games  anime  |  toys
Destructoid is gaming news, community, videos, and sometimes love. Take the tour or jump in with Facebook:

 


NVIDIA wants to make its products more 'consumer friendly' photo

The days where we have to spend an excessive amount of time researching video cards are numbered, if NVIDIA has anything to do about it.

NVIDIA's VP of Content Business Development, Roy Taylor, has told GamesIndustry.biz that the company's "current range of products is over complicated and too confusing for many customers." He then added that NVIDIA "needed to make its products more consumer friendly."

I agree wholeheartedly. While you and I may not personally be fooled by NVIDIA's sinister naming scheme, there's some ill-informed consumer out there right now purchasing a half-assed graphics card that they think will run the latest and greatest in PC gaming.

Then again, I guess those people deserve to end up with a bad card if they're willing to buy something that expensive without reading up on it beforehand. 


Continue: More PC stories





prev next

28 comments | showing # 1 to 28

SourGr8pes's Avatar
SourGr8pes at 05/07/2008 19:11
Anything that is claimed to be consumer friendly, in most cases, usually is NOT.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 05/07/2008 19:16
Good, because I usually have to just get a friend much smarter than myself to pick out my computer hardware every time I upgrade.
-PL-'s Avatar
-PL- at 05/07/2008 19:22
Cool, it's about time ATI took the lead again.
razerangel's Avatar
razerangel at 05/07/2008 19:51
Yea this should be a good idea if they work on the basis of Slow, Medium, Fast and MOTHERFUCKINGEXCESSIVE!
Wexx's Avatar
Wexx at 05/07/2008 19:51
Yeah, Nvidia's naming scheme is weird. Any change for the better is welcome.
liquidninja's Avatar
liquidninja at 05/07/2008 20:00
@SourGr8pes
Yes, that has also been my experience.
Mikescool's Avatar
Mikescool at 05/07/2008 20:02
i propose nvidia just name their cards

200dollarcard
400dollarcard
600dollarcard

where 200dollarcard lets u play games on low setting and 600dollarcard lets u play game on high setting.

so esay even a 3 year old will know exactly what to get.
CRA's Avatar
CRA at 05/07/2008 20:09
That'd be swell if all games had the same requirements and technology didn't move forward.

Sarcasm aside, I do agree with your sentiment though. They don't do to good of a job explaining just how good a graphics card is in layman's terms.
Satsumomo's Avatar
Satsumomo at 05/07/2008 20:27
Re-using box art?

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v123/supermaitro/Mercadolibre/?action=view¤t=nuevo.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/supermaitro/Mercadolibre/nuevo.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Wasn't this part of the purpose of DX10? To make game requirements easier to understand?
Satsumomo's Avatar
Satsumomo at 05/07/2008 20:28
BB Code ftw.
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 05/07/2008 21:04
That's like saying a rotary engine manufacturer wants stay at home moms to pay more attention to their technology.

The PC industry needs to implement an easier way to swap out components. Plain and simple. If they can't get that right, this initiative is a pointless waste of money.
adultswim810's Avatar
adultswim810 at 05/07/2008 21:58
nonononoNONONONONO! - shia labouef, multiple movies

i want pc gaming to stay alive but i spent months researching graphics cards and if they do this ill feel less smart!!

btw, unrelated kinda: i love my 8800gts
Deckard's Avatar
Deckard at 05/07/2008 22:37
Uh, Niero, how much easier could it be to swap out a video card these days?
1. Open Case
2. Take Out Old Card
3. Put in New Card
4. Turn PC On
As long as you get your expansion slot right, you're basically good to go.
ajaxender's Avatar
ajaxender at 05/07/2008 23:12
Its about time they were more clear on how good products are. Its actually fairly simple once you understand these concepts:

1) Bigger numbers are better!

2) You have to find ALL of the numbers!

