Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Companies

 › 

EVGA Cuts Ties With Nvidia: The GPU Maker Cites “Bad Behavior”

EVGA and Nvidia

EVGA Cuts Ties With Nvidia: The GPU Maker Cites “Bad Behavior”

The End of EVGA Graphics Cards

The name EVGA is unavoidable if you have been looking to build a new gaming PC lately. EVGA makes power supplies, pre-built gaming computers, liquid coolers, and gaming mice and is a leading name in PC hardware. It is believed that EVGA and Nvidia have been partners since 1999, but bad business practices by Nvidia have caused them to sever their ties.

The repercussions of this event are a big deal for the PC hardware community. EVGA is responsible for roughly 40% of Nvidia’s graphics card market share in North America. With such a large share of the GPU market, many wonder what the company’s future looks like.

A new GPU shortage is also a growing concern since EVGA has historically been a large manufacturer of Nvidia graphics cards. With them out of the picture, other Nvidia partners like Gigabyte, MSI, and Asus need will need to increase production and become more competitive.

Let’s discuss what led up to this fateful split and what the future looks like now that Nvidia and EVGA are no longer working together.

EVGA and Nvidia
The Nvidia company designed legendary GPU in cards like the RTX 3090 and RTX 3080.

EVGA and Nvidia: How Long Have They Worked Together?

Nvidia is the designer behind legendary graphics processors in cards like the RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and other legendary GPUs. While Nvidia was founded initially in 1993, its first collaboration with EVGA wasn’t until 1999.

EVGA has been in the graphics card industry since 1999 when they made the RIVA TNT2, an early ancestor to modern GPUs. The company also offers motherboards, power supplies, and accessories. Among their graphics cards are the SC, SSC, Classified, Kingpin, and FTW editions. Additionally, EVGA offers specialized coolers and water blocks. 

EVGA and Nvidia: What led to the split?

With EVGA and Nvidia having such a longstanding business relationship, it is hard to imagine the split. EVGA used Nvidia’s GPUs exclusively. After a twenty-year partnership, Geforce sales represented roughly 80 percent of their revenue. However, a few crucial shortcomings on Nvidia’s part led to EVGA making the ultimate decision to part ways.

Since EVGA was an Add-in board partner (AIB), their say in the design of new graphics cards was limited. The early days of collaboration between Nvidia and AIBs like EVGA, MSI, and Gigabyte typically allowed the AIB more freedom to modify the GPU design to create a custom card.

EVGA Nvidia 3080 GPU
One of the last Nvidia GPUs from EVGA: the RTX 3080. You can see the distinctive EVGA logo on each of the cooling fans.

The ability of an AIB to create graphics cards with dual GPUs on one board, expandable memory, or even a dual-board design was short-lived. Nvidia tightened restrictions and made it difficult for AIBs to produce unique hardware.

Nvidia was also called out for allegedly undermining AIB partners like EVGA by selling cards at lower price points. Historically, Nvidia is able to offer its own version of the base GPU, known as the Founder’s Edition.

Due to Nvidia’s lower production costs, their Founder’s cards are often cheaper than what AIB partners can compete with. EVGA and other partners are often forced to fight a losing price battle with Nvidia directly. Since Founder’s Edition GPUs are sold at lower costs than the same AIB-made cards, it is hard to compete.

To top it all off, EVGA still cites selling their recent supply of Nvidia GPUs at a loss. Despite EVGA’s cards costing more than the Nvidia Founder’s Edition cards, it was still impossible to maintain a profit. You can only sell a product at a loss for so long until it makes sense to cut ties completely.

Additionally, EVGA complained of a lack of communication and support when creating drivers for new cards. Nvidia would often fail to provide EVGA with drivers to use for the development of new graphics cards. AIB partners, including EVGA, would only get drivers when the new GPUs were launched to the general public. This caused unnecessary delays in development. 

What is the future of graphics cards?

Largest GPU Companies
It is surprising that the two companies split, seeing as the launch of the 4000 series GPUs is so close.

With the 4000 series GPUs so close to being launched, the EVGA split is a surprise to everyone. The news has everyone wondering whether EVGA will still produce the next generation of cards. Since EVGA has completely dismantled the partnership at this point, it is unlikely to expect any more Nvidia cards from them.

EVGA is handling things with the utmost level of professionalism and care. Product manager Jacob Freeman posted on EVGA’s forums: “EVGA is committed to our customers and will continue to offer sales and support on the current lineup. Also, EVGA would like to say thank you to our great community for the many years of support and enthusiasm for EVGA graphics cards.”

Jacob went on to confirm a few of our suspicions. Primarily, EVGA will not carry the next-generation graphics cards. The new 4000 series cards that are just over the horizon will still be available from other AIB partners like MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, and Zotac. For those who already own an EVGA graphics card, EVGA will continue to offer warranties and support. 

Additionally, since EVGA still has a sizable portion of their 3000 series graphics cards in stock, they will continue to sell until the supply runs out. 

Nvidia RTX 4090 vs RTX 4080 16gb

The Nvidia

RTX 4090 and RTX 4080

16GB are two of the most powerful GPUs in the RTX series.

EVGA has 40% of the market share for GPUs in North America alone. With such a significant market share, it is suspected that the remaining AIB partners will not be able to swallow the increase in demand. This could potentially lead to a new GPU shortage once the 4000 series cards come out.

Next Up…

Check out these awesome Starlink articles:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between EVGA and Nvidia?

Nvidia and EVGA are similar companies, but there are a few key differences in how they work. Nvidia makes the actual processor, and while they produce their own graphics cards known as the Founder’s Edition, they also allow add-in-board partners (AIBs) to make custom graphics cards using their processors. EVGA was Nvidia’s most prominent AIB partner until now.

Why did EVGA leave Nvidia? 

EVGA cited poor communication, undercutting on price, and restrictive policies.

What does EVGA make?

EVGA makes power supplies, motherboards, gaming accessories, and other hardware. They are officially out of the graphics card business.

Who started EVGA?

Andrew Han started the company in 1999.

How many employees does EVGA have?

It is estimated that EVGA employs over 250 people. It is unclear whether the split with Nvidia will lead to any layoffs.

To top