Here is the official response from NVIDIA regarding the ostensibly draconian crackdown on voltage control on Kepler GPUs:
 

We contacted Nvidia for comment and received a response from their Senior PR Manager, Bryan Del Rizzo with the following,

"Green Light was created to help ensure that all of the GTX boards in the market all have great acoustics, temperatures, and mechanicals. This helps to ensure our GTX customers get the highest quality product that runs quiet, cool, and fits in their PC. GTX is a measureable brand, and Green Light is a promise to ensure that the brand remains as strong as possible by making sure the products brought to market meet our highest quality requirements.

Reducing RMAs has never been a focus of Green Light.

We support overvoltaging up to a limit on our products, but have a maximum reliability spec that is intended to protect the life of the product. We don’t want to see customers disappointed when their card dies in a year or two because the voltage was raised too high.

Regarding overvoltaging above our max spec, we offer AICs two choices:

· Ensure the GPU stays within our operating specs and have a full warranty from NVIDIA.

· Allow the GPU to be manually operated outside specs in which case NVIDIA provides no warranty.

We prefer AICs ensure the GPU stays within spec and encourage this through warranty support, but it’s ultimately up to the AIC what they want to do. Their choice does not affect allocation. And this has no bearing on the end user warranty provided by the AIC. It is simply a warranty between NVIDIA and the AIC.

With Green Light, we don’t really go out of the way to look for ways that AICs enable manual OV. As I stated, this isn’t the core purpose of the program. Yes, you’ve seen some cases of boards getting out into the market with OV features only to have them disabled later. This is due to the fact that AICs decided later that they would prefer to have a warranty. This is simply a choice the AICs each need to make for themselves. How, or when they make this decision, is entirely up to them.

With regards to your MSI comment below, we gave MSI the same choice I referenced above -- change their SW to disable OV above our reliability limit or not obtain a warranty. They simply chose to change their software in lieu of the warranty. Their choice. It is not ours to make, and we don’t influence them one way or the other.

In short, Green Light is an especially important program for a major, new product introduction like Kepler, where our AICs don’t have a lot of experience building and working with our new technologies, but also extends the flexibility to AICs who provide a design that can operate outside of the reliability limits of the board. And, if you look at the products in the market today, there is obviously evidence of differentiation. You only need to look at the large assortment of high quality Kepler boards available today, including standard and overclocked editions."

What does this mean for consumers?

"This essentially breaks down to giving consumers fewer options between their cards and limits the innovation that AIBs are capable of implementing in their products. If Nvidia is limiting the AIBs within a set of parameters on their non-reference cards, then they are hurting those board vendors' most profitable products. This gives consumers less choice, while enabling Nvidia to theoretically have lower RMAs. Such a program does, however, make sense if you think about the perception of Nvidia if all of their board partners are running amok. They obviously have to have a certain level of control over what their AIBs do with their GPUs if they are going to warranty them. But, we believe that Nvidia has gone too far in their restrictions on board partners and amount of control they exercise in the process.

So, the Green Light program is a program that we believe hurts AIBs and consumers while enabling Nvidia to reduce their RMA rate and improve their margins. If you are an Nvidia investor, this is great news, but if you are a consumer, this is clearly bad news. Nvidia claims that this has to do with the quality of the product and smoothness of launches, however, we believe that in the end it's all about money."

http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=162220.0

A couple of things stand out pretty clearly regarding this issue. NVIDIA has stated that it is UP TO THE AIB to stick to the limits that NVIDIA has recommended in order to keep the warranty with NVIDIA intact. So, AIBs like EVGA make the final call on whether voltage tweaking should be allowed (via EVBot etc.). My opinion on this is that since they (EVGA) charge an arm and a leg for the Classified GPU (+$159.99 per GPU), they should allow voltage tweaking and swallow the warranty risk since the number of Classifieds are limited and the number of RMAs for them would be a small fraction of those. Of course, it seems like EVGA took the "easy" way out and removed voltage control from the Classified GPU but have ingeniously (LOL) kept the $659.99 per GPU price tag! 
 
