AMD takes aim at Nvidia's controversial GeForce Partner Program

midian182

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It’s been just over a month since Kyle Bennett’s HardOCP investigation exposed elements of anticompetitiveness in Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Program (GPP). Now, AMD has indirectly blasted its rival in a new blog post, which emphasizes the importance of PC gamers having the “freedom to choose.”

"Our proud pastime of PC gaming has been built on the idea of freedom. Freedom to choose. How to play the game. What to do and when to do it. And specifically, what to play it on," AMD said. "PC gaming has a long, proud tradition of choice. Whether you build and upgrade your own PCs, or order prebuilt rigs after you’ve customized every detail online, you know that what you’re playing on is of your own making, based on your freedom to choose the components that you want. Freedom of choice is a staple of PC gaming."

Bennett’s report suggests that some companies are worried Nvidia will punish them by not allocating GPU inventories if they decline to become part of the GPP. Those who don’t sign up also miss out on benefits such as launch partner status, high-effort engineering engagements, marketing development funds, social media and PR support, game bundling, and more. But most damningly, the report also suggests that those who want to be part of the program are encouraged not to sell AMD products. Dell and HP have both reportedly refused to become members because of Nvidia’s alleged requirements, and it seems the FTC and EU Commission are now looking into the complaints.

While there is no direct mention of Nvidia or its GPP in AMD's post, it’s obvious who the message is aimed toward. The company says that “the key values that bands sporting AMD products will offer are”:

  • A dedication to open innovation
  • A commitment to true transparency through industry standards
  • Real partnerships with real consistency
  • Expanding the PC gaming ecosystem

Earlier this week, Asus announced it had rebranded its Republic of Gamers (ROG) lineup of AMD Radeon-powered GPUs to AREZ, thereby allowing the ROG line to join become Nvidia-exclusive and join the GPP. It seems that other AIB partners are going to go down this same avenue.

“Today, Asus announced its Arez-branded AMD Radeon RX graphics cards and over the coming weeks, you can expect to see more add-in board partners launch new brands carrying the AMD Radeon name," AMD said.

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You would think all those technologies that flash by at the end of the video meant AMD is sitting back collecting cash from them...

Sadly those technologies are either also used by NVIDIA (HBM), hardly used (Vulkan) or inferior (Freesync).

AND needs to do better and stop whining like their fanboys and price/performance advocates. Just sayin.
 
There is a small part of me that wishes there were more graphics card options than just AMD and NVIDIA to choose from. Maybe companies wouldn't feel pressured into signing up to these Partner Programmes

Long held rumours that Intel may get in on the act. Long held because it's been a floating suggestion for decades now but it could be firming up. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have a third choice.
 
There is a small part of me that wishes there were more graphics card options than just AMD and NVIDIA to choose from. Maybe companies wouldn't feel pressured into signing up to these Partner Programmes

Actually I just read that Intel is planning on doing just that. Hope it's not just for mobile chips.
 
You would think all those technologies that flash by at the end of the video meant AMD is sitting back collecting cash from them...

Sadly those technologies are either also used by NVIDIA (HBM), hardly used (Vulkan) or inferior (Freesync).

AND needs to do better and stop whining like their fanboys and price/performance advocates. Just sayin.

I think the point of the article was to inform how NVIDIAs' strongarm practices impair commerce. Intel's been guilty of this for years. But you probably know that already. AMD is doing better, Threadripper is a good example. There are others.

Price collusion, intimidation, undue influence, frivolous lawsuits and other tactics harm the marketplace, impede innovation and result in worse choices for consumers. For people willing to overlook a non-level playing field I can only say good luck when parts become astronomically expensive, quality nosedives b/c of lack of competition or your chip comes from China.

I could list numerous examples of corporate malfeasance that have altered the IT and general landscape over decades now but I won't bore you. Perhaps you don't see any parallels because your superiority complex only allows you to laugh.
 
AMD really needs to step up their game so Nvidia doesn't get away with shady tactics like this.
How will they get the funds to do that when every mindless drone keeps buying nVidia anyway?

You would think all those technologies that flash by at the end of the video meant AMD is sitting back collecting cash from them...

Sadly those technologies are either also used by NVIDIA (HBM),
AMD co-developed HBM, so I doubt they don't collect anything from it.

hardly used (Vulkan)
Thanks to nVidia doing everything it can to keep DX11 alive, since their cards are inferior in the newer APIs

or inferior (Freesync).
Wrong;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4hRg6kfLoI

AND needs to do better and stop whining like their fanboys and price/performance advocates. Just sayin.
Once more. How will they get the funds to do that when every mindless drone keeps buying nVidia anyway?
 
