My interview with Gamecloud

The guys over at Gamecloud recently conducted an interview with me. The original transcript is here:

1. First, Voodoo PC is one of the biggest hardcore PC makers. How hard is it to keep up the standards that the company has gotten and to keep up with the company's rivals?

No one ever said it was easy, that’s for sure. This business gets more and more interesting as new enthusiasts setup shop and usually realize the hard way that it’s not all cash money and women. There’s a science to this business, and it changes everyday. We’re always working to keep our systems ahead of the game, and you know you’re doing something right when a company as big as Dell creates products to compete in your segment.


2. Voodoo's Omen and Rage PC systems are for hardcore gamers. How hard is it to keep up with the top-of-the-line PC hardware that gamers expect from those system.

Well, it’s again not very easy – if it wasn’t a passion of mine, or those that work on our team then we’d be dead in the water. We work closely with our vendor partners to ensure that our systems use only the best of class components combined with the best build quality the industry has to offer.

3. Voodoo also has a number of media center PCs. Why did the company want to get into this kind of PC making?

The living room or home theater is the next logical step for PC gaming. I have a 46” custom LCD (1900x1200) setup in my family room and I can play games at the highest resolutions with maximum detail. When I’m finished I click a button and I can watch my favorite movies or TV shows. This year we’ll see big advancements with Vista supporting multiple displays, tools, HDTV, and much more.

4. The company also has a couple of small form factor PC systems. How popular are they and how hard is it to make hardcore gaming hardware fit into such a small case design?

It’s not hard putting components in SFF machines. The hard part is making them reasonably quiet without sacrificing stability. Usually when you buy them off the shelf they are as loud as a hair dryer, and we do what we can to eliminate such issues.

5. Voodoo also has a line of laptops. Is the company confidence that laptops are finally a solid PC gaming machine that can rival a desktop?

Yep, especially now that we’re working with the latest NVIDIA and ATi graphics. We are also working on introducing multi-gpu platforms from both companies as they both have something to offer.

6. Voodoo is also known for unique custom cases and its cooling systems. Can you go over briefly what sort of processes does the company use for making those products?

It’s a never ending-churning process. To be honest, designing a new desktop is as fun as it is challenging. It takes months to generate a prototype, and we usually start from the inside and work our way out. We are soon to be releasing some new desktops that will once again redefine how the industry looks at high end PCs.

7. What are some of the more interesting custom PCs Voodoo has made for its customers?

The most interesting at the moment is our OMEN AU. It’s available in precious metal finishes like 24K gold, nickel, and copper. Once we get a platinum bath setup we’ll be doing platinum as well. This system is not cheap, but it includes extra service offerings, and each PC is signed and numbered.

8. Let's look a bit into the future of PC gaming and hardware. First, Dell made a surprise announcement recently with its quad NVIDIA graphics chip PC. What was your reaction?

I expect Dell will be making a number of announcements that will surprise the industry. They are definitely doing their homework. Dell has other fish to fry though, besides trying to be a gaming company. Dell needs to sell more than 10,000,000 PCs a quarter to please their shareholders – at least that’s the theory.
Regarding this Quad SLI announcement, we still haven’t really heard much from our partner Nvidia as to when or who will be launching it. Shortly after the announcement they realized that some of their partners were less than pleased, and I’m pretty sure they’ll make good on any promises. All I know is Dell isn’t selling anything right now, it’s just a technology showcase – so it means nothing right now. Time will tell, let’s wait and see.

9. In the near future we should finally see AGEIA's hardware phyiscs PC card. Does Voodoo plan on supporting this product and what do you think about having such a chip in order to improve physics in games?

You know, I’m not sure what the benefit is of this technology at this point. I think the way dual core and 64 bit computing is going it’s going to be a tough sell for these guys at Ageia. Then again I look at how companies like ATi and NVIDIA are creating the most killer graphic hardware ever, and then 3D Mark 2006 comes around and renders everything obsolete… J Maybe they stand a chance, but I’m still not sure.

10. Coming up in the second half of 2006 is Windows Vista and DirectX10. How will Microsoft's new OS and graphics API change PC gaming and hardware as a result?

Microsoft is investing heavily in promoting Windows Vista as the ultimate entertainment platform. I’ve seen the latest drop, and they aren’t messing around – this software will rock your world. Everything from Media Center features, HDTV, and optimized gaming performance make it the operating system to own.

11. What other PC hardware trends does Voodoo see in terms of how they will affect PC gaming?

I see dual core or multithreaded gaming coming along. We should see more support for this later in the year or in 2007. We are noticing that gamers are no longer interested in merely colors and windows – they want to realize immediate benefits with their purchases. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, there’s more to building a gaming PC then wrapping it in some paint with glitzy lights.

12. Finally is there anything else Voodoo has planning in the near future that you can reveal?

Yes, we are planning to release the world’s fastest notebook based off of the AMD Turion 64 processor. We believe the Turion platform is developing into the mobile platform of choice. We are also working on our new desktops. 2006 should be an interesting year for Voodoo and for gamers in general.