The improved cooler, added VRMs, and larger PCB of the Classified GPUs screamed voltage-induced overclocking. This is the primary reason anyone with more than sawdust in their skulls bought this GPU. I understand that if EVGA were forced to remove this capability by NVIDIA but this is clearly NOT the case here. This also does not apply to all GTX-680s. The Classified is the pinnacle of this model and any manufacturer/AIB should realize that instead of absolute profits per GPU, there are intangible aspects of a product that will drive revenue over the long term. The 680 Classified is a statement; something that is achievable by the Kepler architecture combined with EVGA's engineering prowess. For them to gimp the most attractive feature of the GPU solely for fear of monetary loss through no warranty from NVIDIA is myopic. They have also been rather disingenuous in not stating clearly that it was they, not NVIDIA, that made the call to pull the plug, quite literally, on the EVBot capability on the GTX-680 Classified.

Actually Nvidia pushed EVGA's  hand,As a business you dont sell a product you may have to eat 100% of the cost if its RMA'ed .Sorry but your wrong.They have said they will cover all warranty on cards with the add-on (they will eat that cost if needed) But to assume they should now eat every RMA on a Classy is plain bone head thinking for anyone who even ran a business.(A person would do such a thing would soon be bankrupt by his/her own dumb business practices)

Baasha

Here is the official response from NVIDIA regarding the ostensibly draconian crackdown on voltage control on Kepler GPUs:

We contacted Nvidia for comment and received a response from their Senior PR Manager, Bryan Del Rizzo with the following,

"Green Light was created to help ensure that all of the GTX boards in the market all have great acoustics, temperatures, and mechanicals. This helps to ensure our GTX customers get the highest quality product that runs quiet, cool, and fits in their PC. GTX is a measureable brand, and Green Light is a promise to ensure that the brand remains as strong as possible by making sure the products brought to market meet our highest quality requirements.

Reducing RMAs has never been a focus of Green Light.

We support overvoltaging up to a limit on our products, but have a maximum reliability spec that is intended to protect the life of the product. We don’t want to see customers disappointed when their card dies in a year or two because the voltage was raised too high.

Regarding overvoltaging above our max spec, we offer AICs two choices:

· Ensure the GPU stays within our operating specs and have a full warranty from NVIDIA.

· Allow the GPU to be manually operated outside specs in which case NVIDIA provides no warranty.

We prefer AICs ensure the GPU stays within spec and encourage this through warranty support, but it’s ultimately up to the AIC what they want to do. Their choice does not affect allocation. And this has no bearing on the end user warranty provided by the AIC. It is simply a warranty between NVIDIA and the AIC.

With Green Light, we don’t really go out of the way to look for ways that AICs enable manual OV. As I stated, this isn’t the core purpose of the program. Yes, you’ve seen some cases of boards getting out into the market with OV features only to have them disabled later. This is due to the fact that AICs decided later that they would prefer to have a warranty. This is simply a choice the AICs each need to make for themselves. How, or when they make this decision, is entirely up to them.

With regards to your MSI comment below, we gave MSI the same choice I referenced above -- change their SW to disable OV above our reliability limit or not obtain a warranty. They simply chose to change their software in lieu of the warranty. Their choice. It is not ours to make, and we don’t influence them one way or the other.

In short, Green Light is an especially important program for a major, new product introduction like Kepler, where our AICs don’t have a lot of experience building and working with our new technologies, but also extends the flexibility to AICs who provide a design that can operate outside of the reliability limits of the board. And, if you look at the products in the market today, there is obviously evidence of differentiation. You only need to look at the large assortment of high quality Kepler boards available today, including standard and overclocked editions."

What does this mean for consumers?

"This essentially breaks down to giving consumers fewer options between their cards and limits the innovation that AIBs are capable of implementing in their products. If Nvidia is limiting the AIBs within a set of parameters on their non-reference cards, then they are hurting those board vendors' most profitable products. This gives consumers less choice, while enabling Nvidia to theoretically have lower RMAs. Such a program does, however, make sense if you think about the perception of Nvidia if all of their board partners are running amok. They obviously have to have a certain level of control over what their AIBs do with their GPUs if they are going to warranty them. But, we believe that Nvidia has gone too far in their restrictions on board partners and amount of control they exercise in the process.

