i doubt it, its not like nvidia to release a card worse than ati, i think this thing will be just as good if not better but we will see, as for the price drops i think theyve already come down quite a bit (maybe im wrong but i havent been watching them) but i think it all depends on how well the 7900gtx sells, if they sell a lot which i suspect they will the 7800 series should come down quite a bit