GPP | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 30 Mar 2023 12:46:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png GPP | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 ASUS’ AREZ branded AMD Radeon graphics cards spotted with an unnecessary premium price tag https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/damien-cox/asus-arez-branded-amd-radeon-graphics-cards-spotted-with-an-unnecessary-premium-price-tag/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/damien-cox/asus-arez-branded-amd-radeon-graphics-cards-spotted-with-an-unnecessary-premium-price-tag/#respond Tue, 17 Jul 2018 11:11:15 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=380018 Despite Nvidia’s confusing and controversial GeForce Partner Program (GPP) coming to an end, ASUS confirmed that it was set to continue using its AREZ branding to distinguish its AMD Radeon range. AREZ GPUs have now been spotted in the wild, initially sporting a $160 premium price above its identical ROG branded counterparts. US retailer Newegg …

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Despite Nvidia’s confusing and controversial GeForce Partner Program (GPP) coming to an end, ASUS confirmed that it was set to continue using its AREZ branding to distinguish its AMD Radeon range. AREZ GPUs have now been spotted in the wild, initially sporting a $160 premium price above its identical ROG branded counterparts.

US retailer Newegg is one of the first to get its hands on AREZ Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 (AREZ RXVEGA64-O8G-GAMING) graphics cards, initially setting the price at a staggering $749.99, significantly above the $589.99 MSRP of the ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 (STRIX-RXVEGA64-O8G-GAMING) GPUs currently in circulation.

While the term “you get what you pay for” is often true, speaking for the quality of the item, companies often charge extra for the reputation of its branding. In the case of AREZ versus its older ROG counterpart, however, the $160 premium seems to only net customers a different name and different sticker on the centre of each fan. Newegg seems to have responded to the concern expressed in reports, dropping the price of the AREZ card down to $649.99 at the time of writing, however this is still an unnecessary $60 premium for the exact same card.

With few other retailers stocking AREZ graphics cards at this time, it’s difficult to discern whether this is the choice of Newegg or ASUS, however the latter has a lot of cost to make up from its extensive marketing overhaul, thanks to Nvidia.

Although ASUS wasn’t the only company that committed to diversifying its Radeon branding in order to comply with Nvidia’s aborted GPP, we have yet to see this same inconsistency with other manufacturers. The further fragmented these brands make the current selection, the easier it will be for consumers to be duped into paying more for the same however, so be care is urged when shopping for a new GPU.

KitGuru Says: It’s sad that the costs to change up these labels will inevitably fall on the buyer, rather than the company that caused it all. Still, don’t underestimate the power of your wallet, as that is inevitably what manufacturers respond to.  

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ASUS confirms that AREZ is here to stay https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/asus-confirms-that-arez-is-here-to-stay/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/asus-confirms-that-arez-is-here-to-stay/#respond Tue, 22 May 2018 14:00:04 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=373961 There has been a lot of confusion today surrounding ASUS and the future for its AREZ line-up of graphics cards. Nvidia's GeForce Partner Program has come to an end, so when a Twitter account claiming to be an official AREZ profile posted that the recently launched brand would be ‘coming to an end', a lot …

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There has been a lot of confusion today surrounding ASUS and the future for its AREZ line-up of graphics cards. Nvidia's GeForce Partner Program has come to an end, so when a Twitter account claiming to be an official AREZ profile posted that the recently launched brand would be ‘coming to an end', a lot of us were quick to believe. However, it turns out that AREZ is in-fact here to stay.

A few weeks ago, Nvidia officially pulled the plug on the GeForce Partner Program. At the time, this had us wondering where this all left ASUS, as we had seen AMD GPUs pushed out of the ROG line-up and rebranded under the new ‘AREZ' banner. A fake Twitter account posing as the official ASUS AREZ page tweeted that “ASUS AREZ is coming to an end, ROG is here to stay”.

We fell for the post earlier this morning, as did many other reputable outlets. We are now here to correct that mistake. I've been in touch with an ASUS representative today, they confirmed to me that the ‘@ASUS_AREZ' Twitter account was indeed fake, and has since been suspended.

Beyond that, I was told that “ASUS will continue to sell AREZ graphics cards”. So don't expect AMD's new exclusive brand to be going anywhere anytime soon. AREZ isn't the only exclusive GPU brand that AMD has gained after the GPP kerfuffle- MSI has also launched a new series of ‘MECH 2' graphics cards, all sporting AMD chips.

KitGuru Says:  Props to ASUS for taking swift action and clarifying the situation. It looks like AREZ will be sticking around for the foreseeable future. 

