Brent's latest review........ the way it should be done?

[dan2097]

Old games tend to use a lot of alpha tests for which multisample AA does nothing. Much like some members of this forum have expressed their distaste for games that have gimmicky features because one small part of the game looks good while the rest looks like crap, there's just something about seeing alphas with aliasing when the rest of the scene has AA that bugs me. I want consistency whenever possible.

Yeah thats a good point, I noticed that on a grating in natural selection (HL mod) and I think it was BF1942 also had fences like that. I assume it was alphas as they stood out as being aliased while the rest of th image was very smooth.

Yes, and if you have an ATI card you're SOL since they won't implement Supersampling for Windows drivers.

I was just thinking about this, but is there a reason why someone couldnt make a 3rd party piece of software that forced super sampling, or is that sort of practice only possible for post processing effects. I mean super sampling is basically just down rendering a picture of higher resolution isnt it?

 

[Mendel]

anti aliasing with alpha tested textures is still a major problem.
It can be seen in for example far cry. Far away the trees show aliasing, but as you move nearer, the antialiasing kicks in... Im not sure if it's as simple as the tree being actually just a sprite when its farer... but something like that.

 

[digitalwanderer]

anti aliasing with alpha tested textures is still a major problem.
It can be seen in for example far cry. Far away the trees show aliasing, but as you move nearer, the antialiasing kicks in... Im not sure if it's as simple as the tree being actually just a sprite when its farer... but something like that.

I believe there is an advanced option in Far Cry to change the distance where things are anti-aliased, some variable like "foliage_LOD"...I'll try and hunt up the post on it I found or find the control in game. (There are a LOT of options! )

I think that's a game thing though, not a driver thing.

 

[Mendel]

this is what i mean:

http://jt7-315a.tky.hut.fi/mendel/FarCry0000.jpg

 

[Pete]

http://www.oc-zone.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=conteudo&id=61

Use a translator... sorry.

Thanks! I was more interested in the (good-looking) graphs than the text, but I could actually stumble my way through the text. I was surprised at how well the 8500LE keeps up with the 4200, and how badly they both fare against the 9600XT and 5700U. I was also surprised by how much better the 9600XT did in Halo, something you don't see in many reviews that tend to just use the default intro flyby. Nice screenshot section, too.

 

[Blastman]

If you look at the Nordichardware, Xbit, amdmb, driverheaven.net reviews the 9600XT was considered better than the 5700U. In the guru3d review they strangely declared the 5700U overall the winner even though the 9600XT won most of the benches.

In the reviews that used the 3Dmarks Quake3, and maybe 1 or 2 older games with built in benches the 5700U was usually declared the winner. In the reviews with newer games and using FRAPS, this usually puts the 9600XT comfortably ahead of the 5700U.

Couple of the new games in this German review show the 9600XT far ahead …

http://www.zdnet.de/enterprise/client/0,39023248,39116732-8,00.htm

 

[Pete]

So Anandtech is the odd man out, or what? Because Derek tested quite a few games. Does it come down to game selection, or just newer reviews using newer games that tilt the scales from the 5700U's huge bandwidth to the 9600XT's superior core?

 

[ginfest]

So Anandtech is the odd man out, or what? Because Derek tested quite a few games. Does it come down to game selection, or just newer reviews using newer games that tilt the scales from the 5700U's huge bandwidth to the 9600XT's superior core?

If you recall some of the posts here both when Derek came on and Brent, you'll notice that Derek stood up for his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions whereas Brent let himself be schooled/dictated to by the "usual suspects" who are consistantly anti-NV
Hence, Brent is now "the great reviewer" whereas Derek has "no credibility"
Not a great mystery, in these forums out of the regular posters you have basically 2 people who note either some good things about NV and or some problems with ATI and 8 who consistently denigrate those 2.
Same with any reviews or benchmark suites, anything posted in these forums which doesn't follow the ATI is the best, NV is the worst scenario is disregarded.

 

[Hanners]

If you recall some of the posts here both when Derek came on and Brent, you'll notice that Derek stood up for his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions whereas Brent let himself be schooled/dictated to by the "usual suspects" who are consistantly anti-NV.

