Based on what I've seen so far, Banshee _should_ be a very strong card for the OEM market (where it is targeted). Best 2D performance in the world combined with extremely good 3D performance at a fairly good price and (most importantly!) the ability to run _every_ game available now and in the forseeable future. What makes me nervous is that I have no idea what factors are the most important for OEMs. Shoot, if I was an OEM I'd have bundled in Voodoo2 a long time ago!
As far as the upgrade market goes, a lot depends on the price. The target buyer is someone with an AGP slot (i.e., a relatively new computer) that is unsatisfied with their current 2D performance and hasn't already bought a Voodoo2. Banshee is also a great solution for people that need to run 3D apps inside of a window. Still, it's very unclear to me how many people are in that category.
The good news is that Matrox, nVIDIA, and PVRSG all have the same problems ONLY WORSE because they can't run Glide games.
At this point, I am watching closely for OEM announcements, for any news on the Voodoo3, and for any hints of V2 price reductions so that current V2 owners can upgrade to SLI setups.
Chip |
