EVGA To Terminate NVIDIA Agreement, Cease Selling GeForce Graphics Cards

We expected this Friday to be pretty tame, but it’s anything but. In a new bombshell report by Gamers Nexus, it’s revealed that EVGA is withdrawing its NVIDIA partnership, and will thus stop producing and selling graphics cards after the current generation.

Other vendors might have sold more graphics cards than EVGA overall, but it’s hard to imagine that any have developed a better overall image. For two decades, EVGA has been at the forefront of graphics card design, and over the years developed unique features that helped set itself apart from the rest. Our second-ever graphics card review, back in 2006, was of the company’s GeForce 7800 GT – and even then, the company had a great reputation.

So… what’s the problem? A big role in this decision is the fact that EVGA seemed to only make real profit on lower-end cards. On current-gen top-end cards, the company allegedly lost money. That’s quite something, considering the cards have not been inexpensive (even when ignoring scalping).

If all of that is indeed true, then it’s understandable why the company would have to deal with the problem at hand. After all, companies need to make money to continue operating, and while GPUs accounted for 80% of EVGA’s revenue, the losses on a bulk of the available product is clearly problematic.

EVGA’s GeForce GTX 1080 iCX Edition

Other vendors are allegedly dealing with the same issues, but some are so large that they are surviving through it better. That said, with EVGA pulling out of its long-standing NVIDIA partnership, it might make these other vendors think over their own operations.

Fortunately, EVGA doesn’t plan on closing up shop. It’s just not going to continue producing and selling graphics cards. Further, owners of current EVGA models don’t need to fret about support, as the company has retained inventory to deal with future warranty obligations. The company also doesn’t seem entirely interested in expanding its product portfolio, but it’s hard to believe it wouldn’t end up doing so at some point in the future.

EVGA’s TITAN Z Hydro Copper

EVGA’s move here has made us ponder some realities. Are vendors like EVGA even necessary? They effectively act as a proxy, and ultimately, it seems like NVIDIA (and AMD, Intel) would earn more profit on their chips with direct sales. Of course, though, vendors like EVGA provide variety to the market. They deliver unique designs, advanced coolers, and in some cases, special features. If the likes of AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA only sold their GPUs direct, then it’d become a matter of you-get-what-you-get.

With EVGA pulling out, it puts NVIDIA in a bit of an awkward position, although its other partners won’t have any qualm about picking up the slack. Still, the reality is that NVIDIA could effectively do all of this on its own (in time; not immediately), so we’d imagine these other companies are starting to wonder not whether they want to pull out, but whether or not NVIDIA will eventually push them out.

The timing of this revelation is almost uncanny, as NVIDIA is likely to announce its next-gen GeForce series in mere days. The company has been promoting a reveal on social media, set to happen on the 20th.

This move by EVGA seems so major, that we’re likely to keep thinking about its various angles through the weekend. One thing we can say for sure is: the company would be absolutely missed in the graphics card market. It’s hard to even imagine the company not producing graphics cards anymore. We also can’t help but think of KINGPIN, who’s long helped develop EVGA’s most advanced top-end graphics cards. And of course, press rep Jacob Freeman, who’s been a frontman of sorts, and has delivered quality care to the community over the years.

What do you think of these new revelations? If you were a devout EVGA customer, what other vendor grabs you?