well i dont know what to say really. this article by www.firingsquad.com had got me baffled! i would very much like the comments of you guys here @ anandtech on this article. pls get bak 2 me as i am looking for 1080P support in the new PC i am about to purchase. thanks.
I've been doing some heavy research into parts to build a computer for a friend, and I realized something has changed with AnandTech's GPU reviews- and not for the better.
Back when I bought my 9700 Pro, your reviews were very complete. I could compare the 9700 directly against the 9700 pro, 9500, 8500, 7200, and a similar range of nVidia products, in the same graph, in the same game, at the same resolution, with the same graphics settings, on the same motherboard, etc...
These days, I have trouble finding direct comparisons between cards that aren't direct competitors. This makes it much more difficult to examine performance-per-dollar over a wide product range, especially if one of the products is a generation older than the rest..
To make a simple request, please start including more GPUs in the graphs again.. admittedly, they can be a bit confusing when you have a lot of parts, but I'd rather have all the information than a subset of it. I also know there can be a lot of extra legwork involved, but some of that can be minized with planning (Like keeping the test platform the same, etc.. I know this is near impossible when reviewing SLI setups, but for single-GPU setups, and most brand new video cards won't be recognized correctly by older drivers.. but I bet I'm not the only reader who would seriously appreciate the extra work)
Theres also a little annoyance that the website's search engine and category listings consider http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2653">this, and similar articles, a 'review'... but this is minor, I still found what I was looking for...
I wonder if this is an issue of the bars just being suppressed from the graphs or the tests actually not being done? I often wish there was a hardware site where all the graphs were made from a live database, so you could generate custom ones - there's only so many fixed graphs you can put in a review article, but some people like to make their own comparisons. Admittedly a tough database to produce, though...
I'm already moving over to NVidia for my current upgrade from my x800, along with my move to PCI-Express. If ATI keeps it up, they just might get me to come back to their side for my next upgrade. However, it'll be when the next generation's at the price point that the 7800 series is currently occupying. I think this is a common scenario, and despite their successful launch here, they've got to be consistent. Oh, and AT Users have the powa!
I don't think it's just the AT users who have the power, I thank AT for being open-minded and upfront about this. AT isn't the only site with millions of readers, we have CNET, PC World etc. that get just as many readers as AT, but we don't see them taking a stance for their readers.
Nearly every single PC World article is something along the lines of "1001 Windows XP Tips!" The others are "We take a surface look at this typical piece of hardware" and "Hot Deal: Cameras that come with FREE 16mb memory!". Even when PC World DOES review some bleeding edge card, it's never nearly as in depth as Anandtech's reviews.
They're more of a consumer electronics mag, while Anandtech articles go from consumer electronics all the way to chipset design.
As you pointed out, they target a completely different readerbase that doesn't want to know what kind of a chipset a CD Burner has as long as the performance and value is there, so PC World, CNET and PCMag don't need to spend hours on testing a particular product in every possible scenario.
Their readership is completely different from Anandtech's. Most of the people who go read news at cnet are the kind of people who would buy a GeForce 6200 with 512MB vram just because of the RAM. It'd be foolish to say that those other websites/publications dont care about their readers or that they do not try to cater to their needs but rather that there is a significant detachment between the editors and their readership. I, personally, consider myself just as skilled and knowledgeable as most of the people at Anandtech (with regards to understanding hardware, at least) and appreciate being able to read things written by someone who understands what is important to me. Similarly, I'd guess that most of Anandtech's readers consider themselves something more than a "novice" computer user. As such, our feedback to them probably tends to me much more meaningful than your typical cnet "OMG. PWNAGE" feedback.
I disagree with you. You can't generalize anything. CNET has tons of web properties. CNET's News.com is one of the top technology news sites and it targets highly educated people. Now CNET.com (which is their review site) targets people who are interested in consumer electronics. As we know, CE and hardware are completely different topics. CNET tried to review PC Hardware, but there wasn't enough interest from their readerbase, so they dropped the idea.
People on CNET are possibly just as knowledgeable about CE products as people on AT are about hardware. Neither group is superior or inferior to one another.
Hah, I guess I did go overboard about the comment thing. News.com is not a hardware site. It's a technology business news site. The people who visit it are not the kind of people who would demand CNet to bug the video card companies about hard launches. My main point was that we care about these things, which is why Anandtech pushes for them. The other publications probably push for other things that perhaps some of us dont care about but they also listen to their readers.
Possibly so. Now that I think about it, CNET.com's editors are pretty hardcore and stick it to companies, but I just wish that other publications would be more vocal.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
12 Comments
Back to Article
rudreshsj - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
well i dont know what to say really. this article by www.firingsquad.com had got me baffled! i would very much like the comments of you guys here @ anandtech on this article. pls get bak 2 me as i am looking for 1080P support in the new PC i am about to purchase. thanks.http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdc...">http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdc...
