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Technology Stocks : 3DFX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank Sheridan who wrote (8228)	10/15/1998 12:30:00 AM
From: Peter S.	Respond to of 16960

Hmmm. My purchasing decisions are generally based on function and value, a good name also helps but an advertising gimmick rarely sees me reaching for my wallet. I guess this is why I don't smoke ;). The games I play are 3D almost exclusively (I still play the odd round of Backgammon at the Zone) so I want a 3D card that can do the job. My 2 year old Voodoo is just now becoming obsolete. Yes, VII has been out for several months but the VII games are just emerging. I think that a computer accessory that didn't have to be replaced for 2 years is pretty good. I've had 3 processors & 2 motherboards in that time. So, I am clearly happy with the product. Since VII was released I have been biding my time, watching the price inch down and the other chip makers bring out their challengers. Admittedly, I was initially a 3Dfx choir boy and thought that there was only one choice, but for a while I saw that 3Dfx was being caught up and even passed in some aspects and I decided that I would take a more objective approach. While VII SLI was always the pinacle the price was unjustifiably high and so all my comparisons were based on a single VII. Then, just in time for Christmas, VII SLI has a 50% drop in price and I can't so "no" anymore. I bought 2 VII cards from Guillemot. The monkey didn't enter into the argument, believe it or not. In other news, in the last 3 months (pre-monkey/price drop), 4 friends have bought new PCs. 2 with VII, 1 with another 3D card and 1 with 2D only. 1 wishes he'd bought Voodoo and 2 are extremely happy with their 3Dfx products. The 4th is a moron who thinks StarCraft is the ultimate gaming experience :) I was a 3Dfx investor last year and it made me a little money, but I remember all the discussions we had on this board back then. How was 3Dfx going to make a name for itself in PCs; When were they going to get an OEM deal; How will 3Dfx keep ahead of the competition. Well, as we now know, Voodoo products have 50% of the 3D market, they sell almost as fast as console game products, finally they have an OEM worthy part and I don't know of any 3D game that doesn't play on Voodoo architecture. FWIW I feel that the company has great promise as a survivor and has shown that it can indeed make money selling chips for $25. Besides, I could put my money into mutuals if I want to wave my money bye bye (short term view of course). As for price/per transistors, I believe that a CPU core processor is more complicated to make due to its larger set of instructions. A 3Dfx chip has a rather more singular purpose and a correspondingly simpler design. I would also bet that Intel's margin is a lot higher than 3Dfx's. My point? Oh yes, that. I'm a consumer. I recognize a market leader and the price is right so I voted with my Visa. I should think that that was what 3Dfx wanted to achieve with the Power Of 2 campaign. Good luck to all investors for tomorrow. There are no certainties, just us consumers. Peter S PS: Thanks for the work you people put into this board. I have been lurking for the past 2 weeks and I've enjoyed every minute.

To: Frank Sheridan who wrote (8228)	10/15/1998 12:38:00 AM
From: Peter S.	Respond to of 16960

And 1 more thing... I just just got this e-mail from Guillemot. Dear Customer: Due to the overwhelming demand for this great promotion, there will be a slight delay in shipping. The Maxi Gamer 3D2 12MB cards are currently back-ordered. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Shipment of the cards will recommence Wednesday, October 21st. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us via e-mail at salesinfo@guillemot.com <mailto:salesinfo@guillemot.com> or call toll-free at 1-877-GUILLEMOT. Hope this makes you guys feel better. Peter S

To: Frank Sheridan who wrote (8228)	10/15/1998 1:54:00 AM
From: Greg S.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 16960

Question: if Intel, AMD, and National / Cyrix make chips with 5-6 million transistors on them and sell them for over $100 each (microprocessors), how can a company that makes chips with 4-5 million transistors each (3-D accelerator chips) sell them for an average of $25 each and get ahead as far as profits go? As has been pointed out, complexity is a major issue - transistors are not a true measure of a chip's cost and/or sophistication. Another probable factor is the die size: most 3D chips are one generation behind on the die size (0.35um vs. a microprocessor's 0.25 .. now that all the graphics processors are moving to 0.25 the microprocessors are moving to 0.18, etc.) Since Intel produces many more chips than 3Dfx ever will, and they have their own fab plants, they pay less to manufacture. They also do have larger margins, in general. Finally, all Intel CPUs (with the same core and fab process) are made exactly the same way - the "faster" CPUs are more expensive merely because they are of higher quality, and thus rated for higher speeds. Your 300MHz PII could theoretically go 450MHz, but Intel decided it wasn't of high enough quality (they always stay WELL on the safe side which is why people overclock) and so rated it for a lower speed and sold it cheaper. There is no such performance-tiering in graphics CPUs - a Voodoo2 needs a 90MHz chip, and nothing less will do. -G