[ad_1]
In what is now becoming a familiar pattern, EVGA is reportedly on the cusp of shutting down its motherboard business. This will be the second major product line the company has shuttered after it famously announced last year it was exiting the graphics card market. News of EVGA’s possible exit from motherboards raises questions about its viability. It also shows the pitfalls of producing only high-end gear for a single platform, as EVGA only currently offers Intel-based motherboards with cutting-edge features and a price tag to match. It also previously produced only Nvidia-based GPUs.
Word of EVGA’s demise, which must be taken with a grain of salt, comes from a Korean forum. According to Wccftech, an overclocker that goes by the moniker Safedisc posted that all 170 employees of the company’s Taiwan operation have resigned in advance of an anticipated shutdown of the company’s motherboard business. The post merely states all employees have left, including its in-house overclocking guru Kingpin, as they await what they see as an inevitable announcement. This information is yet to be verified by anyone at EVGA, and the company’s operation in Spain told TechPowerUp they are still operating like normal. KingPin has also not released any statements thus far.
The post in question says all employees in Taiwan have resigned, but it should be treated as a rumor at this time.
Credit: Safedisc on coolenjoy forum
If it comes to pass, the industry will lose another competitor in the motherboard space, albeit a small one. We don’t have any official numbers on EVGA’s sales, but its motherboards have always served a niche market of extreme overclockers. The company makes no bones about its strategy either, stating simply that it understands enthusiasts better than any other company, and few people would take issue with that statement. At the same time, overclocking is somewhat of a lost art these days, but that hasn’t prevented EVGA from offering boards exclusively designed just for this task that are outrageously expensive. Its two Z790 boards—the Dark Classified and KingPin—are priced at $699 and $799, respectively.
For years enthusiasts forums your author follows have begged the company to make more reasonably priced motherboards, as everyone loves the features and the aesthetic but not the price tag. However, EVGA, to its credit, seems unwilling to compromise. This is a similar stance it took in the GPU business, where it was seen as offering the best support in the industry and an exclusive “upgrade to a new GPU easily” Step-Up program that was great for gamers but probably hard on the bottom line. The same can be said for its lone ATX chassis offering, an open-air carbon fiber “frame” that costs $1,600. The company is steadfast in its extremely high-end approach to specific product categories.
If it does eject itself from the motherboard market, it will likely focus more on its line of well-regarded power supplies. Though it also makes mice, keyboards, capture devices, and liquid coolers, it seems as an outside observer that PSUs are its big seller. That’s just because, anecdotally, we never see people talking about its peripherals much online. EVGA still has a strong PSU line, but whether that’s enough to sustain the business as a whole remains unclear.
[ad_2]
Source link