That 2) can trip you up pretty badly; i learnt the hard way. Yes, 256mb is a good number (or was a couple years back) but if the other numbers are very low... In fact, the ram is probably the least important number.
Jetsetlemming's Avatar
Jetsetlemming at 05/07/2008 23:15
Yeah, replacing a video card is piss easy, same with any expansion slot based hardware, ala sound cards and ram. It gets more complicated when you get into shit like the processor, power supply, motherboards, or two a lesser extend hard drives if they're in closed hard drive cages like they are in some machines.

Understanding the current Nvidia product lineup is also piss-easy if you bother to read a single hardware article. There are a bajillion tech related sites out there, I personally prefer The Tech Report.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/14686
It becomes more difficult to decide what you want when comparing different hardware manufacturers (XFX, BFG, Asus, Diamond, Biostar, etc. There are a ton of different makers), and at that point you probably will want to ask for someone more experienced's help.
Azereki's Avatar
Azereki at 05/08/2008 00:05
Someone from AMD actually had a conversation with me at GDC about a similar initiative to make PC gaming more friendly to the mainstream. It would definitely be nice to see some sort of hardware and software standardization take place in the industry.

Average Joe Schmoe who buys his E-Machines from Best Buy should easily be able to distinguish from a gaming machine and a non-gaming machine while at the store. Even if he won't be running most games at enthusiast specs, he should still be allowed reasonable performance with whatever he buys as long as he shells out the extra $100 or whatever for the "gaming" feature.
Jetsetlemming's Avatar
Jetsetlemming at 05/08/2008 00:41
AMD sadly doesn't stand a chance at their current market performance and income. They'd need to pull a full 180 and take their hardware in a whole new direction if they want to survive another hardware generation. The new Phenom line is atrociously bad (The entire L2 cache is disabled due to crashing! How the FUCK did that ever get out the factory doors!?), and the HD2k and 3k series are doing horrible in the market, and Nvidia's driver deals with most PC game makers and hardware deals with Havok and Physx put AMD/ATI in a horrible corner.

The only way I see ATI surviving is if they go in a completely new direction, like trying to start that software rendering rebirth a few of the major studios like Valve see coming in the near future.
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 05/08/2008 01:25
Well, the nature of their product is to be un-user-friendly... you have to fucking open up your PC to exchange it, nowadays you even have to attach an extra powercable to the graphical card...

even if it has an easier numbering/naming system ( i don't get it, what is so hard, higher number = better card = higher price ) 'regular' people still won't buy it...
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar
Burnt Meatloaf at 05/08/2008 02:33
I'd prefer that they make their DRIVERS user-friendly. Updating drivers for ATI cards is a nightmare, and nVidia isn't much better.

No, I'm not talking about the bugs and compatibility. I'm talking about just installing or updating them.
Narishma's Avatar
Narishma at 05/08/2008 05:15
Guys saying higher numbers are better is not true. For example a GeForce 7900 is more powerfull than a 8500 or a 8400.
Tempus's Avatar
Tempus at 05/08/2008 05:27
As I sell this crap all day long - I often have to spend a good 20mins explaining the differences between 80nm GPU's and 65nm GPU's. Not everyone can wrap their head around this and Nvidia would do well to only release a new 'series' when they actually have new arch, rather than recycling and shrinking the old then bigging it up as something new (96 and 9800 series)!

Still, looking forward to the looming gfx war this summer!
Tuxy's Avatar
Tuxy at 05/08/2008 07:32
Wanna make it consumer friendly...

Sell it for half the price. PC gaming FTL.
Cube's Avatar
Cube at 05/08/2008 07:34
Thank god now maybe people will stop asking me.

and i don't have to hear stupid video card qustions any more that have to doo with the poorest of piss poor GPU's and there performance any why it sucks to people.
Morrius's Avatar
Morrius at 05/08/2008 07:40
@ Everyone especially Niero

Installing PCI/PCIE/AGP cards is literally as difficult as a childs puzzle. The hole is a certain shape. The graphics card has a certain shaped protrusion. The protrusion fits snugly into the hole. What a struggle. It gets even more complicated when you have to put the driver disc in the drive and click install. If you want to be REALLY pro, you can download the drivers from nvidia/ati and click those instead.

It's not like you're being asked to solder the chips to the motherboard or anything, I'll never understand the accusation that graphics cards are in any way difficult to install.

I'd love to hear suggestions for an easier way to swap out components though. (Such as paying someone to do it, which keeps me in business).
Satsumomo's Avatar
Satsumomo at 05/08/2008 08:41
Morrius, but how about these factors:

Does my motherboard have such a slot? Is it PCI-E 2.0 compatible? Does my videocard need a special type of power-supply? Does my videocard fit in my case?

We tech-savvy people can easily answer these questions, but not your average X360 gamer.
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 05/08/2008 08:54
@Mikescool

That's the best idea ever!
Jetsetlemming's Avatar
Jetsetlemming at 05/08/2008 13:48
@Satsumomo:

All PCI-E motherboards are technically PCI-E 2.0 compatible, as the format is backwards compatible. Older PCI-E motherboards just won't be able to give the performance boost a proper PCI-E 2.0 mobo would with the same card. Both will run just fine, however.
Matthew Blake's Avatar
Matthew Blake at 05/08/2008 14:51
Thank God. I'm not a major PC gamer, and I have yet to purchase a graphics card for the sheer madness that arises every time I try to look up information- there's just too many damn numbers!
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!

 
New on Destructoid.TV play all videos

Loading
Loading Destructoid Videos



    Win this!
    Reminder: We're giving away six copies of Magnacarta 2!



    Dtoid Twitter    Got news?   tips@destructoid.com

    Reviews & Previews
    Mahjongg Artifacts 2 review
    Dragon Age: Origins review
    Lost Winds: The Winter of the Melodias review
    Osmos review
    Space Invaders Extreme 2 review
    Half-Minute Hero review
    JU-ON: The Grudge review
    Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble review
    Thexder Neo review
    Domino Rally review
    more reviews
    PS3's 256-player MAG
    Rooms The Main Building
    Skate 3
    Hudson's bringing back the Bonk
    James Cameron's Avatar
    Bomberman Battlefest
    Calling
    Bad Company 2's multiplayer
    Partying like it's 1959 in BioShock 2's multiplayer
    BioShock 2 through the eyes of Big Daddy
    more previews


    - The Dtoid Army is 49607 strong -

    Showing Cblogs with 3+ faps   show all

    Call for entries: do the wrong thing
    New to Dtoid? Read the survival guide




     Originals
    Jim Sterling: How to respond to a videogame review





















    More Destructoid Originals



     Popular now more
























    Destructoid's editorial lovefest is:
    Nick Chester
    Editor-in-Chief    		 Jim Sterling
    Reviews Editor
    Dale North
    News Editor    		 Hamza Aziz
    Community Manager
    Anthony Burch
    Features Editor    		 Rey Gutierrez
    Video editor & director
    Niero
    Founder, publisher
    Letters to the editors
    tips@destructoid.com
    Associate Editors
    Ashley Davis Jonathan Holmes
    Brad Nicholson Jonathan Ross
    Brad Rice Jordan Devore
    Chad Concelmo Matthew Razak
    Colette Bennett Tom Fronczak
    Conrad Zimmerman Topher Cantler
    Dyson Samit Sarkar
    Contributors
    Adam Dork
    Ben Perlee
    Daniel Lingen
    Joseph Leray    		 Joe Burling
    Mikey
    Will Maddock
    Stella Wong





     

     
      get involved

    register or login
    post a blog
    post a forum
    enter a contest
    contribute a news tip
    suggest a feature
    be a guest editor
    		 support

    new member's guide
    login assistance
    tech support
    report abuse
    email our editors
    read our dev blog
    nuclear crisis?
    		 keep in touch

    RSS feed
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Myspace
    Flickr
    Game nights
    Meetup+play online     		seriously

    about Destructoid
    advertising
    terms of use
    privacy policy
    jobs at MM
    buy our crap     		our network

    Tomopop
    Japanator
    Despingation?



    Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press
    living the dream since March 16, 2006