Nvidia Corp. has warned its customers to buy graphics processors, other chips and graphics cards only from “authorized” partners. Apparently, products sold on the grey market may be re-branded and sold under labels of more expensive products.

"Reseller who do not purchase from authorized partners run the risk of putting substandard products in their customer's hands. That can only lead to higher returns rates and damaged relationships with consumers," said Fiona Faulkner, senior director for sales for GeForce EMEAI, reports MicroScope web-site.

Remarking of graphics processors and even central processing units is not something unusual and occurred for many times in the past. For example, it is not hard to remark a chip into a more expensive model that runs on a higher clock-speed and then sell it at a higher price. The same can be done with a fully-made graphics card. In many cases, such “rebranding” may not be noticed quickly.

From time to time manufacturers of graphics cards and other hardware buy more graphics processing units that they need and then resell them. Chips and graphics cards sold by companies who do not directly buy from Nvidia or its reseller partners can be remarked in order to maximize their pricing.

While Nvidia does not elaborate, it is likely that a batch of counterfeit Nvidia GeForce graphics boards has emerged on the market.

Tags: Nvidia, Geforce