lehpron

What does this prove?  That those in the know are showing ignorance towards product placement and target audience, prefer to depend on product names for guidance because specs are overrated, or maybe they show concern for whom they respectfully refer as 'dumb people' (as if they deserve that, oh but you're trying to save them from themselves so it is okay to call them out on what we think they should know but don't)?

Such audacity .  Find a subject you're dumb in; would you volentarily inform yourself to someone else's standards (not yours, what's good enough for you isn't enough for them) just because they don't like it that you didn't buy the more expensive original that debuted years ago as opposed to a cheaper rehash of the same thing (in their view) right now?  No, this is about your uses and your budget, not their impatience that new stuff isn't appearing as often as before, so it must be your fault for buying old stuff with a new name.  Fair?  No, those spoiled morons who assume your perogatives can go to hell.

We are talking about a GT 240 here or 340 whatever you want to call it. It was Just released less than 4 month's ago. There is no expensive version. This has nothing to do with my budget, impatience, or new stuff not appearing as often. This is the new stuff Lmao. I wont even comment on the spoiled morons or going to hell rant. What it comes down to is Nvidia is targeting the uninformed Pc user with this rebranded card. Making it out to be something its not (New Tech) and that is what bothers me.

Ya I'll have to agree with Lehpron here, rebranding is nothing new and realistically, older tech is unremarkable and unspectacular to begin with.  Its just trickle down economics really, as long as you stay abreast of next generation products everything else is going to just be old hat and recycled/compressed technology of yesterday.

megalolman

- That is because the lower-end GPU market make more money than the high end one. Rebranding a low-middle-end card can make lots of money for a GPU company. I´m with Lehpron here, is a bussines point of view. We are enthusiasts and know what´s the power of a GT240 or GT340, is exact the same power. It can´t  hurt us. If the low-end uninformed buyer don´t want to spend time trying to learn about the product he/she is buying, is not our problem. If a friend of mine bought a "junk" piece of hardware because he/she don´t know what has bought and don´t asked me for advice, is not my problem. 

- IMHO rebranding low-middle cards is a bad practice for a GPU company. But a GPU company is a company after all, they want make big money from their customers. Rebranding cards don´t hurt me, so again i must said: Is not my problem!  

You're on the right track but the bolded portion is a myth and common fallacy.  High-end GPU market makes more money than low-end even with lower sales volume, its why these companies leverage 90% of their resources, R&D, and marketing muscle into the high-end because low end tripe is going to sell no matter what.  Its just filler.  While low-end revenue is high, revenue is not the same as margins or profit, as much of that revenue on low-end part is just cost of goods sold or cost of revenue, hence the low margins.  High-end parts are more expensive to build but their margins are much, much higher.  A single sale of a high-end GPU for example might generate 20x more margin/profit than a single low-end card so you would have to sell 20 GT340s to "make as much money" as a single GTX 285, for example.
 
Here's an example from Mercury Research from last year, keep in mind, these prices reflect a down economy where AMD and Nvidia were in the midst of a price war.  High-end GPU prices are often much higher than this......

You can see very clearly a single GTX 285 sale (~$180 margins) generates the same margins as 36 8400GS sales....
 

I am not sure who is the bigger fool, the person who buys a rebranded card, or the person who thinks rebranding is an honest business practice.

minger66

I am not sure who is the bigger fool, the person who buys a rebranded card, or the person who thinks rebranding is an honest business practice.

+1  
It is a ploy on a flawed attribute of human nature buying habits.  These things are studied in Psychology and Marketing, and all the experts know that uninformed buyers will fall prey to it.  Just because it is common and has been going on for quite awhile does not justify it as being fair, honest and OK.   Nvidia is far from the only company that does this btw.  It is common place, and it should change.  It is a part of capitalism, unfortunately.
 
 
Rebranding is at its worse when in fact the cards are 100% identical except for the model number.  That is the worse of the worse.  This GT240 to GT340 example is pitiful and an utter shame.  It is things such as this that will cause all those buyers to LOSE RESPECT for Nvidia ---> once they realize they have been burned.  Sure, you get more sales, but you will ultimately lose more customers at the same time.  Humans don't like to be taken for a fool.
 
Personally, I could care less because I know better :)  I am just speaking the reality of the situation and how those people who don't know any better quickly find out that they were taken and how they are going to react to it.

For the record, I never implied the practice was fair, honest or okay; my points were that we are defending a group that we make fun of, that buys what we wouldn't buy, that basically isn't us, etc.  This whole rebrand conspiracy isn't even our problem.  Only enthusiasts are complaining about 'rebranding', not even those these are aimed at.  Technically, it is no one's problem. 
 
 

luv2increase
Just because it is common and has been going on for quite awhile does not justify it as being fair, honest and OK.   Nvidia is far from the only company that does this btw.  It is common place, and it should change.

Why should it change?  Again, we're talking about a group of people that views informing themselves about this type of product as out of their way, only worry about their product when it breaks down, etc.  IMO, they are responsible for informing themselves, not the company that sells to them.  It is not like information is being hidden from them, since we are able to figure it out, we know where to look.  But they don't know and don't care.  
 

lehpron
Why should it change?  Again, we're talking about a group of people that views informing themselves about this type of product as out of their way, only worry about their product when it breaks down, etc.  IMO, they are responsible for informing themselves, not the company that sells to them.  It is not like information is being hidden from them, since we are able to figure it out, we know where to look.  But they don't know and don't care.  

 
I respect your opinion, but I feel you are gravely missing the BIG picture here.  Do you think that it is fair that banks pull ones over on their customers to dishonestly take every single cent they can possibly earn off of them?  I hope not.  Do you think it decent for used car salesmen to swindle prospective buyers?  I hope not. 
 
You must understand that marketing "ploys" in this day and age are becoming ever so clever in their deceptions.  Have you ever heard of Consumer Reports?  What about consumer rights?  What about fair business practices?  Sure, it isn't illegal to do what Nvidia and others are doing in the hopes of earning more money, but it leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those with hearts and a will for others to be treated "fairly".
 
It all boils down to realizing that it just isn't cool to take advantage of people's ignorance.  What if their IQ was inferior so they really couldn't understand even if they wanted to?  Does that make it ok?  No.
 
I just have a love for seeing others being treated fairly and not being ripped off.  This is evident in the great prices I recently sold a lot of computer stuff for.  Bottom line, no matter how one looks at it, it is deceptive.  Plain and simple, it is taking advantage of other people's ignorance.