Videocardz, through their industry sources, say they've confirmed that ASUS is working on their own Radeon RX 590 ROG STRIX graphics card. The naming isn't a typo: the GPP-fueled AREZ moniker has apparently gone off the window for ASUS by now, and the RX 590 should be marketed under its (again) brand-agnostic ROG lineup. The product code (ASUS Radeon RX 590 ROG STRIX GAMING (ROG-STRIX-RX590-8G-GAMING) indicates the usage of 8 GB of graphics memory just like the RX 580, and we all expect this to be of the GDDR5 kind with no further refinements. It's all in the die, as they (could) say.

The same exact graphics cards, made by the same exact manufacturer, in the same exact factory, with the only difference being the "AREZ Strix" branding, priced a whopping USD $160 apart - that's the kind of mess NVIDIA GPP (GeForce Partners Program) left in its wake. Newegg lists the ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 (STRIX-RXVEGA64-O8G-GAMING) graphics card at USD $589.99. This card was made before ASUS decided to re-brand its AMD Radeon graphics cards under the AREZ Strix brand, necessitated by NVIDIA GPP. The post-rebrand AREZ Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 (AREZ RXVEGA64-O8G-GAMING), is priced at $749.99 on the same site, a whopping $160 premium for what is basically a sticker. Just to make sure this isn't a discrepancy between the various sellers from Newegg's marketplace, we also post screenshots that confirm both listings are "sold and shipped by Newegg" (and not a marketplace partner).

We noticed this anomaly on Newegg last week (the week of 9th July), and initially dismissed it for a listing error that would be resolved by the retailer in a couple of days. The week passed, and the listings didn't change. NVIDIA triggered a strong backlash for the language of its GeForce Partners Program (GPP), which implicitly forced its AIC (add-in card) partners to keep their well-established gaming hardware brands (eg: ROG, Aorus, MSI Gaming, etc.,) exclusive to GeForce GTX graphics cards, forcing them to re-brand their AMD Radeon products (and stripping them of those well-established brands, thereby putting AMD at a disadvantage). NVIDIA eventually cancelled GPP, but not before the likes of ASUS and MSI committed changes to their product stacks. AREZ is the Frankenstein's monster that was too late to abort, which now threatens to rip off uninformed consumers.

Well, if doubts ever existed, those have been somewhat dispelled in recent times, but this must be the final nail in the GPP coffin. Hopefully, it's also the proverbial nail to show customers Green, Red and Blue (seldom-remembered Intel was also a target) of what exactly NVIDIA's program entailed. NVIDIA found itself in a rather embattled field against tech publications and consumers alike when the first match was lit on what GPP was and what it forced NVIDIA partners to do with their brands. Turns out exclusively aligning them with NVIDIA products would give incredibly relevant advantages compared to partners who didn't, forcing an otherwise healthy ecosystem to converge on the dominant market player.

After around two months of story coverage, NVIDIA terminated the GPP program - begrudgingly so, and seemingly forgetting everything about the way things are meant to be played. However, some AMD partners had already announced some exclusive AMD-branded graphics cards, with new, market recognition-absent brands such as ASUS's AREZ and (it all seems to point that way) MSI's MECH 2 series of graphics cards. What were they to do in the wake of GPP's earlier-than-expected burial? These companies spent marketing and design funds to come up with new brands and designs, after all.UPDATE (22/05): ASUS informed us that the tweet which was the basis of the original report is not operated by ASUS. The company stated that it will continue to sell ASUS ROG and AREZ branded graphics cards side-by-side. ASUS is in the process of getting Twitter to take down the impersonating handle.

In a blog post on its gaming website, AMD has decided to put on the white gloves for a distinctive strike against NVIDIA's GPP initiative, which has seen rivers of ink and public discussion already. In the blog post, entitled "Radeon RX Graphics: A Gamer's Choice", the company is clearly putting its footing on the same stance it always finds itself positioned to by NVIDIA: the freedom of choice, and freedom of standards side of the equation.

The blog post entirely reads as an anti environment-lock manifesto, extorting the virtues of PC gaming and the open-ended building and assembly of parts from various manufacturers that it's built upon. As a move against NVIDIA's decision to enforce their GPP initiative to lock-in AIB partners towards having an NVIDIA-exclusive brand, AMD has come out of the gates saying that the simple solution is for partners to announce new, AMD-exclusive brands as well. This is logical; was to be expected; and is really AMD's only move out of this forced hand it was dealt with.

ASUS today announced AREZ, a new brand identity for ASUS Radeon RX graphics cards. Derived from Ares, the Greek god of war, AREZ-branded graphics cards are built using industry-leading automated manufacturing to provide AMD gamers and enthusiasts with superior cooling technology and a robust software ecosystem. The new AREZ brand underlines the strong working partnership between ASUS and AMD that spans decades. Gamers and enthusiasts will enjoy a combination of exclusive ASUS innovations and technologies and AMD's Radeon graphics processors and software.

"Gamers around the world rally behind AMD Radeon because of what the Radeon name stands for: a dedication to open innovation such as our contributions to the DirectX and Vulkan APIs, a commitment to true transparency through industry standards like Radeon FreeSync technology, and a desire to expand the PC gaming ecosystem by enabling developers to take advantage of all graphics hardware, including AMD Radeon graphics. We invite gamers everywhere who believe in these values and the value of the exceptional gaming experience Radeon graphics delivers to join the Red team," said Scott Herkelman, Vice President and General Manager, AMD Radeon Technologies Group.