So, the Green Light program is a program that we believe hurts AIBs and consumers while enabling Nvidia to reduce their RMA rate and improve their margins. If you are an Nvidia investor, this is great news, but if you are a consumer, this is clearly bad news. Nvidia claims that this has to do with the quality of the product and smoothness of launches, however, we believe that in the end it's all about money."

http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=162220.0

A couple of things stand out pretty clearly regarding this issue. NVIDIA has stated that it is UP TO THE AIB to stick to the limits that NVIDIA has recommended in order to keep the warranty with NVIDIA intact. So, AIBs like EVGA make the final call on whether voltage tweaking should be allowed (via EVBot etc.). My opinion on this is that since they (EVGA) charge an arm and a leg for the Classified GPU (+$159.99 per GPU), they should allow voltage tweaking and swallow the warranty risk since the number of Classifieds are limited and the number of RMAs for them would be a small fraction of those. Of course, it seems like EVGA took the "easy" way out and removed voltage control from the Classified GPU but have ingeniously (LOL) kept the $659.99 per GPU price tag! 

The improved cooler, added VRMs, and larger PCB of the Classified GPUs screamed voltage-induced overclocking. This is the primary reason anyone with more than sawdust in their skulls bought this GPU. I understand that if EVGA were forced to remove this capability by NVIDIA but this is clearly NOT the case here. This also does not apply to all GTX-680s. The Classified is the pinnacle of this model and any manufacturer/AIB should realize that instead of absolute profits per GPU, there are intangible aspects of a product that will drive revenue over the long term. The 680 Classified is a statement; something that is achievable by the Kepler architecture combined with EVGA's engineering prowess. For them to gimp the most attractive feature of the GPU solely for fear of monetary loss through no warranty from NVIDIA is myopic. They have also been rather disingenuous in not stating clearly that it was they, not NVIDIA, that made the call to pull the plug, quite literally, on the EVBot capability on the GTX-680 Classified.

I agree. Jacob made it seem like NVIDIA forced them to remove it.

Remember that you can always choose software overclocking with EVGA Precision. It's maybe not as stylish as EVBOT, but it works very well.

Looks like MSI is gonna get a very nice gain from now on.. Maybe I'll later upgrade fom my 670 FTW's to some MSI Lightnings ... Well I hope next-gen EVGA Cards can be voltage controlled..

This 'Green Light' NVIDIA decision applies to all NVIDIA partners not just to one NVIDIA partner and one card.
 

Sajin

BioHazardSperm

Actually Nvidia pushed EVGA's  hand,As a business you dont sell a product you may have to eat 100% of the cost if its RMA'ed .Sorry but your wrong.They have said they will cover all warranty on cards with the add-on (they will eat that cost if needed) But to assume they should now eat every RMA on a Classy is plain bone head thinking for anyone who even ran a business.(A person would do such a thing would soon be bankrupt by his/her own dumb business practices)

I don't think the #1 seller of US based GPU's is going to go broke just because of one card they have to take a hit on. They have like 46 different cards they are making money on, 47 in total if you add the classy. Pus not everyone buys the Classy & EVBot because it so expensive.

I'm not 100% sure but it seems like let me dig a bit more..

ya they will but the MSI card IMO has no where near the build cost the Classy does ,its about money here MSI's card is not anywhere near or even same class as the classy build materials .

Baltothewolf

Sajin

SlashPT

Looks like MSI is gonna get a very nice gain from now on.. Maybe I'll later upgrade fom my 670 FTW's to some MSI Lightnings ... Well I hope next-gen EVGA Cards can be voltage controlled..

So MSI is still doing their own thing with the lightnings? Taking the hit on the RMA's of the Lightnings?

Looks like they choose to take the hit with the card I have.

