point and offers equivalent performance. Thanks to the fierce competition in the upper mid-range segment, the price on this card from most manufacturers has dropped further in recent months. It comes standard with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and 1408 stream processors, which are clocked at 1250Mhz and 800MHz respectively. In short, it’s a good graphics card, and if you are looking for something that is cost efficient it is clearly worth considering.

#9. ATI Radeon HD 6870

Compared to the HD 6950, the HD 6870 is equipped with fewer shaders–1170 vs. 1408–but this is partly compensated by the higher core clock speed 900MHz (of course, this is the standard clock speed and it differs between manufacturers). It is nevertheless slower than the HD 6950 and has just 1GB of GDDR5 instead of 2GB, but it is still a fast GPU and the best part is the very attractive price tag compared to its closest competitors. For gamers on a budget this is therefore a great option at the moment.

#10. ATI Radeon HD 6850

Finally, we are hitting the bottom of this list with the ATI Radeon HD 6850, but the fact that it’s on this list at all means that it is a fast graphics card. It builds on the same design as the HD 6870, but has slightly less processing power. There are 960 stream processors in this card and 1GB of GDDR5 memory. The standard core clock is 775MHz and memory clock 1000MHz, but just like with the other GPUs, the manufacturers are free to set their own default clocks and the speeds will vary between different cards.

Summary

Most of the above cards can be configured in SLI or CrossFireX, which will improve performance but not necessarily double it (or treble in 3-way SLI etc). How well a multi-card setup performs largely depends on the driver support. When using a multi-GPU configuration it is therefore more important than ever to have the latest drivers installed or you might not have a benefit at all from the extra graphics card(s). Most of the time there are specific profiles that need to be applied for each game for optimal performance, but these are integrated in the drivers and rarely something you have to worry about.

As far as we’ve been able to discern, these are the top 10 desktop graphics cards currently available on the market. The ranking is based on several factors and real-world performance may differ between different cards and different games. There are also differences between different cards from different manufacturers–some are factory overclocked and they all have their own unique pros and cons. If you find an error in the list, don’t hesitate to use the comments to let us know.

Either way, when purchasing a graphics card you can largely expect to get what you pay for, although there are some that offer a better price/performance ratio than other. Hopefully this list has at least helped you get an overview of what’s currently available and what to expect from the different GPUs.

The reason is possibly that the HD 6000 series is still in demand and the reasons for pushing a new product line into the market. The new graphics cards from both AMD and NVIDIA build on 28nm is something that many gamers have been waiting for but none of them are close to releasing these video yet. NVIDIA has already confirmed that they will not launch any products on 28nm this year but will wait until early 2012, so the current top 10 might hold for a while longer still.

Postponing the release of the HD 7000 series from 2011 to 2012 is not only due to high demand for the HD 6000 series, however, but also production capacity problems. Last month AMD had an unusually high demand for HD 6000 GPUs, because of a major influx in OEMs orders, and the distribution channels have had troubles coping with the high demand. It has also been said that since the HD 6000 series is barely a year old, there is little reason to replace it with the HD 7000 in the current situation.

Something that puts some doubts into the latest information, however, is the well-known fact that it is TSMC that manufactures graphics chips for both AMD and NVIDIA, and capacity problems are so big there already that they would have problems delivering 28nm technology before the end of 2011 anyway. Whatever the case might be, the HD 7000 series and NVDIA’s 600 series built on 28nm chips will not appear on the market until early 2012, at best.

In addition to higher frequencies, Sapphire offers a more effective cooler and support for Eyefinity across up to four separate displays. Sapphire has made sure that their new mid-range cards are well prepared even for demanding users. The first sign of this is their proprietary graphics card cooler “Vapor-X” that covers two expansion slots and uses sturdy heat pipes and a big fan. With a 10-phase power supply coupled with second-generation Black Diamond coils it should come well prepared for eager overclockers.

The graphics card comes with multiple video outputs including dual DVI outputs, one HDMI and two mini-DisplayPort outputs to support just about as many monitors as you want it to. Among other things you can plug in four monitors in a so-called SLS Eyefinity set, but with support for DisplayPort 1.2 the graphics card can also daisy chain monitors. Sapphire ships their video cards with several cables, including both an HDMI cable and a Mini-DP to DP adapter.

The card comes with a GPU clocked at 800MHz and 1GB of GDDR5 memory operating at 4400 MHz, which is higher than the 775/4000MHz reference frequencies. These frequencies can be increased further with the overclocking software TriXX that’s available for download on the manufacturer’s website. The package will also include a copy of the popular racing game DiRT 3. The price tag is expected to land somewhere around $150.

It was during a Q and A session with analysts in AMD’s latest conference call that AMD’s acting CEO, Thomas Seifert explained how the company views the future of the its products. There, Seifert brought up their particular discrete budget graphics card as an example of how the market will change in the future. Something that he says should benefit AMD.

But we also said that in the long run, parts of this business will be cannibalized and the low-end discrete GPUs will be replaced with Fusion-type products. And this is all goodness for us because it replaces low-cost margin revenue with high-gross margin revenue.

AMD has big plans for their product line, but already their first desktop-oriented APU circuits have started to encroach on their traditional graphics card sales; the integrated GPU part of the APU is good enough to not only compete with but obliterate entry-level discrete cards. Both AMD and Nvidia’s budget graphics cards are in deep trouble if the consumer opts for a Fusion APU processor.

When AMD rolls out its second generation APU circuits next year we should see a marked change in their entry-level models on the graphics card market. It will also be interesting to see how the “dual graphics” concept develops – a new variant of Hybrid SLI that uses both the relatively competent integrated GPU as well as a dedicated one to provide a boost to 3D gaming. Only the drivers is the a stumbling block.