NVIDIA NDA & HardOCP - POLL

HardOCP Signs the NVIDIA NDA for 2080 Launch Access?

  • Yes

  • No

Results are only viewable after voting.
A picture says a thousand words:

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Looks like someone is on board with the NDA. I'm not even going to link to it since i don't want to support that author; if your interested in the read (it is pure comedy), you can look it up.
 
NDA are expected BUT IMO they are bad for consumers to know all the ins and outs of retail products, what they bring to the table or do not, to show REAL WORLD usage and on the shelf pricing compared to the "best case" that the makers generally are very concrete on (to make sure their product looks the best thing since sliced bread)

Founders edition stuff, mehh, I do not consider that a good enough reason (though granted $$$$$$$$$$$$ does not grow on trees) but at the same time, to get from Nvidia hand directly also means THEY make the rules which really limits what the consumer should be knowing without the potential BS being hidden from us.

(Nv generally have a bad habit of doing exactly that, so does Intel....we should not give them more fuel for them fires)

We absolutely need real world empirical proof of things, not more scripted BS we all deal with enough of that in our daily lives ^.^
 
I voted yes initially, but changed it to no when I read what Kyle's lawyer said. I'm never gonna be able to buy a 2080 so ill join the patreon train so i can see Kyle buy it.
 
SickBeast said:
The question becomes, if lawyers need to be involved on both sides, is it really worth it over $4000 worth of hardware?

The other thing I will ask you is, do you actually enjoy the journalistic side of what you do? I have a friend that's a reviewer and he told me that he would not do the journalism thing again. He blew the lid off something with AMD some time ago and he says it took too much of a toll on him. Perhaps the five years would give you a break from it and save you money also.
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This really has nothing to do with the cost of the hardware. Sure, I don't want to pay for it. But the cost of the hardware really has nothing to do with sighing the NDA. Getting hardware before launch is the focus.

I like the journalism more than the reviewing to be honest. Feels like I am making more of a difference.
 
I am no NDA expert, but it looks quite standard legal mumbo jumbo.
If most of the other review sites sign it and get early access to cards, why should Kyle & [H] be late to the party?
 
sleepybp said:
I am no NDA expert, but it looks quite standard legal mumbo jumbo.
If most of the other review sites sign it and get early access to cards, why should Kyle & [H] be late to the party?
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It sounds like he won't be able to report on nVidia's bad business practices for five years if he signs it.
 
sleepybp said:
I am no NDA expert, but it looks quite standard legal mumbo jumbo.
If most of the other review sites sign it and get early access to cards, why should Kyle & [H] be late to the party?
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Because if you are a simple reviewer, and most tech sites and Youtubers are, then this NDA has no real meaning to you. But this really throws a wrench in the wheels for JOURNALISTS! This whole NDA thing is a counter reaction to Kyle's GPP reporting. If this NDA would have existed back then AND if Kyle had signed it, he could not have reported about the GPP and its nefarious effects and Nvidia could have strong armed the gaming brands of graphics card manufacturers to themselves.
 
has Kyle made a decision yet? I'm already a patron, and I will Kindly continue to have him not sign
 
IMO, a free press is immensely important to the public. As such, I will support whatever decision you make to keep your principals intact. Waiting a few days for a fair and accurate review is a price that I will happily pay. These products are quite expensive, and I trust your reviews over the other sites. If it was up to me, I would shred the NDA.
 
scojer said:
You can support them in more ways than just Patreon.

You can click ads, use commissioned buying links -

subscribe to GenMay, etc.
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I do all that. Not so much the ad clinking, as I often forget to do it, but the others, yes.
 
They need you and you don't need them, obviously the post-GPP fallout has them worried for this market sector.
Independence is something you miss most when lost.
 
Zion Halcyon said:
I say no. While I understand that you wouldn't have a review at the same time as most sites, the reason we come here is worth far more than getting hard ocp a launch day coverage.

We who come here will wait for a real review, even one post launch.
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This
 
This NDA is just so Nvidia can get away with shady business practices knowing no one in the industry will have the balls to call them out. Five years doing shady business has a longer lasting impact than that. It's long enough to make it an acceptable norm. Look at the software side: Back in the 90s this nickel and dime DLC bullshit would have been laughed out of existence. Remember the horse armor debacle? It should have died there. Now it's the norm and we now have "season passes" that are no guarantee you'll get a decent amount of DLC to justify it. Could be more gameplay, could be a different color of gloves for your character. Totally up to the publisher. At least expansion packs lived up to their namesake.

Point is this five year gag order (let's call it for what it really is) is just so Nvidia can make their way of doing things the norm and we just shrug our shoulders.

That shit needs to stop here and now before that IS the norm.
 
I'm going with no, simply because of the shit that nVidia has pulled in the past. I'm with other posters, I have NOT come to this site for almost 20 years to get the first reviews, I WANT QUALITY no-bullshit reviews, not the ball-cupping "they paid me" type of reviews I see elsewhere.
 
Other than print, I read no other tech news...so being a few days behind is not a big deal to me. As for the money, idk. Seems like the freedom to do what you want is worth that. If nothing else, you can always resell them for close to what you paid.
 