You would think all those technologies that flash by at the end of the video meant AMD is sitting back collecting cash from them...

Sadly those technologies are either also used by NVIDIA (HBM), hardly used (Vulkan) or inferior (Freesync).

AND needs to do better and stop whining like their fanboys and price/performance advocates. Just sayin.
Are you suggesting illegal anti-competitive practices are justified if your opposition complains about them?
 
They should first check their gpu prices with their distributors before lashing out to nvidia. Nvidia cards are coming back to normal prices while AMD cards are still high and some models are nowhere to be found. Nvidia website right now has new stocks.
 

Interesting video. Thanks. I think hahahanoobs was referring to the 1st gen freesync where even anandtech has it in an article that gsync looks and feels better than freesync and where implementation is better at the expense of compatibility.

Though I will hold up to a true comparison. Freesync gen 2 vs Gsync gen 2. I wonder if they will announce gsync 2 this year.
 
Are you suggesting illegal anti-competitive practices are justified if your opposition complains about them?

Nope, I just think it's silly to feel sorry for a company that can't compete in the simplest form, but takes every chance to take shots in their marketing.

Remember the shots fired with AMD's "4GB MEANS 4GB" marketing, after being forced to reduce the price of the 290X to compete with the GTX 970?
 
How will they get the funds to do that when every mindless drone keeps buying nVidia anyway?

AMD co-developed HBM, so I doubt they don't collect anything from it.

Thanks to nVidia doing everything it can to keep DX11 alive, since their cards are inferior in the newer APIs

Wrong;

Once more. How will they get the funds to do that when every mindless drone keeps buying nVidia anyway?

You're right there is no hope. RTG should close the doors....

I actually see it happening in 2019.
 
They should first check their gpu prices with their distributors before lashing out to nvidia. Nvidia cards are coming back to normal prices while AMD cards are still high and some models are nowhere to be found. Nvidia website right now has new stocks.
I don't think that's the point of the article. Just because Nvidia finally has a bit more in stock and AMD still has higher than normal prices doesn't mean that we should ignore any possible illegal deals.

From what we've learned from Intel, if you want to destroy your competition then just do under the table deals and it's 100% ok because even if you get caught and pay a fine, your competition no longer has any market share and money to develop new products.
 
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If they do close their doors, are you willing to deal with all the baggage that comes with a monopoly?

Would any of us have a choice? Or do you think everyone is going to buy AMD to avoid it? Yea, you think on that for a bit.

You AMD guys don't think things through enough, and it's annoying.
 
Would any of us have a choice? Or do you think everyone is going to buy AMD to avoid it? Yea, you think on that for a bit.
You AMD guys don't think things through enough, and it's annoying.
They should buy AMD to avoid it. Not that I'm counting on it, but I will be rubbing it in everyone's face when sh1t hits the fan. If all you look at is which product is the best at a specific point in time, that is your choice. I find it short-sighted, and I look at it differently.

And oh... I doubt barely anyone that buys AMD didn't think things true. Let me throw an analogy in here. If you're on the streets and you're hungry, you have multiple choices. Short version, you can either buy junk food, or you can buy super food. You can argue for both, but junk food has a big advantage. I mean;

1) Low Price
2) Amount of food you get
3) Sense of fullness after eating
4) Short wait times
5) Great taste
6) More choice available

Sounds great actually. In contrast, super food is;

1) More expensive
2) Doesn't give you a real sense of fullness
3) Long wait times due to its preparation length
4) Doesn't taste as great
5) Limited food choices available

If all you care about is that you are hungry right now and the hunger needs to go away, you're gonna choose junk food every time. After all, it's cheaper, you feel full afterwards, you can get it quickly, you can eat something different every day and it tastes awesome.
But if you care about your health at all, at some point, you cannot be eating junk food simply because of its in-the-moment advantages and pleasures. Super food has its place and is the smarter choice on the long term. You're still free to buy it though, and ignore the consequences for your own health. But the consequences will be there in the end, no matter how you slice it.

Now, don't confuse what I'm saying. AMD is a company. AMD is not "super". But, it is healthy for the industry that they are around and that they are competitive. For them to remain around, they need money too. They might not have the 'performance crown' very often, but even when they do they lose, and even when they are competitive at other tiers of performance, no one buys them.
If we look at what has been happening between the HD 4870 vs GTX 260, R9 290X vs Titan, the R9 390 vs GTX 970, the RX470 vs nothing, the RX 580 vs GTX 1060, and other examples in between, AMD was never getting the fair share that they deserved simply because of mind share. The consumer is fueling an unhealthy gaming industry, whether they want to see it or not. It's not as if AMD cards are completely useless, but they are treated as such by the masses.

