nVidia designations and ethics

[Sunner]

I must say, at the moment I find ATi's naming even more confusing than nVidias.
Radeon 8500 > 9000/9200, while the 9100 ~ 8500.
9500 > 9600
9800XT > 9800Pro > 9800np > 9800SE ~ 9800Pro/128bit
And so on...

WTF????

 

[DeathByDuke]

I say ban 64 bit cards that still get called fx 5200 or so with nothing like '64 bit edition' or SE to _tell_ something was clucked down. same goes to the 9200's (8400 you mean) and GF4 Ti 4800 (actually just a 4200 with AGP 8x) or our fave... GF 2.5 MX (4)

 

[Gamingphreek]

4800 is a 4600 with 8x AGP and its clocked a little faster. The 4800SE is a 4400 with 8x.

-Kevin

 

[eastvillager]

like many things in life, don't judge a book by its cover.


err, well, its name, in this case.


find a company with a product line with that many versions, in a highly competitve market, where the naming scheme didn't appear flaky in the long run. (software point releases don't count).

 

[Fuchs]

Originally posted by: dfloyd
Yep I agree 100%.

Me and a friend saw the great deal on the Gaiward 6800 Ultra. Wow $300 we thought. What a deal. Spent a ton of hours trying to find reviews or info.

Finally checked gainwards main site and saw that the 6800 Ultra is actually the 2100 Ultra. Just a standard 6800, not a ultra.

Come on Nvidia, name chips, 6000, 7000, and 8000. Not gt, not ultra, not crap.

This unfortunately had 0% to do with nvidia. Gainward decided to call the regular 6800 the 2100 Ultra in one of their packages. The naming had nothing to do with nvidia.

It all comes down to doing research anyways.

 

[JBT]

I think ATI is equally as bad IMO. But it is all in the name of profits so hey !!! What do I care I do my research and if ATI and NV can both make a profit by selling crap to some dolts who don't do research which in the end lowers the price of the cards I want to buy w00 h00.

 

[Sideswipe001]

Yes, you have to research. But would it be so horribly hard if we just had a X800, X810, and X820? Or a 6800, 6810, and 6820?

I do believe ATI is worse this time around, too. I mean, the X800 PRO is the lowest end? It's all marketing, and it really distorts the reality of what you're buying. I'm sorry, but ATi Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition is just way too long of a name. Give it a different number, and drop all the excess crap. People will automatically assosicate a higher number with faster anyway.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: JBT
I think ATI is equally as bad IMO. But it is all in the name of profits so hey !!! What do I care I do my research and if ATI and NV can both make a profit by selling crap to some dolts who don't do research which in the end lowers the price of the cards I want to buy w00 h00.

Usually, that's what I think too, but IMO nVidia and ATi have gone a bit too far, it's becoming too hard to know what to buy, and it's beyond "just doing research" now.

Knowing that a Radeon 9200 won't play any recent games with any decent amounts of detail is doing research.

This is not research, this is bull$hit:
"You should get a Radeon 9800, they're the best bang for the buck, but hey, watch out for the 9800SE, those kinda suck, you might as well go for a Radeon 9600 in that case, but not the regular one, you want the Pro or XT version. Oh and watch out for the Radeon 9800Pro with a 128 bit memory bus, that one kinda sucks too. Oh and there's a Radeon 9550 too, it's not as good as a 9600Pro, but it's better than the 9600SE"

 

[Fuchs]

well, if I was gonna spend 400 on a video card I think I would take the time to know what I was buying. I understand that the naming conventions are just stupid...but I don't think they have "gotten worse" or "changed" or are even particular to video cards in general.

Look at wireless cards, or raid/ata controllers, monitors, they all seem to have some wacko naming conventions.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I mean imagine if CPUs were named this way... oh wait, they are now.

I'm not sure which is worst, Intel's Mhz-driven marketing, or AMD's model-number marchitecture, that is easily distorted. At least Mhz was a real, quantifiable entity, even if it wasn't the "last word" on real-world performance. Now with AMD's model-number scheme, and what they are doing with their Sempr0ns, things are going to get even more confusing, IMHO. It is certainly possible, that with particular workloads, a CPU with a lower "PR rating" will actually perform better than one with a higher rating. Almost like the ATI Radeon 8500/9000/9100/9200 thing all over again.

Let's fact it, your average technology consumer is easily confused by "Computer terms". Educated buyers have an advantage over uneducated ones, and these confusing model-naming schemes only serve to attempt to confuse and prevent buyers from being properly educated, thus giving the sellers of these products an unfair advantage. (Case in point: Sapphire's 128-bit Radeon 9800 "Pro" card.)

Perhaps we actually need some sort of federal regulations, a sort of "truth in advertising for technology", almost like nutrition and vitamin labels, maybe standardized ones for each class of technology product?? Although the industry moves pretty fast, it's possible that by the time that some sort of agreeable regulations for standardized labeling were worked out, that that entire technology category might be obsolete.

OTOH, even requiring a clear disclosure of the "technology component breakdown" used in the product, is no guarantee than any particular consumer might be able to understand them. (Heck, I still puzzle over some of the various charges on my phone bill, for example. I think that Verizon is trying to pull a "Superman II", on a grand scale, with their subscriber base. If you know what I mean.)

 

[bluemax]

Watch out, man... nVidia likes to send out the goons to beat up anyone who nay-says them.

nVidia thugs often pull unvavorable reviews or criticisms.... you're next!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Vee
I'm not trying to be impossible here. It's just that I think the 'system' needs some kind of feedback now and then. I have only vague ideas about what "product line differentiation" is. But who is to blame for there being marketing people who think this is a good idea? Silent complying customers who really know better. That's who.

Debate, media, please. Consumers who realize a brand attempts to confuse them about what they're buying, makes these kind of marketing tricks a poor idea. And business classes are going to teach this as examples of classic mistakes in poor marketing.
So all this is just my attempt at some feedback, for some balance, to stop the slip 'n slide. I'm not prepared to passively accept that tricking and fooling the customer are the basics of marketing. I feel one should react with hostility towards that.

But that's the difference - you want to react with hostility towards this practice, because you are knowledgable about the subject, and those marketing/product-labeling "jedi mind tricks" don't work on you. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of consumers, they have "weak minds" (not hightly technology-literate), so those marketing tricks *do* work on them. Look at how many "remanufactured" computers that Packard-Bell sold over the years. Look at the subscriber base to AOL's crappy, limited, dial-up internet service.

So it's not "bad marketing" necessarily, in fact, if profit is the motive, then it's actually very good marketing. The majority of the profit is in the mid/low-range "clueless consumer" segment. I don't see that changing any time soon. Snake-oil salesmen have always been around, con-men have always been a part of commerce-based societies. And now, we can add "technology marketers" to that list. (Oh yeah, forgot "used car salesmen" too.)

Yeah, it sucks, I know. I have a minor dislike for the ignorance of the "great masses" too, but I've consigned myself that I'm not going to be able to educate them, no-one can, except themselves. I just have to learn to adapt and protect myself, in this environment. And for those that do come in search of knowledge/education, I am willing to assist. I mean, that's basically the purpose of these forums - AT is a good and knowledgable community, IMHO.