I say no but can you provide the relative revenue/money generated from hits on your gpu or any reviews? I'm not calling you out I just think full disclosure on cost for this website to purchase a card for review and how much money you get from our consumption of this information. I think it would give us a better understanding of what it takes to give all of us the kind of honest content you provide.
I love this website and this poll has made me really question my lack of financial contribution to what this website has provided to me over the years. This website is my go to for all things tech whether it's staff or user generated information.
 
dub77nj said:
I say no but can you provide the relative revenue/money generated from hits on your gpu or any reviews? I'm not calling you out I just think full disclosure on cost for this website to purchase a card for review and how much money you get from our consumption of this information. I think it would give us a better understanding of what it takes to give all of us the kind of honest content you provide.
I love this website and this poll has made me really question my lack of financial contribution to what this website has provided to me over the years. This website is my go to for all things tech whether it's staff or user generated information.
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No, he isn't going to disclose how much revenue the site makes, that's ridiculous. Additionally there is a LOT more cost involved than just buying hardware.
 
Wow, really hard poll to decide on.

I think you should not sign the NDA. However if you feel this would make it impossible to keep running the site I could imagine you sign it. Would not disrepect you for it.
Also still think you would find a way to tell the truth and make sincere reviews to the best of your abilities.
But as I understand it this NDA is more about the investigative journalism.

If you don' sign you can sell the cards however it would still cost you quite a bit of money over time. Also I suspect you can keep cards for future testing if you get them from nvidia. If you buy and sell, you can't really do follow up reviews easily.

At the end of the day it is a shitty and scary path nvidia set itself on. The efforts they are making to control the narrative are very ugly. Wouldn't want to be part of that if I were working for nvidia.

Think it is immoral for nvidia to try to significantly impact and narrow down the posiblities of an investigative journalist doing their core task and as such corrupting.

But yeah money makes the world go round and for some they never have enough.
 
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I voted no.. Based solely off of time..

What your looking at is basically no launch day review for this gen & then maybe one other based on the 2 years since the 1080 launch. I would rather see the unrestricted [H] for 5 years then get the reviews a little faster for the maybe 3 times that's going to actually matter.
 
bastage said:
I voted no.. Based solely off of time..

What your looking at is basically no launch day review for this gen & then maybe one other based on the 2 years since the 1080 launch. I would rather see the unrestricted [H] for 5 years then get the reviews a little faster for the maybe 3 times that's going to actually matter.
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Well in the next few months, besides 2070/2080/Ti there's going to be new midrange cards - 2060, 2050 Ti, etc., probably a new Titan in the next 6-8 months, and then 7nm refresh next year.
 
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DPI said:
Well in the next few months, besides the RTX 2070/2080/Ti there's going to be new midrange cards - 2060, 2050 Ti, etc., probably a new Titan in the next 6-8 months, and then 7nm refresh next year.
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It only takes the first of each series to judge how each stacks up against the last generation though.
 
bastage said:
It only takes the first of each series to judge how each stacks up against the last generation though.
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Unfortunately, trying to guess where midrange cards might stack up is of no benefit to a hardware review and journalism site, whose lifeblood is posting articles and getting traffic eyeballs in front of them.

RTX 2060 Review
Well, we'll just let you fill in the blanks.

That wouldn't really work.
 
DPI said:
Unfortunately, trying to guess where midrange cards might stack up is of no benefit to a hardware review and journalism site, whose lifeblood is posting articles and getting traffic eyeballs in front of them.

RTX 2060 Review
Well, we'll just let you fill in the blanks.

That wouldn't really work.
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Not being able to report the truth as you see it is also no benefit to a hardware review and journalism site. The only real question is what is the lesser of the evils.
 
personally speaking, I don't come here daily to read about hardware reviews. I come here:

- to read the latest happenings/insights in the tech industry
- to ask/give hardware/software help when it's needed
- to get/give a few chuckles (some of the videos posted here at [H] are the most hilarious I come across at any other website)
 
When nvidia has power they are going to try and use it to get as much control and money as they can. They are now releasing the first major feature enhancement for GPUs since, lets say gsync, the GPU market is pretty hot, and nVidia is in a pretty strong position. Why not try to get people into multiyear contracts, same with GPP. Even if you can get away with it, signing this might present a problem simply cause nvidia could drown you in court.

So really its up to you and your lawyer to decide how to handle this, asking a bunch of hard forum guys is really not relevant. of course we want the most honest and accurate reviews, end of story. If that can be achieved signing the NDA great, if not then don't sign it.

I would also say make extra sure to read it very carefully. I don't know what standard practice is but when ever anyone for any reason wants to get you to sign a multiyear agreement, well there is definitely something in it for them.
 
My question is this: How many [H] readers are dying for a Day 0 breaking review from [H] before they purchase their cards? If the [H] review is a week or even two weeks after launch date, I'm still going to read it and base my opinions off it just like everyone else here (because this is literally the only site I trust to give me a fully unbiased and accurate real-world review). Waiting an extra week or two before ordering a card, in the large scheme of things, really is nothing. So, although the decision has already been made, I vote no.
 
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