Pascal Founder’s Edition Could Mean Reference Cards

NVIDIA has now officially unveiled the new Pascal architecture and stunned many people by the extremely affordable pricing scheme. However, there are more expensive options entitled, “Founder’s Edition” cards and it’s unclear what this actually refers to. Perhaps, it’s an early print run with an attractive GeForce box and other premium extras or it might be a high performer selected for its overclocking prowess. However, NVIDIA’s official press release states:

“The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 “Founders Edition” will be available on May 27 for $699. It will be available from ASUS, Colorful, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, MSI, NVIDIA. Palit, PNY and Zotac. Custom boards from partners will vary by region and pricing is expected to start at $599.”

This is an interesting statement but there’s not enough information to suggest the Founder’s Edition is a term for reference models. However, the company went on to say:

“The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 “Founders Edition” will be available on June 10 for $449. Custom boards from partners are expected to start at $379.”

The mention of custom cards here is almost hinting that the Founder’s Edition is actually another name for the reference design. However, it would be unusual to price the reference models higher given custom variants often feature lower thermals and a reduced noise output.

Do you think there’s any credence in this prediction?