In Aftermath of NVIDIA GPP, ASUS Creates AREZ Brand for Radeon Graphics Cards

[bug]

I don't think nvidia would not ship chips to those who don't join GPP, it makes no sense, they would be hurting themselves too. They accept the contract they also accept all the terms that's normal.

It's about getting there first. If you don't have card on release, you loose a big chunk of profits. Then again, EVGA has no problem coming up with their custom designs later on, so this puts more pressure on those that are happy to put a sticker on a reference design and call it a day. From that point ov view, GPP may even be a kick in the rear of lazy manufacturers (neah, I'm not holding my breath).

 

[oxidized]

And, I, as an old school gamer, am really offended by your elitism. A (video) gamer is a person who plays (video) games, period. To me, it doesn't matter what games does he (or she) play or what hardware is used in the process ...

Wow i was actually not serious, but if you put it this way, a gamer became "a person who plays (video) games" because, that term was referred to enthusiasts once, now it's used for all kind of people on all kind of platforms which is very stupid.
/OT

He wrote priority. They will still give chips to ones that didn't get into the GPP program, but If you don't get the chips first, you will miss out on massive amount of cash. And AIBs won't risk it.

Yeah it doesn't matter then, they still receive their chips not matter how fast or slow. Asus msi and gigabyte should've just refused this whole thing altogether, nvidia would've gone back on its steps.

 

[AsRock]

ASUS AREZ, gotta be kidding surly ASUS could come up with some thing much better than some thing that sounds like Arse. That said makes me all so wounder if it's done to get them No.1 on nVidia's list.

Well for that i will not be buying ASUS products again until they can stop being Arez about this.

 

[ironwolf]

Are XFX and EVGA owned by the same parent company like sapphire and zotac are?

XFX parent unit is Pine Technology Holdings Limited out of Hong Kong.

 

[dj-electric]

I'm completely neutral about this. If asus makes good cards, ill buy em. End of story

 

[Vya Domus]

This is a blatant group boycott and likely illegal per se (inherently illegal). I expect AMD to be building a case getting documents and testimony from the complicit parties

And as usual , it'll probably amount to nothing. Nvidia's goal is to downplay AMD's image and it's associated brands. Since these types of lawsuits take ages by the time they are done with it the damage will have been already done.

Nvidia is in the exact same position as Intel was years ago , they've successfully launched attacks on all fronts against their competitor and they've reached a point where they can afford to blatantly break the law as long as it gets them one step closer to having a complete monopoly on the market.

 

[cdawall]

I'm just here trying to figure out why people are saying they will never buy Asus again because of this.

Asus didn't make these rules, msi/gb are already rebranding products as well to meet these guidelines so are people not going to buy from three of the largest suppliers or is this just another "screw Asus fest"

Also confused on the "overpriced" Asus product comments. Their top tier is no more or less expensive than anyone else and at least when they sell a product it doesn't have a vrm section that makes me want to vomit. (looking at you gb and msi).

This is yet another TWIMTBP ploy from nvidia. I am sure Asus would have paid greatly had they not complied with this nonsense and I sense an antitrust suit similar to amd/Intel back in the day.

 

[sutyi]

I don't think nvidia would not ship chips to those who don't join GPP, it makes no sense, they would be hurting themselves too. They accept the contract they also accept all the terms that's normal.

Not being able to develop custom designs around a certain silicon early on is pretty bad. Not being able to present your midrange or top of the line custom cards on launch day and parting with all the exposure such a launch gets. It will hurt sales if the only thing you have to offer is a generic reference / Founder's Edition while others are saturating the market with their GPP approoved 2 fan, heatpipe RGB cooler OC gaming cards while you are sitting there reboxing FE cards for nVIDIA if can get those that is.

Getting ES samples is one thing, but then there is the possibility of not being able to get the amount of GPUs you would need, because GPP partners take priority.

 

[Readlight]

is Asus best quality video card maker or not.

 

[EntropyZ]

is Asus best quality video card maker or not.

Their current cooling solution is better than most. It's their warranty that stinks. They think their products are so great they will never break down the in the warranty span and try to refuse you an RMA.

 

[eidairaman1]

I'm just here trying to figure out why people are saying they will never buy Asus again because of this.

Asus didn't make these rules, msi/gb are already rebranding products as well to meet these guidelines so are people not going to buy from three of the largest suppliers or is this just another "screw Asus fest"

Also confused on the "overpriced" Asus product comments. Their top tier is no more or less expensive than anyone else and at least when they sell a product it doesn't have a vrm section that makes me want to vomit. (looking at you gb and msi).

This is yet another TWIMTBP ploy from nvidia. I am sure Asus would have paid greatly had they not complied with this nonsense and I sense an antitrust suit similar to amd/Intel back in the day.