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Leo Says 20 – Nvidia GTX 1180 rumours, 4K/144Hz panels, MSI Mech 2, Z390 and more! https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-announcement/matthew-wilson/leo-says-20-nvidia-gtx-1180-rumours-4k-144hz-panels-msi-mech-2-z390-and-more/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-announcement/matthew-wilson/leo-says-20-nvidia-gtx-1180-rumours-4k-144hz-panels-msi-mech-2-z390-and-more/#respond Mon, 21 May 2018 15:34:12 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=373903 This week in LEO SAYS there are plenty of hot topics at hand. Leo is discussing the first 4K/144Hz monitors, GTX 1180 rumours, the upcoming NV mobile GPU, MSI's Mech 2, Intel Z390 and much more!

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Leo might be swamped with review products right now, but he has been keeping his ear to the ground. This week in LEO SAYS there are plenty of hot topics at hand, including details on the first 4K/144Hz monitors, GTX 1180 rumours, the upcoming NV mobile GPU, MSI's Mech 2 launch and much more! 

00:10 Introduction
00:18 Computex is coming – only 2 weeks to go
00:39 GTX 1180?
02:08 144Hz 4K panels
03:31 Aero 15X and GS65
04:45 Next Nvidia mobile GPU for CES 2019?
07:17 GPP is dead however MSI is launching MECH 2
08:17 Intel Arctic Sound and Jupiter Sound graphics rumours
11:27 AMD 2nd Gen Threadripper
13:14 Intel at Computex – Z390 and 8-core Coffee Lake?
15:20 EVGA ditches driver discs for USB flash.

KitGuru uses a variety of equipment to produce content:

As of 27th April 2018:
Panasonic GH5 Cameras
Panasonic GH4 Cameras
Panasonic G7 Cameras
Various PC builds

Final output – colour grading/titling etc:
iMac Pro 18 Core/Vega 64/128GB
Adobe Premiere Pro CC (PC)
Davinci Resolve Studio 14/15 (Mac)

KitGuru says: Be sure to let us know your thoughts and if you agree (or disagree) with LEO. Love him, or hate him- he says it, cause he means it!

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Nvidia has decided to end the GeForce Partner Program https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidia-has-decided-to-end-the-geforce-partner-program/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidia-has-decided-to-end-the-geforce-partner-program/#respond Sat, 05 May 2018 10:54:42 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=372647 In a sudden change of heart, Nvidia has decided to pull the plug on the GeForce Partner Program.

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We haven't heard much about Nvidia's GeForce Partner Programme over the last couple of weeks. In the last major update to the story, ASUS separated its GPUs, leaving Nvidia with ROG and bumping AMD over to a new AREZ brand. Now, it turns out that may have been an unnecessary step, as Nvidia has pulled the plug on the program.

When Nvidia first announced the GeForce Partner Program in early March, it flew under the radar for a lot of people. However, it didn't take long for behind-the-scenes details to start leaking out, causing some fairly hefty controversy over brand exclusivity and how it might affect AMD in the future. There were questions over Gigabyte and MSI's involvement, but ASUS was the first to bite the bullet and make its branding changes public.

However, all of the controversy surrounding the GPP has given Nvidia a sudden and unexpected change of heart. In an announcement made late last night, the company confirmed that the GeForce Partner Program is no more. Here's a quote from Nvidia's announcement:

“A lot has been said recently about our GeForce Partner Program. The rumors, conjecture and mistruths go far beyond its intent. Rather than battling misinformation, we have decided to cancel the program. GPP had a simple goal – ensuring that gamers know what they are buying and can make a clear choice.”

The post goes on to say that “most partners agreed” with the core tenants of GPP, which aimed to split brands up to make a clear distinction between an Nvidia AiB card and an AMD one. However, despite that, Nvidia is “pulling the plug on GPP to avoid any distractions” when it comes to future launches. We've been expecting to hear about the successor to Pascal for a few months now, and it looks like whatever Nvidia has planned, the company didn't want any GPP-related controversy looming over it.

KitGuru Says: This is a rather unexpected turn of events. Ultimately, I do wonder what this means for ASUS, as it only just recently announced that it would be spinning off its AMD cards under the new AREZ brand.

