HP and Dell are purportedly backing away from Nvidia's GeForce Partner Program

The Nvidia Partner Program (NPP) has quietly grown to be a PR headache for the GPU maker. What was supposed to be a collaborative "club" for manufacturers to guarantee the best possible gaming experience when utilizing Nvidia technology, the HardOCP claim last month broke the story of deeper anti-consumer practices from within. Now, these same sources are claiming that at least a few major manufacturers are saying "no" to the Nvidia program for its "unethical" and "likely illegal" implications.

According to hardOCP, both Dell and HP will not be members of NPP and they will consequently not receive any marketing or financial benefits that the program offers to its members. As a result, OEMs who are a part of NPP would have relationship priority over Dell and HP. If the program becomes successful, then it wouldn't be unusual to see a widening rift between Nvidia and both Dell and HP since other OEMs would have preferential treatment.

The revelation is notable because Dell and HP are two of the largest PC manufacturers worldwide by far. Unlike smaller companies, they have the resources and power to operate without marketing aid from Nvidia compared to say MSI, EVGA, or Gigabyte where most of their products are designed for mainstream to hardcore gamers and on smaller marketing budgets.

As noted by the source, Nvidia has not disclosed which OEMs have signed on as part of the exclusive program and both Dell and HP have not publicly commented on NPP. Perhaps coincidentally, Dell and HP are the only two manufacturers currently shipping Kaby Lake-G laptops so far this year to compete directly with Nvidia's Max-Q series and mainstream GTX 1050 lineup. There's definitely a black cloud surrounding the Nvidia Partner Program and the unusual silence from the chipmaker to divulge any specific details other than the typical PR response is suspect nonetheless.

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