Some of us cannot live with ourselves if we know we are buying something that will ultimately have negative consequences for not only ourselves, but a whole industry. If you do it for your own immediate satisfaction, you are part of the problem.

Now YOU think on that for bit.
 
I see this is a last ditch attempt by NVidia to hold on to the gaming market, and all their "program" is doing, is belaying the inevitable... that AMD has way more market share than NVidia does in gaming and that NVidia is soon becoming irrelevant.

Oh yes, 2 years ago NVidia was a dominant force in gaming.... only because they had fast GPU's (not because of what they provided the gamer/end-user).

But today..? Not-so-much...

All modern and soon to be released consoles are based on Radeon Technology and Intel is in on the gig, alone with Apple, etc. All... to support open standards (better suited for the gamers & games (not One company).

Read and understand what is taking place.
Nvidia has realized average Consumers can see threw their marketing, as most people aren't 14 years old. In the end, the program won't do what NVidia intends it to do, because people like aesthetic builds and will then go with "packaged" mobo/gpu + CPU combo for GAMING!

And we know AMD wins that trifecta.
 
Long held rumours that Intel may get in on the act.

They will fail at it if they do intel needs to stay in their own lane and let nvidia and ati (amd) trade blows with each other in the gpu market.
If amd would make their catalyst suites more stable and not likely to crash every which way possible.
I would use ati radeon cards alot more but I won't, nvidia has more stable drivers and are willing to fix bugs if anyone runs across it.
 
We live in interesting times. Nvidia still dominating in the high end GPU market while showing anti-competitive behavior recently, AMD owning a huge market share of console gaming business while improving their CPUs and trying hard to get into that elite GPU status, reports that Intel is working on their own desktop GPU to perhaps make this a 3 horse race... So much churning in the industry at the moment.

But, I truly believe that Nvidia, if they are really smart, should be terrified of a marketplace where their anti-competitive program succeeds and AMD goes under. Because I can guarantee you that the second the AMD boat starts sinking, Intel will be there to gather up the juicy pieces (and smartest people) from that doomed ship, and integrate them into their own GPU program. And then suddenly Nvidia has a juggernaut with Intel's deep pockets as their direct competition.

Hell, some basic groundwork has already theoretically been laid down for this type of absorption of a failing AMD with the Kaby Lake / Vega collaboration recently. AMD closing its doors could very well be the worst thing to ever happen to Nvidia.
 
They should buy AMD to avoid it. Not that I'm counting on it, but I will be rubbing it in everyone's face when sh1t hits the fan. If all you look at is which product is the best at a specific point in time, that is your choice. I find it short-sighted, and I look at it differently.

And oh... I doubt barely anyone that buys AMD didn't think things true. Let me throw an analogy in here. If you're on the streets and you're hungry, you have multiple choices. Short version, you can either buy junk food, or you can buy super food. You can argue for both, but junk food has a big advantage. I mean;

1) Low Price
2) Amount of food you get
3) Sense of fullness after eating
4) Short wait times
5) Great taste
6) More choice available

Sounds great actually. In contrast, super food is;

1) More expensive
2) Doesn't give you a real sense of fullness
3) Long wait times due to its preparation length
4) Doesn't taste as great
5) Limited food choices available

If all you care about is that you are hungry right now and the hunger needs to go away, you're gonna choose junk food every time. After all, it's cheaper, you feel full afterwards, you can get it quickly, you can eat something different every day and it tastes awesome.
But if you care about your health at all, at some point, you cannot be eating junk food simply because of its in-the-moment advantages and pleasures. Super food has its place and is the smarter choice on the long term. You're still free to buy it though, and ignore the consequences for your own health. But the consequences will be there in the end, no matter how you slice it.

Now, don't confuse what I'm saying. AMD is a company. AMD is not "super". But, it is healthy for the industry that they are around and that they are competitive. For them to remain around, they need money too. They might not have the 'performance crown' very often, but even when they do they lose, and even when they are competitive at other tiers of performance, no one buys them.
If we look at what has been happening between the HD 4870 vs GTX 260, R9 290X vs Titan, the R9 390 vs GTX 970, the RX470 vs nothing, the RX 580 vs GTX 1060, and other examples in between, AMD was never getting the fair share that they deserved simply because of mind share. The consumer is fueling an unhealthy gaming industry, whether they want to see it or not. It's not as if AMD cards are completely useless, but they are treated as such by the masses.