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ASUS ROG may soon be Nvidia exclusive with AMD GPUs being bumped to new ‘AREZ’ brand https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/asus-rog-may-soon-be-nvidia-exclusive-with-amd-gpus-being-bumped-to-new-arez-brand/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/asus-rog-may-soon-be-nvidia-exclusive-with-amd-gpus-being-bumped-to-new-arez-brand/#respond Fri, 06 Apr 2018 15:44:12 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=369533 It has been a wild few weeks in terms of Nvidia news, with the GeForce Partner Program continuing to be a sticking point of discussion. There is already reason to believe that MSI and Gigabyte have signed on, but rumors surrounding ASUS's involvement are now beginning to swirl.

The post ASUS ROG may soon be Nvidia exclusive with AMD GPUs being bumped to new ‘AREZ’ brand first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
It has been a wild few weeks in terms of Nvidia news, with the GeForce Partner Program continuing to be a sticking point of discussion. No one we have spoken with is willing to talk on the record about it, but currently we have reason to believe that MSI and Gigabyte may already be involved. Now this week, rumours surrounding ASUS's involvement have begun to swirl too.

Last week when we spoke to our source, we heard that board partners were feeling the pressure with GPP. Nvidia currently has marketshare dominance, so AiBs heavily rely on the company's support not just for marketing dollars, but for steady GPU supply too. The second point that our source raised with us is that Nvidia wants exclusivity over the most notable brand each AiB has to offer, meaning GPP members need to bump AMD cards off to a lesser-known sub-brand.

So what does this mean for ASUS and ROG? Well, today Videocardz released a report citing a source within the company. According to the source, the Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand will only house Nvidia graphics cards in the future, with AMD getting bumped to a new sub-brand called ‘AREZ'.

This will be completely separate from ROG, so instead of having an ‘ROG RX580 Strix' or ‘AREZ ROG RX580 Strix', you would have an AREZ RX580 Strix. The same goes for the Dual, Phoenix and Expedition series of graphics cards from ASUS.

We approached ASUS UK for comment on this story and they said we would need to wait for an official statement.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: From the sounds of it, if this plan is being put into motion, all of the popular ROG coolers will also be available on AREZ- so it's not exactly comparable to what happened at MSI recently, with ‘Gaming X' series cards disappearing from the RX 500-series lineup on the official website. For enthusiasts, the situation will continue to be as simple as figuring out whether you want to go with Nvidia or AMD, but the brand names on each box will be a bit different.

How do you guys feel about GPP and the direction its going? Would ROG becoming an exclusively Nvidia GPU brand hurt AMD?

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Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Program already appears to be taking effect https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidias-geforce-partner-program-already-appears-to-be-taking-effect/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidias-geforce-partner-program-already-appears-to-be-taking-effect/#respond Wed, 28 Mar 2018 12:31:52 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=368717 The Nvidia GeForce Partner Program controversy has been going on for a couple of weeks now and during that time, more information has come to light. We've been keeping an eye on things and had a chat with an inside source to bring out some updated coverage.

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It has been a couple of weeks now since the Nvidia GeForce Partner Program story first broke and during that time, much more information has come to light. We've seen at least two notable AiBs strip a main brand away from AMD products. We've also had the chance to check in with an inside source of our own, who gave us some interesting insights.

Since HardOCP's coverage first came to light, Nvidia and various board partners have been tight lipped, refusing to talk on or off the record about the subject. We were fortunate enough to get some information out of an inside source of our own, who explained to us that while on paper the GPP is optional, AiBs are feeling the pressure as not signing up comes with some hefty ramifications.

We have heard that board partners who don't sign up to the GPP effectively won't get access to Nvidia's GPU supply. Without a steady supply of GPUs from Nvidia, AiBs won't be able to compete on the same level, and given Nvidia's current marketshare dominance, they heavily rely on the company's support.

The second point that our source raised with us is that Nvidia wants the best and most notable AiB brands to be exclusive. This is something that already appears to be taking effect publicly.

If we take a look at the MSI website, the ‘Gaming' or ‘Gaming X' series of Radeon graphics cards have been removed, reserving the ‘Gaming' brand exclusively for Nvidia GPUs. You can only find AMD/Radeon GPUs as part of the MSI ‘Armour' series, which is lesser known. We don't know for sure if this is a result of MSI signing on to the GPP, but from the outside, it certainly looks that way.

 

Recently, we also spotted something odd on the Gigabyte website. Over the last couple of years, Gigabyte has been transitioning its gaming-related products over to the ‘AORUS' brand, which has sold both AMD and Nvidia GPUs in the past. You can still find Radeon GPUs on the website under this brand name. However, the recently launched ‘AORUS Gaming Box‘, an external GPU enclosure, appears to be exclusive to Nvidia. Meanwhile, the same product can be found on the AMD section of Gigabyte's website, with the main difference being that the ‘AORUS' name has been removed.

