NVIDIA is alleged to have influenced MSRP prices.
OPP program
Rising graphics card prices , the supposed discontinuation of certain models – in recent days, alongside the sharply increased prices of RAM, graphics card prices have also come into focus. The ever-increasing cost of memory certainly plays a significant role in the price mix for graphics cards. But there also seem to be other factors at play in this overall discussion.
Roman Hartung, aka der8auer, reports on an OPP program at NVIDIA. The meaning of OPP is unknown, but he claims to have had the program’s existence confirmed by two sources. The OPP program was reportedly active until a few days ago but has since been discontinued.
What is the OPP program about?
With the last three GeForce RTX graphics card generations, NVIDIA always differentiated between the MSRP models and those priced above them. This was always evident at the launch of each graphics card model, as we as testers were always given two deadlines: the first, the official launch date of the respective model with the MSRP prices, and the following day, when we were allowed to publish reviews of the cards that were priced above the MSRP.
Accordingly, as many manufacturers as possible were interested in being included in the first pool of cards with the MSRP (MSRP) to be part of the tests on the very first day. However, not every manufacturer will be able to offer the cards at this MSRP. The costs, especially for the GPU and memory, have a significant impact on this. The OPP (Open Price Program) was designed to support manufacturers in being able to offer the cards at the MSRP.
Roman requested a statement from NVIDIA two days ago, but has not yet received a response.
The effects of the discontinuation of the OPP program are expected to become more apparent in the coming days. Prices are already rising, but this is expected to be a further factor driving them up.
On the one hand, there’s the focus on the higher-margin models, such as the GeForce RTX 5080. This uses the same GPU as the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, and the same memory package, but if enough good chips are available, the GeForce RTX 5080 is the more profitable model. This shift in focus likely also led to the reports about the supposed discontinuation of the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti . In fact, however, it wasn’t discontinued; NVIDIA is simply prioritizing the GeForce RTX 5080.
Add to that the significantly more expensive memory and the lack of OPP program support, and prices are already rising – at least there are simply no more affordable “MSRP models” available. Roman’s sources predict that a GeForce RTX 5080 will cost between €1,400 and €1,500 in the coming weeks. Currently, the cheapest models are still available starting at €1,250 .
The exact details of the OPP program are still largely unclear. The partners were supposed to be supported in offering tickets at the recommended retail price. However, we don’t currently know exactly how this was achieved.
Add to that the significantly more expensive memory and the lack of OPP program support, and prices are already rising – at least there are simply no more affordable “MSRP models” available. Roman’s sources predict that a GeForce RTX 5080 will cost between €1,400 and €1,500 in the coming weeks. Currently, the cheapest models are still available starting at €1,250 .
The exact details of the OPP program are still largely unclear. The partners were supposed to be supported in offering tickets at the recommended retail price. However, we don’t currently know exactly how this was achieved.
NVIDIA is keeping quiet.
Last November, it was reported that NVIDIA had lifted this tie-in , meaning board partners would have to handle their own memory procurement. At CES, we asked NVIDIA if anything had changed regarding how board partners obtain GPUs and memory, and received the following response:
“No changes on how NVIDIA is handling the memory allocation.”
According to this, there have been no changes and NVIDIA continues to supply GPUs and memory to its board partners. At the time, when asked whether higher prices were to be expected, the company also stated:
