Sharky Extreme: For the Ultra TNT2, will you be putting a fan on so that people can overclock and 'find out' if they can attain what they want?

Steve Mosher: "Yes there will be a fan. And there will be sliders so end users can fiddle with the clocks, but in reality I think most people will have much more fun playing games on the fastest graphics processor alive."

Sharky Extreme: There's more to it than meets the eye in terms of clock speed.

Steve Mosher: "OK. Clock rate is important. Having said that, clock rate is not everything. Look at the Banshee2, even when it hits 183MHz, a TNT2 clocked at 150 beats it. (Note: Sharky Extreme has requested a 150MHz TNT2 so that we can test this claim - the editor)

Frequency is important, but focusing on frequency obscures the other difference between products. Every TNT2 supports a 32MB frame buffer; every TNT2 supports 32bit rendering and stencil planes. At this point the operating frequencies are providing head room for the next generation of games, but to get the most headroom dollar for dollar, you need frequency plus 32MB."

Sharky Extreme: 3dfx and NVIDIA use the SAME FAB but 3dfx thinks that the board I reviewed was a 'hot-rod' board? Do you agree?

Steve Mosher: "3dfx and Nvidia use the same fab. Yes this is true, but that does not tell the whole story on the frequency they can attain. Chip frequency is a result of several things. Architecture, library, layout and process (to grossly oversimplify). Just because they both use the same process, does not mean they will achieve the same frequency. 3dfx thinks the board is a hot rod board! That's a very telling comment. First off, they have no factual basis to make this claim. The only thing I can read from this is that they believe it HAS to be hot rod card. It's a tough thing to face when you bet your whole future on frequency and lose.

Do I agree that it is a hot rod card? Without seeing Diamond's design I cannot fairly tell you whether it is a hot rod design or not. Unlike 3dfx, I would never underestimate a competitor, nor would I slander their engineering without seeing and testing things with my own eyes."