Tweet
I don't have problems with nVidia products, per se: I own a TNT2, I have a TNT in the closet somewhere, and I suspect I'll buy another nVidia board sometime in the future. It's their business model that concerns me, and there was no way I would consider purchasing a GeForce given what I *knew* would happen.
The GeForce DDR looks like a really nice board. But nVidia made their intentions really clear this time. It appears that three months after the DDR board becomes available (sort of, I've yet to see one in a store), nVidia will release a board that eclipses it substantially. And the GeForce DDR is not cheap. It's just not worth it.
I think the fact that users insist on comparing the G400 Max to the GeForce instead of the TNT2 Ultra is telling. At first I found it ludicrous, because the G400 is of the same generation as the TNT2. But now I think the Max is such a solid, well-designed board, that it actually holds it own in what is essentially an unfair comparison.
I think this 2D/image quality king business is getting a little old. I expect this from Matrox, and I take it for granted. The gap has closed somewhat, however. The Voodoo3 is a very good 2D board and nVidia has improved substantially in the image quality department.
But one doesn't pay in excess of $250.00 for image quality alone. Given that the Max actually turned out to be a faster OpenGL board than its main competition, the TNT2 Ultra, suggests that Matrox has no intention of sitting on its hands when it comes to framerates.
(Given all the talk about how the G400's Warp engine may be capable of T&L now suggests to me that we might very well be seeing this feature in upcoming boards.)
I do think Matrox users feel competitive with nVidia users, and, to a certain extent, I think this competition was imposed upon us.
In July, after the thunderously stupid 3dfx/nVidia video wars on USENET began winding down, the G400 came out and new owners, using immature drivers, began happily posting numbers. Inevitably, the post would be followed by a message that read, "well, my Diamond TNT2U blah, blah, blah."
To this day, nVidia users register on this forum just to tell us about how fast their GeForces are and explain how we are dupes for buying a Matrox product.
And how often do we have to see some incompetent newbie with an "I'm the big techno-whiz" username, a power supply built around a hamster on a treadmill, and a "defective" G400, threaten us with the purchase of a GeForce?
At best it falls on deaf ears. At worst, it really gets on your nerves.
Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net
The GeForce DDR looks like a really nice board. But nVidia made their intentions really clear this time. It appears that three months after the DDR board becomes available (sort of, I've yet to see one in a store), nVidia will release a board that eclipses it substantially. And the GeForce DDR is not cheap. It's just not worth it.
I think the fact that users insist on comparing the G400 Max to the GeForce instead of the TNT2 Ultra is telling. At first I found it ludicrous, because the G400 is of the same generation as the TNT2. But now I think the Max is such a solid, well-designed board, that it actually holds it own in what is essentially an unfair comparison.
I think this 2D/image quality king business is getting a little old. I expect this from Matrox, and I take it for granted. The gap has closed somewhat, however. The Voodoo3 is a very good 2D board and nVidia has improved substantially in the image quality department.
But one doesn't pay in excess of $250.00 for image quality alone. Given that the Max actually turned out to be a faster OpenGL board than its main competition, the TNT2 Ultra, suggests that Matrox has no intention of sitting on its hands when it comes to framerates.
(Given all the talk about how the G400's Warp engine may be capable of T&L now suggests to me that we might very well be seeing this feature in upcoming boards.)
I do think Matrox users feel competitive with nVidia users, and, to a certain extent, I think this competition was imposed upon us.
In July, after the thunderously stupid 3dfx/nVidia video wars on USENET began winding down, the G400 came out and new owners, using immature drivers, began happily posting numbers. Inevitably, the post would be followed by a message that read, "well, my Diamond TNT2U blah, blah, blah."
To this day, nVidia users register on this forum just to tell us about how fast their GeForces are and explain how we are dupes for buying a Matrox product.
And how often do we have to see some incompetent newbie with an "I'm the big techno-whiz" username, a power supply built around a hamster on a treadmill, and a "defective" G400, threaten us with the purchase of a GeForce?
At best it falls on deaf ears. At worst, it really gets on your nerves.
Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net
.
.
Comment