"AMD: EVGA wanted to sell ATI cards"

AmberClad

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
4,914
0
0
Hey, a non-INQ story for once ;).

AMD: EVGA wanted to sell ATI cards

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and it seems that one of Nvidia's key partners went and asked AMD if it needed help shifting a few more Radeon cards. It seems Nvidia's squeeze on its 20+ partners has been just too much for EVGA and it went to see what other options were available.

AMD's top brass casually told us yesterday that "[it] only needs eight partners" and that it doesn't want to damage the loyalty between them and itself after they've stuck by AMD through rough (HD 2900 XT) and the smooth (HD 4000-series).
.
.
.
AMD considers its world-wide coverage already sufficient and further saturating the market with yet another "sticker on generic product" doesn't do anyone any favours - with this sentiment we completely agree.
.
.
.
(Very) Unofficially, AMD said the only Nvidia partner it would want to work with was BFG in the States, but it couldn't see that happening either.
I can't believe they turned EVGA away, if that's what turns out to be the case :(.
 

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,806
0
0
Yea that's interesting. EVGA has come a long way and brings more to the table than ANY of ATI/AMD's board partners. I bet there's more to the story. Perhaps they didn't want to support another partner who offers a lifetime warranty, or one that has actual customer service. Keep plugging EVGA, you're the best in my book..
 

AmberClad

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
4,914
0
0
It sounds like they're trying to take the high ground, which, while commendable, seems kind of a questionable decision when only one of your current partners has a decent warranty. The author of the article posted in the comments section:
I thought AMD were insane to turn away EVGA at first - imagine the political coup in AMD getting Nvidia's biggest* partner on board? However AMD were completely insistent that it didn't matter and the relationship with own partners outweighed the benefit of one-upsmanship. I had to respect that.
Seems like the very thing they need atm is more partners with a focus on customer service. I guess I can kind of see the reasoning behind not wanting to oversaturate their product with a ton of brands. I can instantly name all 8 ATI partners (ASUS, MSI, Sapphire, VisionTek, PowerColor, Diamond, HIS, GeCube, Gainward/Palit). I can't do the same for Nvidia -- there are some pretty small and obscure vendors like Sparkle and Point of View, and probably some I've never even heard of.
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Originally posted by: AmberClad
It sounds like they're trying to take the high ground, which, while commendable, seems kind of a questionable decision when only one of your current partners has a decent warranty. The author of the article posted in the comments section:
I thought AMD were insane to turn away EVGA at first - imagine the political coup in AMD getting Nvidia's biggest* partner on board? However AMD were completely insistent that it didn't matter and the relationship with own partners outweighed the benefit of one-upsmanship. I had to respect that.
Seems like the very thing they need atm is more partners with a focus on customer service. I guess I can kind of see the reasoning behind not wanting to oversaturate their product with a ton of brands. I can instantly name all 8 ATI partners (ASUS, MSI, Sapphire, VisionTek, PowerColor, Diamond, HIS, GeCube, Gainward/Palit). I can't do the same for Nvidia -- there are some pretty small and obscure vendors like Sparkle and Point of View, and probably some I've never even heard of.

You forgot Gigabyte and Connect3D ;).
 

AmberClad

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
4,914
0
0
Mmm, interesting. So the AMD guy sort of contradicted himself as far as that whole "we only need 8 partners". Why not add one more to the party...
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Originally posted by: AmberClad
Mmm, interesting. So the AMD guy sort of contradicted himself as far as that whole "we only need 8 partners". Why not add one more to the party...

Yeah AMD has over 10 partners.

I can see their point,maybe they don't want their other partners to suffer in sales if EVGA got into the game.

More competition is good for us ,but it makes it tougher for their partners etc...

 

JPB

Diamond Member
Jul 4, 2005
4,064
89
91
I agree with Mem. If EVGA sold ATI cards...and knowing the track record for EVGA....everyone would be buying those and the other partners would be left out.

At least the the knowledgeable consumers would buy EVGA.
 

toslat

Senior member
Jul 26, 2007
216
0
76
Also they might feel it a bit early taking on just one of Nvidia's partners, but if 2 or 3 came knocking..................
 

thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
12,040
2,255
126
Damnit...EVGA is the kind of partners that ATI should have. I have very rarely heard any bad customer service stories about them...whereas with ATI partners they're a dime-a-dozen.
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,211
50
91
If it is still true that Sapphire makes all the cards for AMD/ATI, then that would be all that eVGA can do. Slap their own sticker on
the card and resell it. And possibly offer a better warranty if they are allowed to, but this would most likely result in paying a bit more for the card(s). Better warranty would be worth it IMHO.
 

LightningRider

Senior member
Feb 16, 2007
558
0
0
eVGA is the best vendor as far as I'm concerned. And even nVidia's other top vendors like BFG and XFX are way better than AMD's best.
 

chizow

Diamond Member
Jun 26, 2001
9,537
2
0
It wouldn't surprise me either way, what a poor decision by AMD. God forbid they add a partner that puts pressure on the rest of their partners to compete and offer better services and warranties. Same thing went down with NV years ago, BFG offered lifetime warranty even if you overclocked or replaced the cooler, EVGA and XFX followed suit. EVGA offered step-up, BFG followed suit. Competition isn't just a good thing between vendors, its also beneficial amonsgt a vendor's board partners.
 

