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

To: Frank Sheridan who wrote (9165)	11/22/1998 1:26:00 AM
From: Jeff Lins	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 16960

TDFX is at it again...mismanaging expectations. We have complained about it many times as far as PR and earnings...now it is V3. As many have noted, if they would have simply named this Banshee2, and mentioned "great new technology in the second half of '99" the world would be great...but instead we see TDFX making incremental improvements to current technology...AGAIN. And they are already getting criticized, and, to a large degree, rightly so. (I know, it is really a big jump with V3 to single chip multi-texturing- six months after nVidia- and DVD decoding...just aint enough for me) Many owners of V1 upgraded to V2. I suppose many of those upgraded to SLI. What next? V3? I don't think so. It simply will not be worth it. If it runs at 180 mHz as planned (the 3000 version), with dual texturing it will pump out 360 mtexels...sounds a lot like SLI...So the gain by switching will be minimal. So the target audience, the hardcore gamer that likely has SLI, will not upgrade. OEMs will use the cheaper chip, and the V3 3000 will be stuck in never-never land. Perhaps they should have made a single version of the chip at 150 mHz for $40...nice and easy. Meanwhile, developers are giving us criticism, Canopus, a TDFX champion, has announced they won't be doing a V3 board, the TNT is winning all the reviews, the TNT is the official graphics of the PGL, the TNT is offering innovative technology, the TNT is going on STBI's motherboard, etc, etc. And if Branding is our strong point, why the hell haven't we tried expanding the brand? Why did I see Banshee more than Voodoo Banshee or 3Dfx Banshee? Are we building the Voodoo name or is it more important to build the 3Dfx name? Sure, more people know Voodoo...but so what? Put your efforts at getting people to know 3Dfx...that's what the little logo says that goes on all the boxes and ads anyway. And what comes after V3? V4? V5? V9? Eventually we must have a different product name. Perhaps it will be Rampage. But it better be pushed as the 3Dfx Rampage. And if we know we are going to invest in building another name, why not continue to build on the goodwill that Banshee has already created? What is wrong with Banshee for OEM and Voodoo for retail? The customer identifies with Voodoo not only as great technology, but with PREMIUM technology...the best out there. V3 will water that image down. Cars can keep the same name year in and year out. We know that the car has changed by the model year. Same thing with Winblows. The product changes with the year number. But with chips coming out semi-annually, you cant do that. And you can't keep numbering them...eventually you need to change the name. Sun, you may be right about the emotional swings by some of the posters here. I know I should be taking lithium. But I am getting concerned. The story is changing. Our technology lead, despite what management would have us believe, is shrinking. Competition is real, even if you only count nVidia and ATI. Glide IS less important than it was. Somebody please tell me I am just a nut and explain to me why things are rosy....please. jeff