A couple weeks ago AMD quietly slashed the prices of its Radeon HD 3870 and Radeon HD 3850 graphics cards. Today, the 3870 can still be had for as little as $189.99, but the 9600 GT has dropped from its $179.99 launch price to just $149.99 in some cases. Presumably in light of those changes, The Inquirer claims AMD is prepping an additional price cut for both of its Radeon HD 3800-series graphics cards. Supposedly, the 3870 will dip to an all-time low of "$159 or less," while the 3850 will sink to $145 or less. Those drops should give the 9600 GT some stiffer competition, especially considering how certain Radeon HD 3850 offerings compare with Nvidia's new budget wonder. Naturally, the price cuts will leave the $200-300 price arena pretty much devoid of any AMD cards once again. Luckily for fans of the red team, recent reports suggest AMD plans to introduce new Radeon HD 4800 series graphics cards some time in the second quarter of this year. The cards are rumored to have crazy numbers of stream processors, and they may yet give Nvidia a run for its money. (thanks TechReport)