EVGA announces the end of its GPU business

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The announcement was made last night via videos posted by Gamernexus and JayztwoCents, both of whom were invited to EVGA to hear about the announcement. The information was kept secret until now… There will be no EVGA RTX 40 or future generations of GPUs. EVGA is ending its GPU business. Although at the moment it seems that there is no question of it, maybe we can hope to see EVGA back in the GPU business one day. Maybe alongside Intel or AMD… ?

La fin des GPU EVGA - 7950GX2 Black pearl
Evga 7950GX2 Black Pearl – One of the first Evga cards to be tested by Cornerjack – 2006 (source: Overclex)

For those who are not yet familiar with this iconic brand. EVGA was founded in 1999 and offered graphics cards exclusively equipped with NVIDIA chips. A partnership that will have lasted until the break 23 years later.

EVGA Ends Partnership with NVIDIA

“EVGA has ended its relationship with NVIDIA. EVGA will no longer manufacture any graphics cards, citing a strained relationship with NVIDIA as the main reason (other reasons have been mentioned but downplayed). EVGA is not considering any collaboration with either AMD or Intel at this time. Thus, the company will reduce its workforce very soon by withdrawing completely from the graphics card market. Customers will still be covered by EVGA warranties, but the manufacturer will no longer produce RTX GPUs or any other graphics cards. EVGA had already produced about 20 “EVT (Engineering Validation Test) samples of EVGA RTX 4090 FTW3 cards, but the latter will not go into production, and all ongoing projects have been discontinued – including the KINGPIN cards.”

Significant consequences on the market and the structure of EVGA

So here is the quote from Gamer Nexus regarding EVGA’s total cessation of activities in the graphics card business. Some important points about this discontinuation in this field were discussed during the GamerNexus and Evga interview.

  • EVGA will cease all graphics card manufacturing activities
  • Current consumers will still be covered by the EVGA warranty
  • EVGA has generated stock to cover warranty returns
  • EVGA expects to run out of RTX 30 by the end of 2022
  • EVGA will continue its activities in its other areas
  • EVGA will not sell the graphics card business
  • EVGA will not enter a new product category
  • NVIDIA was informed in April 2022
  • There will be no partnership with Intel or AMD on the GPU front
  • Engineering samples of the RTX 40 were finished, but there will be no production
  • Employees assigned to GPUs will be moved to other functions.
La fin des GPU EVGA - 8800 Ultra SC
EVGA 8800 Ultra SC – A powerhouse in 2007 (source: Overclex)

We might as well say that EVGA employees are the most to be pitied, with 80% of the turnover linked to the sale of graphics cards, EVGA loses its biggest income. And, the human resources allocated to 80% of the disappearing turnover will not all be reallocated to other sectors. The employees could be redistributed in the sector of power supplies or motherboards to make the design of future products.

Tensions between NVIDIA and EVGA would have made the situation worse

How did EVGA get there? The answer would lie with NVIDIA. According to GN, EVGA is fed up with Nvidia imposing so many conditions, with a threshold and floor price, when they themselves announce the MSRP price at the last moment. Under these conditions, AIBs such as EVGA develop cards without having a perfect estimate of the price at which it can be sold. This can be seen on the high-end models. Add to that the fact that NVIDIA now controls its own end-to-end chain, from production to direct sales, and competes directly with AIBs with massively lower prices.

La fin des GPU EVGA
(source: Gamer Nexus)

So we end up with margins for AIB truncated by the price of the chip. Adding to that the RMA issues on the RTX 30s, the result is that EVGA was losing money on the sale of its graphics cards. These are the conditions that pushed EVGA to put an end to more than twenty years of manufacturing graphics cards. An expertise that should unfortunately not be put at the service of Intel or AMD for their GPUs.

La fin des GPU EVGA - Pertes sur les RTX
(source: Gamer Nexus)

The next question is “What will happen to Vince Kingpin Lucido? The latter has been working for EVGA for over 10 years in the overclocking section. And, especially on GPUs. Without graphics cards, he is left with EVGA motherboards, a much reduced workload with little sales volume. The work on motherboards should be emphasized more in the future, as these products offer better margins and are more predictable. We’re still waiting to hear back from Vince, who’s not sure where this is going at the moment.

La fin des GPU EVGA - GTX 780 Ti Kingpin
EVGA GTX 780 Ti Kingpin – The very first Kingpin Edition card – 2014 (source: Overclex)

Now it remains to be seen if the NVIDA GPU allocations will be redistributed or simply reviewed globally downwards. The need for graphics cards being much less important since the fallout of the “proof of work” of Ethereum. We also think about the industry behind the manufacturing of EVGA graphics cards, whether it is for cooling, PCBs or waterblocks.

La fin des GPU EVGA - GTX 1080 Ti Kingpin
EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Kingpin – The latest GTX Kingpin, still coveted – 2018 (source: Overclex)

Needless to say, the entire editorial staff and community was shocked by this news. EVGA has always been my favorite brand. And, today we will no longer be able to enjoy the Kingpin cards and their battles against the GALAX HOF. A very sad forfeit victory for GALAX…

La fin des GPU EVGA - EVGA RTX 3090 Ti KingPin
EVGA RTX 3090 Ti Kingpin – The last of its line…

A page is turning, thank you EVGA for offering us such good graphics cards.