Araemo - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - link
I've been doing some heavy research into parts to build a computer for a friend, and I realized something has changed with AnandTech's GPU reviews- and not for the better.Back when I bought my 9700 Pro, your reviews were very complete. I could compare the 9700 directly against the 9700 pro, 9500, 8500, 7200, and a similar range of nVidia products, in the same graph, in the same game, at the same resolution, with the same graphics settings, on the same motherboard, etc...
These days, I have trouble finding direct comparisons between cards that aren't direct competitors. This makes it much more difficult to examine performance-per-dollar over a wide product range, especially if one of the products is a generation older than the rest..
To make a simple request, please start including more GPUs in the graphs again.. admittedly, they can be a bit confusing when you have a lot of parts, but I'd rather have all the information than a subset of it. I also know there can be a lot of extra legwork involved, but some of that can be minized with planning (Like keeping the test platform the same, etc.. I know this is near impossible when reviewing SLI setups, but for single-GPU setups, and most brand new video cards won't be recognized correctly by older drivers.. but I bet I'm not the only reader who would seriously appreciate the extra work)
Theres also a little annoyance that the website's search engine and category listings consider http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2653">this, and similar articles, a 'review'... but this is minor, I still found what I was looking for...
stephenbrooks - Sunday, February 5, 2006 - link
I wonder if this is an issue of the bars just being suppressed from the graphs or the tests actually not being done? I often wish there was a hardware site where all the graphs were made from a live database, so you could generate custom ones - there's only so many fixed graphs you can put in a review article, but some people like to make their own comparisons. Admittedly a tough database to produce, though...microAmp - Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - link
Any chance you can throw a bone to some of these guys?http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid...">Missing accounts?
SoylentG - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I'm already moving over to NVidia for my current upgrade from my x800, along with my move to PCI-Express. If ATI keeps it up, they just might get me to come back to their side for my next upgrade. However, it'll be when the next generation's at the price point that the 7800 series is currently occupying. I think this is a common scenario, and despite their successful launch here, they've got to be consistent. Oh, and AT Users have the powa!overclockingoodness - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I don't think it's just the AT users who have the power, I thank AT for being open-minded and upfront about this. AT isn't the only site with millions of readers, we have CNET, PC World etc. that get just as many readers as AT, but we don't see them taking a stance for their readers.crimson117 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Nearly every single PC World article is something along the lines of "1001 Windows XP Tips!" The others are "We take a surface look at this typical piece of hardware" and "Hot Deal: Cameras that come with FREE 16mb memory!". Even when PC World DOES review some bleeding edge card, it's never nearly as in depth as Anandtech's reviews.They're more of a consumer electronics mag, while Anandtech articles go from consumer electronics all the way to chipset design.
overclockingoodness - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
As you pointed out, they target a completely different readerbase that doesn't want to know what kind of a chipset a CD Burner has as long as the performance and value is there, so PC World, CNET and PCMag don't need to spend hours on testing a particular product in every possible scenario.Furen - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Their readership is completely different from Anandtech's. Most of the people who go read news at cnet are the kind of people who would buy a GeForce 6200 with 512MB vram just because of the RAM. It'd be foolish to say that those other websites/publications dont care about their readers or that they do not try to cater to their needs but rather that there is a significant detachment between the editors and their readership. I, personally, consider myself just as skilled and knowledgeable as most of the people at Anandtech (with regards to understanding hardware, at least) and appreciate being able to read things written by someone who understands what is important to me. Similarly, I'd guess that most of Anandtech's readers consider themselves something more than a "novice" computer user. As such, our feedback to them probably tends to me much more meaningful than your typical cnet "OMG. PWNAGE" feedback.overclockingoodness - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I disagree with you. You can't generalize anything. CNET has tons of web properties. CNET's News.com is one of the top technology news sites and it targets highly educated people. Now CNET.com (which is their review site) targets people who are interested in consumer electronics. As we know, CE and hardware are completely different topics. CNET tried to review PC Hardware, but there wasn't enough interest from their readerbase, so they dropped the idea.People on CNET are possibly just as knowledgeable about CE products as people on AT are about hardware. Neither group is superior or inferior to one another.
Furen - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Hah, I guess I did go overboard about the comment thing. News.com is not a hardware site. It's a technology business news site. The people who visit it are not the kind of people who would demand CNet to bug the video card companies about hard launches. My main point was that we care about these things, which is why Anandtech pushes for them. The other publications probably push for other things that perhaps some of us dont care about but they also listen to their readers.overclockingoodness - Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - link
Possibly so. Now that I think about it, CNET.com's editors are pretty hardcore and stick it to companies, but I just wish that other publications would be more vocal.