God Mode

Platinum Member
Jul 2, 2005
2,903
0
71
EVGA would take a very big chunk of sales from the others. IME, AMD's videocard partners are pretty crap compared to evga, xfx ad bfg. If this is the type of service and board partners AMD wants us to have, they deserve to go broke.
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
But...But....there was a thread on here saying that it was already official that EVGA was selling ATi cards!!!!! ;)


Anyway I cant imagine why AMD would do this other than to not piss off the rest of their partners. I would follow eVGA to ATi, and I know several people on thier forums that would as well.
 

seemingly random

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2007
5,277
0
0
Originally posted by: AmberClad
Hey, a non-INQ story for once ;).

AMD: EVGA wanted to sell ATI cards

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and it seems that one of Nvidia's key partners went and asked AMD if it needed help shifting a few more Radeon cards. It seems Nvidia's squeeze on its 20+ partners has been just too much for EVGA and it went to see what other options were available.

AMD's top brass casually told us yesterday that "[it] only needs eight partners" and that it doesn't want to damage the loyalty between them and itself after they've stuck by AMD through rough (HD 2900 XT) and the smooth (HD 4000-series).
.
.
.
AMD considers its world-wide coverage already sufficient and further saturating the market with yet another "sticker on generic product" doesn't do anyone any favours - with this sentiment we completely agree.
.
.
.
(Very) Unofficially, AMD said the only Nvidia partner it would want to work with was BFG in the States, but it couldn't see that happening either.
I can't believe they turned EVGA away, if that's what turns out to be the case :(.
Gotta love the euphemism...

---

There could be unknown history here. ati could have pursued a relationship with evga in the past and been rebuffed, etc.
 

Skunkwourk

Diamond Member
Dec 9, 2004
4,662
1
81
Originally posted by: God Mode
EVGA would take a very big chunk of sales from the others. IME, AMD's videocard partners are pretty crap compared to evga, xfx ad bfg. If this is the type of service and board partners AMD wants us to have, they deserve to go broke.

Actually, I kind of support AMD's decision. While I'd like EVGA Radeon card as well, screwing the people who have stuck with them even when they weren't doing so well, wouldn't be such a smart move either. They can always demand better Q/A from their current partners. Of course if they choose not to, than this would be a poor decision all around.
 

octopus41092

Golden Member
Feb 23, 2008
1,840
0
76
I think they should of made the deal with EVGA. They are by far the best warranty and customer service. Nothing of ATI's current partners even comes close. If it would bring up competition then we just might get more people that offer the lifetime warranty. Think about it, the reason that Nvidia has so many that do offer this is because they have competition between EVGA, XFX, and BFG.
 

AmberClad

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
4,914
0
0
Originally posted by: Ocguy31
But...But....there was a thread on here saying that it was already official that EVGA was selling ATi cards!!!!! ;)
I don't remember that one...

There was a thread a while ago that said that EVGA (and XFX) were defecting Nvidia, and specifically stated that it was not to ATI.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,677
6,250
126
People like their prefferred Brands, but when it comes down to it, most will Buy based on Performance. EVGA should have pursued a AMD/ATI relationship long before ending up with the short end of the stick. IOWs, they were not interested when times were more difficult for AMD/ATI, so why should they be allowed to jump in now and potentially take away Sales from those who did stick by AMD/ATI?

Sounds like The Little Red Hen in action here.
 

unr3al

Senior member
Jun 10, 2008
214
1
81
www.link-up.co.za
I agree 100% with sandorski. And furthermore I don't think the existing board partners are at all that bad. ASUS and Gigabyte are great brands imo (I only use ASUS motherboards and Gigabyte is a brand that I haven't heard anyone complain about) and so is Visiontek. Club3D I haven't heard much of but Sapphire and PowerColor also seem to be pretty popular. The others might be pretty run-of-the-mill but at least they're loyal. eVGA wanted to switch trains with the first signs of nV hitting a speedwobble. That alone supports AMD's decision, if indeed that's what happened.

A warranty is the last thing I consider when buying overclockable hardware, anyway. I'm not even sure what's the warranties on my CPU or motherboard! I overclock them once they're installed, just as a test run to see what I will have when things become sluggish.
 

Creig

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,170
13
81
Originally posted by: octopus41092
I think they should of made the deal with EVGA. They are by far the best warranty and customer service. Nothing of ATI's current partners even comes close.

You're quite wrong. Visiontek offers a true "as long as you own the card" lifetime warranty. XFX, EVGA and BFG each have their own special perks (trade up, transferable warranty), but I would have to say Visiontek is at least in the ballpark as far as warranty goes.
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,211
50
91
Originally posted by: Creig
Originally posted by: octopus41092
I think they should of made the deal with EVGA. They are by far the best warranty and customer service. Nothing of ATI's current partners even comes close.

You're quite wrong. Visiontek offers a true "as long as you own the card" lifetime warranty. XFX, EVGA and BFG each have their own special perks (trade up, transferable warranty), but I would have to say Visiontek is at least in the ballpark as far as warranty goes.

Visiontek may offer the warranty, but try to collect on it. I've heard from several people on this forum who have had less than stellar customer support from Visiontek. I have heard some few and far between stories about BFG, eVGA and XFX giving consumers a hard time with warranty/RMA's, but more often than not, their support has been pretty good. If you exclude N7's current GTX280 RMA nightmare that he is currently going through with BFG.