Marketing can sometimes be a very strange area, and many times it makes little sense on the surface. There is a condition that exists that is often referred to as ?competing with one's self?. While that may sound somewhat obtuse, it can actually be taken at face value. It is the situation of a single vendor introducing two similar products into the market at similar, or the same, price point. This would naturally put two items from the same seller in direct competition for market share. There are times this is done to accommodate production capabilities or component availability, and there are other times that the seemingly similar products have a distinct difference that may not be notable on the surface.

We see this condition quite often with power supplies. While it typically comes from labels directly tied to oem, we see it in private brand names as well. There are brand names with five and six lines of PSUs, often with only a few dollars separating them, and often with huge differences inside of the casing. At first glance, the new EVGA SuperNova 1000 PS, billed as the ?Silent Series?, may look completely redundant in the line next to the already silent and stellar performing 1000 P2. The fact that they share the same MSRP probably makes this look even more curious. But, this is one of those times that what is on the surface does not tell the whole story.