NVIDIA's Latest Founders Edition Graphics Card Strategy

Back in May of 2016, graphics specialist NVIDIA (NVDA -3.00%) announced the first graphics processing units (GPUs) based on its then-new Pascal architecture: the GeForce GTX 1080 and its cut-down sibling, the GeForce GTX 1070.

At the time, NVIDIA announced two different prices for each of the cards. The first was NVIDIA's manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the GPUs and the second was the price for the so-called Founders Edition models -- cards designed and sold directly by NVIDIA. The Founders Edition cards were more expensive.

One of the latest Founders Edition GPUs from NVIDIA. Image source: NVIDIA.

Though these cards arguably featured excellent aesthetics, they faced their share of criticism back then from third-party reviewers for their cooling performance.

For example, here's what Hexus.net had to say about the Founders Edition version of the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti: "The Founders Edition model, available directly from Nvidia or pre-installed in a system, arrives at £419. For that you get the high-quality fit and finish of the reference board but also the foibles that arrive with it, namely high-ish temperatures, a boost clock that doesn't keep pace with AIB designs and, if you are really picky, a noise profile that's higher than, say, EVGA or MSI would have."

GamersNexus, another computer hardware review site, said of the GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition, "... the $700 price-point and thermal limitations for overclocking mean that we'd recommend waiting on AIB cards and buying something (hopefully) slightly cheaper and with a dual-push fan cooler."

Now, with the launch of NVIDIA's latest Turing-based GPUs, the company has also rolled out Founders Edition cards based on each of the new GPUs (GeForce RTX 2070, GeForce RTX 2080, and GeForce RTX 2080 Ti). Based on what NVIDIA has revealed about these cards, it seems that it has taken the criticisms around the prior Founders Edition products to heart.

Aiming for the top

As it did with the prior generation Pascal-based products, NVIDIA is charging more for its Founders Edition cards based on the RTX 20-series graphics processors than its starting MSRP (see the table below).

Sources: NVIDIA, Tom's Hardware.

In its description of the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition, NVIDIA says that the card "features a next-gen 13-phase power supply for maximum overclocking and dual-axial 13-blade fans coupled with a new vapor chamber for ultra-cool and quiet performance."

Of course, we'll have to see how the latest Founders Edition cards' cooling performance compares to similarly priced products from the add-in card vendors. But it looks to me that NVIDIA was far more ambitious with the cooling designs on the RTX 20-series Founders Edition cards than it was with the prior-generation products.

Additionally, NVIDIA says that these Founders Edition cards are "factory overclocked" -- that is, they run at higher frequencies than what NVIDIA rates the graphics processors at. NVIDIA's previous Founders Edition cards weren't factory overclocked.

Add-in cardmakers tend to offer a range of cards based on the same basic graphics processors, with the higher-end models typically differentiated on things like cooling performance and out-of-the-box frequencies.

By endowing its RTX 20-series Founders Edition cards with substantially more-robust cooling than prior Founders Edition products had, and by factory overclocking these cards, NVIDIA aims to position them as credible alternatives to its partners' high-end cards, justifying their premium prices.