Nvidia's GeForce4 name game blasted

Id's head programmer says, "Do not buy a GeForce4 MX for Doom." In frank speech typical of his .plan updates, John Carmack has criticized Nvidia's naming scheme for the GeForce4 cards, saying that grouping the high-end "Ti" series and the "MX" series under the same name is "a mess." Carmack, the programmer behind id's groundbreaking graphics engines in the original Doom and Quake games, bases this view on the fact that the design of the GeForce4 MX cards is an outgrowth of the GeForce2 family and does not match important features of the GeForce3 cards. Id's upcoming Doom game is one of the most technically ambitious PC games in development, and Carmack is concerned with optimizing the game to reach a wide audience nonetheless. Carmack offhandedly refers to the GeForce4 MX's Nvidia code name, "NV17," as an indication of the card's genealogy. For reference, the GeForce2 GTS was called "NV15," the GeForce3 was "NV20," and the GeForce4 Ti was "NV25." He admits that the GeForce4 MX's pricing may make it "the card of choice" for some, because most game engines--unlike Doom's advanced engine--don't even use the features the GeForce4 MX lacks: support for four textures and vertex shaders. --Sam Parker, GameSpot PC