Vince Lucido, famously known in the tech world as “Kingpin,” has been a trailblazer in creating overclocked and customized GPUs that have long been the darlings of hardware enthusiasts. However, he’s recently announced that he will not be releasing any new models in the GeForce RTX 50 series and might pivot to new ventures.
For those unfamiliar, Kingpin has made significant contributions to the PC Master Race community, particularly with his collaborations with EVGA. His work gave rise to the “EVGA Kingpin” series, a name synonymous with top-tier, enthusiast-level graphics cards noted for their incredible overclocking capabilities.
However, following EVGA’s exit from the GPU market, Kingpin decided to curtail this series. Last year, his collaboration with PNY sparked rumors that a new “Kingpin” variant might be in the pipeline, but recent developments suggest otherwise.
In a video update, Kingpin discussed the challenges with launching a card in the RTX 50 series, citing “contractual stuff” that limits his involvement. He conveyed his love for developing cutting-edge graphics cards, yet hinted that enthusiasts might have to wait for a future generation before seeing his next masterpiece. He also dropped intriguing hints about a possible shift from NVIDIA to exploring options with AMD or even Intel.
Kingpin has been experimenting with a PNY “KP card,” speculated to be based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, yet it hasn’t made it to the market.
This decision marks a notable shift in the landscape of enthusiast-level GPUs, a sector that has seen less focus from manufacturers in recent years. While the EVGA Kingpin lineup once led the charge with its exceptional performance and overclocking prowess, the trends in the industry have slowly moved away from such specialty products post-Ampere. Although Kingpin’s future in this space is uncertain, his impact on the tech world remains significant, and any new direction he takes will undoubtedly be watched by his many fans with keen interest.
