Nvidia has made a bold and controversial move, preventing distributors from selling GeForce graphics cards to their server and high-performance computer (HPC) clients, in favour of its professional—and more expensive—Quadro and Tesla products.
Nvidia’s Quadro graphics cards are designed for workstations, while Tesla cards are used in GPU-powered servers. Both are pricier than their GeForce equivalents, and companies will have little option but to pass on this increased cost to their end users.
A rise in the demand for gaming hardware has faciliated a healthy growth for the GeForce range, but Nvidia’s professional product range generates more profit for the company.
Distributors will be strictly monitored to ensure they’re adhering to Nvidia’s new regulations, or face the punishment of a reduced supply of graphics card stock.
Analyst Comment
The sale of particular cards to particular segments is reported to be based on an existing agreement structure, but Nvidia has not enforced the clause, before. (BR)
