Rumor that price is dropping slightly in Europe (Germany at least). I think they were charging above MSRP.

I've been checking Newegg daily. The prices seem to be holding at the original asking prices. Some prices have always been $550 (which is the USA MSRP). Frequently out of stock then back in stock 24 to 48 hours later.

This is an improvement versus last weekend when price hit over $680 on the weekend (then fell on Monday with general availability).

Also an improvement over HD4xxx and HD5xxx where the price quickly spiked upward after release. Of course, HD7xxx started high to begin with (those older 4xxx and 5xxx models were priced much better to begin with -- I think I paid $270 for my HD4870 top card).

P.S. Now I'm waiting to see how the super factory OC cards turn out. No real "internal pressure" to buy a reference card as it does not outperform my current cards sufficiently.