Unfortunately right now, no company is willing to talk on the record about the GeForce Partner Program, who has signed up for it, and what its terms are. However, the public-facing evidence so far gives us some clues and once Nvidia's next GPU launch comes around, we'll likely know for sure based on the marketing changes in place.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: There are still a lot of questions surrounding the GPP and how it will impact the market. We've heard from one source first-hand, but ideally, we would like to talk to as many as possible to paint a broader picture of what's going on behind the scenes.

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Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Program is causing a stir, but it won’t stop board partners from selling AMD GPUs https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidias-geforce-partner-program-is-causing-a-stir-but-it-wont-stop-board-partners-from-selling-amd-gpus/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidias-geforce-partner-program-is-causing-a-stir-but-it-wont-stop-board-partners-from-selling-amd-gpus/#respond Mon, 12 Mar 2018 13:48:00 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=366689 We were given a break from the usual controversies surround graphics cards last week after a report surfaced surrounding Nvidia's new GeForce Partner Program. It seems that there is some concern behind the scenes about what this program represents and its potential for anti-consumerism, so today we are digging in and hoping to clear up some points of confusion.

The post Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Program is causing a stir, but it won’t stop board partners from selling AMD GPUs first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
We were given a break from the usual controversies surround graphics cards last week after a report surfaced surrounding Nvidia's new GeForce Partner Program. It seems that there is some concern behind the scenes about what this program represents and its potential for anti-consumerism, so today we are digging in and hoping to clear up some points of confusion.

On Thursday last week, HardOCP published a report surrounding Nvidia's previously announced GeForce Partner Program. This is a program in place for board partners to take advantage of. Members need to adhere to certain terms and conditions but in return, they gain valuable marketing support from Nvidia and other benefits, including early access to upcoming GPUs and priority access to GPU supply. Here is how Nvidia pitched the GPP to the public earlier this month:

“The GeForce Partner Program is designed to ensure that gamers have full transparency into the GPU platform and software they’re being sold, and can confidently select products that carry the NVIDIA GeForce promise. This transparency is only possible when NVIDIA brands and partner brands are consistent. So the new program means that we’ll be promoting our GPP partner brands across the web, on social media, at events and more. And GPP partners will get early access to our latest innovations, and work closely with our engineering team to bring the newest technologies to gamers.”

The folks at HardOCP managed to get a look at some of the behind the scenes documentation for the GPP to scope out the terms and conditions for board partners. The crux of the issue centres around one particular term in the contract, which states that GPP members must “have its gaming brand aligned exclusively with GeForce”. Based on this wording in the report, it sounds as if the likes of Asus ROG, MSI Gaming, or Gigabyte Aorus would need to drop AMD/Radeon and align themselves with Nvidia's GeForce brand in order to retain access to benefits like marketing support and early access to new GPUs in order to be prepared for big launches. This would have a major impact on competition in the graphics card market, and would ultimately impact consumer choice. However, the controversy has been blown out of proportion.

I contacted Nvidia this morning to try and get some clarification on the matter and I was pointed towards a post on PCGamesN, which explains the exclusivity clause a bit better. Essentially, Nvidia wants partners to have a gaming brand that is aligned with GeForce, but it isn't stopping those partners from creating a second gaming brand for AMD/Radeon graphics cards.

Graphics card companies can make as many sub-brands as they like. Hypothetically, if Asus were to sign up to be part of the GeForce Partner Program, it would need to splinter the ROG brand a bit, making a marked distinction between an Nvidia ROG card and an AMD one. A good example of this would be the Asus ROG Mars and ROG Ares graphics cards, with the former typically serving Nvidia GPUs in the past and the latter being reserved for AMD/Radeon based cards. With this distinction in place, Asus would be operating within the terms of the GPP agreement in this hypothetical scenario.

Hopefully that explanation clears up some of the confusion that has been going around over the last few days. The initial report did bring a relevant concern to light, one that was seemingly shared by sources within the industry. However, much of the controversy was based on murky messaging that needed clarification. Board partners can be part of the GPP and still sell AMD-based gaming GPUs, but they will need to invest a bit more of their marketing budget separating its gaming GPU brands to make a distinction between Nvidia and AMD lineups.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: We've been getting a lot of questions regarding the GPP story over the weekend. Hopefully this helps address the situation, if more information comes to light, we'll be sure to keep you all informed. 

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