EVGA, a major graphics card manufacturer, parted ways with Nvidia

And now for something no one expected: EVGA, one of the best-known third-party PC graphics card manufacturers and a favorite brand among gamers due to quality parts and solid warranties backed up by reliable customer service, is ending its long-standing relationship with Nvidia. What’s more, the company reportedly said it would not seek partnerships with rival silicon giants such as AMD or Intel. Looks like EVGA just did away with GPUs.

Kotaku contacted EVGA for comment.

News of EVGA’s seemingly sudden decision to end GPU production came through popular YouTube bloggers. GamersNexus as well as Jayztwocents. Representatives from both channels say they were invited to a private meeting with EVGA staff, including CEO Andrew Hahn. At the meeting, EVGA reportedly stated its desire and intention to separate from Nvidia, citing numerous frustrations with the partnership.

These sore spots mostly stem from what Khan describes as Nvidia’s reluctance to share important information about its products with partners until that same information is made public, often on stage at a press conference; that she believes Nvidia is undermining its partners like EVGA by selling its own “Founders’ Edition” cards at a lower price; and a feeling among partners that Nvidia simply doesn’t appreciate their patronage.

GamersNexus has a very thorough analysis of the meeting and this news in This Video.

EVGA’s senior management made the decision to spin off from Nvidia back in April, but kept the decision strictly confidential. While EVGA, a company so often known and appreciated for great GPUs and solid customer service, is pulling out of the GPU market, the company is reportedly determined to stay in business. However, it will not apply to new product categories, GamersNexus reports. And while the company manufactures and sells other PC components such as motherboards, cases and power supplies, the loss of part of its GPU business is likely to create problems for its 280 employees around the world.

GamersNexusSteve Burke reveals that EVGA plans to redeploy staff to different projects to keep everyone busy. Earlier this year, the company laid off 20 percent of its Taiwanese employees, and now several people whose work was exclusively related to the production and development of GPUs do not have obvious jobs.

While EVGA will continue to sell 30-series RTX cards, it is expected to run out of stock by the end of the year and will use the extra stock for warranty service and repairs. EVGA is committed to honoring the warranties for existing customers of these cards.

Today is a bittersweet day for PC gamers as EVGA’s presence in the GPU arena will be sorely missed. On the other hand, it seems that the crypto mining craze that has gripped the industry by buying up countless cards for mining rigs is coming to an end. Famous cryptocurrency Ethereum is finally gone from GPU-hungry “proof-of-work” algorithms that have contributed to the virtual destruction of available GPU stock over the past two years. As you’ve probably noticed, GPUs are available for purchase again and prices are finally starting to go back to earth. Let’s hope that with the transition to Ethereum, this trend will only accelerate.