Some of us cannot live with ourselves if we know we are buying something that will ultimately have negative consequences for not only ourselves, but a whole industry. If you do it for your own immediate satisfaction, you are part of the problem.

Now YOU think on that for bit.

"We need AMD around to keep NVIDIA honest.... but when AMD can't compete, we give them a free pass for above reason and slay NVIDIA for doing what we claimed we wanted to begin with."
Rinse and repeat.

Please let go of AMD's hand, and let them walk or fall on their own.
 
"We need AMD around to keep NVIDIA honest.... but when AMD can't compete, we give them a free pass for above reason and slay NVIDIA for doing what we claimed we wanted to begin with."
Rinse and repeat.

Please let go of AMD's hand, and let them walk or fall on their own.
Except that AMD HAS competed multiple times on multiple fronts. Even today it is nonsense to say that AMD can't compete. They compete at every level except the 1080 Ti. Even when they have good products, people pretend they don't. And THAT is exactly the problem. That is ultimately why they will go under.
 
You would think all those technologies that flash by at the end of the video meant AMD is sitting back collecting cash from them...

Sadly those technologies are either also used by NVIDIA (HBM), hardly used (Vulkan) or inferior (Freesync).

AND needs to do better and stop whining like their fanboys and price/performance advocates. Just sayin.

Techspot seems to contradict your opinion

https://www.techspot.com/article/1454-gsync-vs-freesync/

Are there worse FreeSync monitors? Yes. Are there monitors as good? Yes and they came in cheaper to boot. What exactly do you have against freedom of choice? We get it, you love high end monitors that cost allot of money. That's no reason for cheaper options to not exists.

You complain about the same thing in every FreeSync article on TechSpot.

Are you suggesting illegal anti-competitive practices are justified if your opposition complains about them?

Nope, I just think it's silly to feel sorry for a company that can't compete in the simplest form, but takes every chance to take shots in their marketing.

Remember the shots fired with AMD's "4GB MEANS 4GB" marketing, after being forced to reduce the price of the 290X to compete with the GTX 970?

First we are talking about the GPP here and AMD's response. Second, Nvidia lying about the GTX 970 kind of proves Kotters point. Nvidia was sued and lost for the GTX 970 3.5GB issue for a reason, it lied to it's customers. Something of which you don't seem to care.

If they do close their doors, are you willing to deal with all the baggage that comes with a monopoly?

Would any of us have a choice? Or do you think everyone is going to buy AMD to avoid it? Yea, you think on that for a bit.

You AMD guys don't think things through enough, and it's annoying.

The fact that you just assume everyone who's against your opinion is an "AMD guys" says enough. I own a 1080 Ti in my main rig. People don't require an AMD card to make a moral decision.

Long held rumours that Intel may get in on the act.

They will fail at it if they do intel needs to stay in their own lane and let nvidia and ati (amd) trade blows with each other in the gpu market.
If amd would make their catalyst suites more stable and not likely to crash every which way possible.
I would use ati radeon cards alot more but I won't, nvidia has more stable drivers and are willing to fix bugs if anyone runs across it.

AMD hasn't had catalyst drivers since 2015 and they haven't had ATI branded cards for even longer. If you are going to comment on the state on the company, at least make sure it's within the reference frame of the last few years.

Even when they have good products, people pretend they don't. And THAT is exactly the problem. That is ultimately why they will go under.

I'll be awaiting your source links...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radeon_HD_4000_series

The Radeon 4000 series beat Nvidia Fermi in every metric. Small die size, more performance, and more power efficient. Fermi still sold more, despite being notoriously hot. You could buy a 4850 and get GTX 280 performance. The 4850 was $200 at launch while the GTX 280 was $500 at the same time. People buying Nvidia at that time weren't following logic, they were following brand. If you look at the comments of many articles at the time, enthusiasts were still mad at Nvidia for it's endless rebrand of the 8800, of which it rebranded 4 times.
 
Long held rumours that Intel may get in on the act.

They will fail at it if they do intel needs to stay in their own lane and let nvidia and ati (amd) trade blows with each other in the gpu market.
If amd would make their catalyst suites more stable and not likely to crash every which way possible.
I would use ati radeon cards alot more but I won't, nvidia has more stable drivers and are willing to fix bugs if anyone runs across it.
I do believe that in the past 12-24 months it's been Nvidia who had the worst driver releases and the most problems. AMD has stepped up huge with their new driver dev team and the Crimson Software.
 
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