Nvidia: OEMs to Blame for Re-branding GPUs
It's big OEMs that are causing this re-branding madness, says Nvidia.
Most recently, GeForce 300-level GPUs appeared on Nvidia's website. Although Nvidia made it clear that the 400-level cards would carry the latest GF100 Fermi technology, the new 300-level cards quietly appeared without any fanfare – likely because they were rebrands meant for OEMs.
What's with this rebranding business? Nvidia explained to Bit-tech that it is something that OEMs want in order to keep their spec sheets looking fresh and cutting edge. The company also said that rebranding is something it does at the request of large PC OEMs, but did not name specific brands.
Nvidia stressed that rebranded products are not likely to make it to the retail space, so that the enthusiast buying a GPU won't be faced with confusing rebrands. Those buying a complete PC, however, could be getting an older technology with a new name.
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XD_dued ReplyNvidia stressed that rebranded products are not likely to make it to the retail space
g92 much? :) -
NapoleonDK I don't care. about their stupid excuses. Rebranding is stupid. They can get away with it MAYBE once, but only with some hella overclock and aftermarket cooler.Reply -
turboflame ReplyNvidia explained to Bit-tech that it is something that OEMs want in order to keep their spec sheets looking fresh and cutting edge.
So they chose to slap a new label on something old rather than actually making something fresh and cutting edge. -
gm0n3y Are they selling these overclocked, more memory, etc or are these just a straight renaming? Cause that's kinda bull. Not unprecedented for Nvidia, though I'm not sure if ATI has ever done it.Reply -
4745454b Product Manager "Sir, the OEMs want new products so they can have something fresh to sell and keep their sales up."Reply
JHH "Do we have anything?"
Product Manager "No sir, still trying to get Fermi to work."
JHH "Well, you better rebadge something then. We don't want to look like we are doing nothing around here. Don't forget to blame them for our needing to do this."
Product Manager "Yes sir, excellent idea."
Sigh. -
mrcmark And they think they can get away with it. Why put the blame on others when you obviously made you decision on rebranding. kinda stupid.Reply -
cammmy "So they chose to slap a new label on something old rather than actually making something fresh and cutting edge."Reply
Uh, GF100? Sounds pretty new and cutting edge to me.
So they rebranded something for OEM's and quietly launched it. So what? It's not like they had a massive campaign for it saying "look at this awesome new technology we have"
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conanstwin The sole purpose of complete rebranding is to in some form decieve the customer. The practice is unethical and should be stopped unless there actually are "significant" differences, which there aren't any here. An acceptable practice for example is to take the original name and place "OC" on it because it is over-clocked.Reply