EVGA’s NVIDIA Divorce Shocks As Key Player Exits GPUs

Apparently, Nvidia had been keeping EVGA in the dark about crucial information such as the GPU core details and drivers right until the next-gen graphics cards were announced on stage. EVGA has cultivated a solid reputation for their custom AIBs, both for their hardware quality as well as the stellar support service that comes with the purchase. However, EVGA’s exit will definitely send ripples through Nvidia’s GPU universe. 

According to Jon Peddie Research, the EVGA snapped up a healthy 40% market share for Nvidia AIBs in North America. Regarding the situation with Nvidia and AIB partners in general, the report notes that as “manufacturing costs, R&D expense, and market costs have gone up, margins for the AIB partners have come down.” Moreover, Nvidia’s decision to start selling its own GPUs directly — and later via BestBuy — further disrupted the market dynamics. 

Nvidia currently sells what it calls Founders Editions cards that are noticeably cheaper. However, it is not just Nvidia competing against its AIB partners with an in-house first-party GPU tuned and tested by its own teams, which sounds more lucrative to a graphics card buyer. Instead, Nvidia sold these Founders Edition cards a few hundred dollars cheaper than what AIB partners like EVGA were selling the same GPU, and that is even before seasonal discounts.