Called it earlier lol

 

[springs113]

This to me, have anti-trust lawsuits written all over it. It seems that Nvidia may be breaking a lot of laws...If they aren't reprimanded then someone/group that have the power of say like the FTC(USA) is getting paid off somewhere. It happens way more than we are led to believe. If they are, then it seems to me that they did not learn from Intel's shenanigans. I will buy a card no matter what branding, I just refuse to buy a Nvidia card outright. Now as far as GIG, MSI, ASUS goes, all they have to do is stick together but apparently they could be collecting under the table as well if this is all true. Sad that money runs everything but it is truly us as the consumers fault. We never really supported AMD even when they had the better offering. History shows that the majority of people still bought Nvidia cards even when they were the inferior product...just because. We will see what this whole GPP entails soon enough however.

 

[oxidized]

Not being able to develop custom designs around a certain silicon early on is pretty bad. Not being able to present your midrange or top of the line custom cards on launch day and parting with all the exposure such a launch gets. It will hurt sales if the only thing you have to offer is a generic reference / Founder's Edition while others are saturating the market with their GPP approoved 2 fan, heatpipe RGB cooler OC gaming cards while you are sitting there reboxing FE cards for nVIDIA if can get those that is.

Getting ES samples is one thing, but then there is the possibility of not being able to get the amount of GPUs you would need, because GPP partners take priority.

Yes but that'll hurt both nvidia and the manufacturer, makes little sense honestly.

 

[eidairaman1]

Sapphire, XFX, HIS/Visiontek/Tul for me thanks.

 

[springs113]

Yes but that'll hurt both nvidia and the manufacturer, makes little sense honestly.

GPP is fine you know...the problem lies with all the AIB. Stick together and go against the grain then Nvidia will have to restructure. It is the same as us consumers boycotting a product. The main problem is people talk a lot but do otherwise. We can stop this very easily but will we. Our forefathers stood more for things than we do now-a-days. We are full of talk and no action, which is why GPP will prevail.

 

[sutyi]

Yes but that'll hurt both nvidia and the manufacturer, makes little sense honestly.

This whole ordeal makes no sense from a consumers perspective. Sacrificing short term profits if need be to secure longterm monopoly in market segments where it matters. That is the only goal here.

 

[springs113]

At the end of the day, smart consumers will do what they need to do...however there are more casual consumers than there are smart ones. Like I stated previously though, We will see.

 

[cdawall]

Their current cooling solution is better than most. It's their warranty that stinks. They think their products are so great they will never break down the in the warranty span and try to refuse you an RMA.

I have rma'd multiple cards with Asus and had absolutely zero issues.

 

[EntropyZ]

I have rma'd multiple cards with Asus and had absolutely zero issues.

It usually depends on the person you deal with, and what mood they're in. If it's some indian guy behind a desk... No, thank you very much. Bye. I don't like my time wasted. It's like they do it on purpose.

So long as you don't have to contact them directly, there's probably not going to be a problem.

I'm willing to give them a chance, but one moar time their support will start being useless again and I'm not even looking at these guys. I've bought their stuff for 10+ years, and support seems to be just messing around with me when I want something from them. They're doing it in the company's name expense, but what do I know, I never worked in tech support. I'm probably wrong.

 

[evernessince]

In my workplace, we're not allowed to sell Pepsi from our Coke vending machine. It's not anti trust, it's cold, callous business.

If AMD make a fantastic gfx card, and it has an awesome cooler and still carries the 'Frozr' name, it won't make it less appealing. Likewise, an Nvidia card that underperforms but has a 'Gaming' tag, won't make it a hit. Price/Performance dictate the success. The branding is used by AIB/AIC to flog us any old crap.

Frankly it's less confusing to the uninformed if MSI Gaming X, doesn't apply to both Nvidia and AMD. I always liked Asus 'Ares' and 'Mars' branding, cleverly, the same God under different times.

You are comparing a single company's vending machine to the entire GPU market. Yeah, that's the worst analogy I've ever seen. See, your single vending machine at work is fine because it doesn't hurt consumer choices. If you want a Pepsi you can drive a quarter mile in any direction and get Pepsi from a wide number of sources. On the other hand, Nvidia is completely preventing any product called "Pepsi" from appearing anywhere. They force them to change it to a generic name if they want to sell it under AMD.

Interestingly enough, when new surfaced about some manufacturer switching memory chips on their video cards, several people here were very vocal about it. Now that Nvidia and AMD cards get their separate lines there's public outcry again.

I've said from the start, GPP doesn't prevent anyone from offering AMD hardware. It just asks for Nvidia hardware to have a dedicated branding. Though if I were Asus, I would have kept AMD under the ROG moniker and came up with something else for Nvidia. At least that's what would have made more sense to me.

Wrong, if that were true ASUS and MSI could have easily created Nvidia only branding. Instead they took brands that AMD uses as well. Hmm.. Coicidence? I think not.

