Let me jump in here. I did some quick tests of Revolution 3D,
3Dfx Voodoo (Monster3D), Millennium II, and Riva128 (Velocity128).
All PCI and 4MB (DRAM,SGRAM,WRAM depending on the card's support),
and 120MHz Pentium. All tests done with Ziff-Davis benchmarks.
Revolution3D beats all on 2D consistently. The 3D area is not that
clear. Voodoo seems to be the fastest (by a small margin) but it does
not have 2D at all. I would tie Riva128 and Revolution3D on 3D
in terms of speed (my repeated 3D benchmarks varied by a margin
of 5 points but the average for each card was about the
same, we are talking about peanuts in difference). However,
the Revolution3D had better quality in 3D. Obviously, Revolution3D
supports much higher on-board memories too. Also, the STB and
Diamond have very poor software and overall quality no matter
what chip they are using. For example, the Velocity128 has so
called Vision98 user interface software which crashes Windows95
any time, any way it can. STB's technical support is so ignorant
and answers with about anything random to any problem.
The biggest problem with Number9 is not the technical side or
the pricing. It is the marketing and it is a complete disaster.
Still very few mailorder houses carry the card. There are no plans to
carry it in retail shops. The box has a very poor graphics design,
ignores to display any meaningful product information (like
the list of applications and the advantages to use their card),
wastes its precious box area for some meaningless generalities
which do not appeal to anybody.
Their CD-ROM does not have any third-party software beyond
some meaningless peanuts, no games, etc. They should at least
include a demo with some stunning graphics which would make
people feel better about the product they've just purchased and
recommend to others. Number 9 should start comparing 3D of its
card to Voodoo and Riva128. Instead they compare (on their web site)
to Millennium II and Mystique whose 3Ds are jokes. Just see:
nine.com
I am a little boy but if I had more financial power I would
start kicking some marketing asses at Number9. Number9 should
start looking for some young, energetic people who listen
to the customers, collect the feedback, visit the local retail
stores, and research their marketing strategy first. It is the
time to finish this incompetent marketing crap to a high-end
niche and start talking about realities. The high-end niche
may leave Number9 high and dry... |
