AMD is extending its lead over Nvidia with the launch of the HD 7950, the cheaper incarnation of AMD’s Tahiti card. The HD 7950 seems like a very competitive part and it will end up with a much more attractive price tag than the HD 7970.

However, users who are not willing or able to spend €400+ on a graphics card won’t have to wait much longer for AMD’s next generation mainstream and performance cards. According to a launch schedule leaked by MSI, Cape Verde HD 77x0 cards are coming on February 15, in roughly two weeks time. Both will end up with 1GB of RAM and they will run at 900MHz. The HD 7770 will feature 896 stream processors and 56 texture units, while the HD 7750 will boast 832 stream processors and 52 texture units. Both are competitively priced at $149 and $139 respectively.

The sweet spot for most users will be mid range Pitcairn cards, which are set to debut sometime in March. The HD 7870 is said to feature 1280 stream processors, while the HD 7850 packs 1408 units. They will feature 88 and 80 texture units respectively and the clocks should be similar to Cape Verde cards.

The prices? Well the HD 7870 will sell for $299, while the HD 7850 should cost $50 less, which sounds like a fair deal.

More here.