BioHazardSperm 

ok i have a idea new classys will have the add on and cost 1,000 but have a 1 time RMA limited to 1 year lol Seriously try to not think of this as ME ME ME what about me and think like you own a business that has investors or a owner and has a bottom line to meet.Its insane and ignorant to think a company should eat it because you want it . 

Right because they totally didn't start selling them in the first place...

When you figure out the lead time in development needed for cards like this to get to market then let me know.....

BioHazardSperm

Baltothewolf

Sajin

SlashPT

Looks like MSI is gonna get a very nice gain from now on.. Maybe I'll later upgrade fom my 670 FTW's to some MSI Lightnings ... Well I hope next-gen EVGA Cards can be voltage controlled..

So MSI is still doing their own thing with the lightnings? Taking the hit on the RMA's of the Lightnings?

Looks like they choose to take the hit with the card I have.

BioHazardSperm 

ok i have a idea new classys will have the add on and cost 1,000 but have a 1 time RMA limited to 1 year lol Seriously try to not think of this as ME ME ME what about me and think like you own a business that has investors or a owner and has a bottom line to meet.Its insane and ignorant to think a company should eat it because you want it . 

Right because they totally didn't start selling them in the first place...

When you figure out the lead time in development needed for cards like this to get to market then let me know.....

Your dodging my point. Either answer my statement, or don't respond to me.

i already did but you dont understand it still ,like i said let me know

BioHazardSperm

i already did but you dont understand it still ,like i said let me know

No, you answered my question with another question.

I want unlocked fan speed and unlocked voltage and it would be nice if the cards didn't glitch out as well at around 75c. That is all.

So MSI will honor their warranty even with their OV? Even after this statement by Nvidia?
 
If that's true, I know where I'm going when the 780's come out. :P

I just have to throw my two cents in here. To those who suggest EVGA just eat the cost of the chips, please, I like EVGA and prefer them to stick around. You are massively confusing revenue and profit.
 
First, let's assume a reference GTX 680 costs EVGA $400 to get to the end user. They do not charge $659.99 for the EVGA GTX 680 Classified because it costs the same $400 to them but since it's a higher model they just feel like making $270 profit instead of $100. That is just not how it works. There is significant R&D costs in developing a specific card that is not really mass produced. There is also significant cost in developing a proprietary interface such as EVBot. Is EVGA making a little more profit off of the Classified? I'm sure they are, but it's not like the entire difference of the card prices is profit.
 
Second, that they have 40+ different products they are making money on does not mean they make a boatload more money. Do they bring in more money, revenue? Of course, but it costs a crap load to differentiate 40 some different products. Every single one of those products has to be developed, tested, binned, assembled, QA'ed, etc. It's a hell of a lot easier and cheaper to do that process on 10 cards than 40+. Whether or not they make more profit on it depends on whether the cost of differentiation is outweighed by the added revenue. Obviously it makes money or they wouldn't do it, but again, it's not all profit. There is significant cost involved.
 
Also, why is EVGA a great company? Because they care to be great and they invest in being great. They invest in the best customer service in the business. Are those advanced RMA's and 24/7 call centers free? Doubtful. They invest in product development and differentiation. Again, this does not come free.
 
So I suppose you could take the stance that, wow! EVGA sells a lot of cards so they must be rich and can eat the cost of any burned up Classified chips! Or you could be real about it and understand that being great and earning that revenue comes at costs.
 
All that said, I think EVGA should release an EVBot version of the Classified because it would sell. The price would be through the roof. Say they offer a one time warranty on each card. If the expected RMA rate of unlocked Classifieds over their 3 year warranty period is, say, 40%, and a GPU core costs $250 then they should tack on $100 (0.4 fail rate * 250 cost = 100 expected cost) to the cost of the card and sell an unlocked version. I guarantee you it would sell, and in this case the R&D is already done so it wouldn't be very costly to do it. The only real risk involved would be if you way underestimated the fail rate and didn't charge enough.
 
Just my two cents, which is worth just about that.