I'm just here trying to figure out why people are saying they will never buy Asus again because of this.

Asus didn't make these rules, msi/gb are already rebranding products as well to meet these guidelines so are people not going to buy from three of the largest suppliers or is this just another "screw Asus fest"

Also confused on the "overpriced" Asus product comments. Their top tier is no more or less expensive than anyone else and at least when they sell a product it doesn't have a vrm section that makes me want to vomit. (looking at you gb and msi).

This is yet another TWIMTBP ploy from nvidia. I am sure Asus would have paid greatly had they not complied with this nonsense and I sense an antitrust suit similar to amd/Intel back in the day.

So because others are doing it that makes it okay? Schoolyard logic if I've ever seen it.

ASUS would have lose some Nvidia sales but then again at least they wouldn't have also lost Mobo, monitor, and AMD GPU sales. This says nothing to the demands Nvidia will make in the future, surely behind doors just like the GPP.

Nvidia is a bully, giving in only emboldens them. ASUS capitulating is only part one. Sometimes the moral decision is the right decision for a business. People who go on about business having to make money seem to completely forget that people have to want to give that company their money.

 

[Basard]

I get what you're saying about price/performance, but only a limited number of people actually do the research when buying graphics cards.
For an example, in a store, you see two cards next to each other, an ASUS Geforce ROG GTX XXX, and an AREZ Radeon XXX, what will you buy, a card from ASUS, a company you've heard of, or AREZ a new name (even though the card, or the cooling itself, is just as good or better?).
If you follow the PC industry, you'll see through the branding and you can make a rational decision and buy whichever has the price/performance, or whatever you're after, regardless of the branding. But if you're just a customer buying a card for that new "gamer" rig, I'm guessing you go for the stuff for "gamers", in this case you get ASUS ROG.

If it means that they have to sell the Arez card for cheaper because nobody is buying it, then I'm all for it. I'll take the Arez.
Also, I'd like to add that it will maybe give some more/better variety of AMD (ffs, I keep wanting to tpye ATI forever) cards. Some nice competition between the Arez and Asus departments. At least somebody at Asus gets a promotion out of it to manage the Arez cards somewhat independently of the Geforce fcards. ROG is a lame brand anyways.
I don't care about the average consumers' point of view any further than I could throw them. If they buy the Asus cards, then so be it. Let them have their overpriced GPP nonsense.

 

[Captain_Tom]

Hey "Ares" used to mean the Yearly Most Powerful GPU they made (When it was possible to make the strongest GPU on Earth with Radeon!). Might as well re-purpose it for this.

https://wccftech.com/asus-unleashes-rog-ares-ii-dual-radeon-hd-7970-ghz-graphics-card/

 

[cdawall]

Hey "Ares" used to mean the Yearly Most Powerful GPU they made (When it was possible to make the strongest GPU on Earth with Radeon!). Might as well re-purpose it for this.

https://wccftech.com/asus-unleashes-rog-ares-ii-dual-radeon-hd-7970-ghz-graphics-card/

I would be fine with it if they spelled it like normal people. Ares would make a good brand, I don't know what the "Z" nonsense is.

 

[bug]

That kills the very goal of nvidia, exploiting the well know branding of a certain manufacturer in order to gain (as if they don't have already) further market advantage, since many would blindly buy some card with X brand, giving more weight to the "X brand" than to the card itself.
So yeah if nvidia asked partners just to differentiate their product from their competition's, and asus thought would be wise enough to give their top brand to nvidia and move AMD to something else, then i'd say it's completely on asus. On the other hand if nvidia asked esplicitly to be assigned of ROG or STRIX brand, well...

Come on, it's not that hard, really. Nvidia wants a program where they would chip in on advertising (among other things). Of course they don't want AMD cards under the same umbrella, they'd be promoting their own competition if that happened. So I really don't think they asked for any specific line of products (it's not in the GPP parts that were "leaked" so far). Just a line for their own.
It's why I said Asus (and others) should have said: "you want a line for yourselves? fine, we'll keep what we have for amd and you're welcome to start promoting your dedicated line from scratch."

The real problem here is AMD's lack of ability to compete at the high-end for I don't remember how many years in a row. Everybody who praised them for abandoning high-end with Polaris and going mid-range only "because that's where the real money is", you now see how wrong you were. Because at this point AMD can't do amything about GPP, but go cry on Kyle's (and others') shoulders.

 

[Ruyki]

some time ago during a top level meeting at nVidia:
person 1: We could enable VESA adaptive sync capability for our desktop gpus.
person 2: Interesting idea, but how about we force board makers to use their high end branding for nVidia cads only instead. Also, let's make game developers put a bunch of useless effects into their games that tank performance for all cards, but more for AMD.
person 1: That's just as well.