Or maybe it is just that Brent is a lot more willing to learn and take in opinions than the majority of hardware reviewers?

 

[digitalwanderer]

So Anandtech is the odd man out, or what? Because Derek tested quite a few games. Does it come down to game selection, or just newer reviews using newer games that tilt the scales from the 5700U's huge bandwidth to the 9600XT's superior core?

If you recall some of the posts here both when Derek came on and Brent, you'll notice that Derek stood up for his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions whereas Brent let himself be schooled/dictated to by the "usual suspects" who are consistantly anti-NV
Hence, Brent is now "the great reviewer" whereas Derek has "no credibility"
Not a great mystery, in these forums out of the regular posters you have basically 2 people who note either some good things about NV and or some problems with ATI and 8 who consistently denigrate those 2.
Same with any reviews or benchmark suites, anything posted in these forums which doesn't follow the ATI is the best, NV is the worst scenario is disregarded.

So sayeth one of the biggest nVidiots I know.

How's about we put it down to Derek being a pompous tool and Brent being reasonable and open to discussion over his methods and results? That would be another way of looking at it.

Or we could say that Derek was standing up for his methods because he couldn't defend his methods, the man wasn't making sense and contradicted himself more than a few times.

Why don't you go back to nVnews Ginfest where they welcome the open nVidia trolls, you won't find much support over here.

 

[Mariner]

If you recall some of the posts here both when Derek came on and Brent, you'll notice that Derek stood up for his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions whereas Brent let himself be schooled/dictated to by the "usual suspects" who are consistantly anti-NV
Hence, Brent is now "the great reviewer" whereas Derek has "no credibility"
Not a great mystery, in these forums out of the regular posters you have basically 2 people who note either some good things about NV and or some problems with ATI and 8 who consistently denigrate those 2.
Same with any reviews or benchmark suites, anything posted in these forums which doesn't follow the ATI is the best, NV is the worst scenario is disregarded.

One question. Do you really believe what you wrote? :?

If so, tell us how exactly Brent's reviews pander towards ATI and are biased against NVidia. It would be interesting to see if you can back up your claims...

 

[T2k]

So Anandtech is the odd man out, or what? Because Derek tested quite a few games. Does it come down to game selection, or just newer reviews using newer games that tilt the scales from the 5700U's huge bandwidth to the 9600XT's superior core?

If you recall some of the posts here both when Derek came on and Brent, you'll notice that Derek stood up for his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions whereas Brent let himself be schooled/dictated to by the "usual suspects" who are consistantly anti-NV
Hence, Brent is now "the great reviewer" whereas Derek has "no credibility"

I'm wondering... maybe because Derek stood up for his stupid self-contradictions, even when it was sooooo obvious for everybody?

his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions - c'mon, too big words for a subject about Derek or Anand...

 

[digitalwanderer]

his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions - c'mon, too big words for a subject about Derek or Anand...

He knows his argument is weak so he's trying to fluff it up a bit by trying to talk up Derek...it ain't the first time he's tried it.

INTERESTING SIDENOTE: One bad thing about being a wanderer and frequenting a bunch of internet forums, you tend to run into the same trolls more than just once.

 

[Rugor]

Hmmmmmmm Derek vs. Brent

"I noticed some IQ issues in game x"

Derek: "I'll cover them in part 2 of this review" (Part two is then done with different drivers and no further mention of the mysterious IQ issues so we never know exactly what they are).

Brent: "If you look at these pictures you can see how card 'x' is much brighter than card 'y' in these areas."

Big difference

 

[StealthHawk]

If so, tell us how exactly Brent's reviews pander towards ATI and are biased against NVidia. It would be interesting to see if you can back up your claims...

Because anything that doesn't show NV as superior must be inherently biased Hell, we do see a lot of people claiming bias against ATI, but usually they have a pretty good point and one can clearly see that certain sites don't treat the IHVs equally when they are in the same situation.

Hmmmmmmm Derek vs. Brent

"I noticed some IQ issues in game x"

Derek: "I'll cover them in part 2 of this review" (Part two is then done with different drivers and no further mention of the mysterious IQ issues so we never know exactly what they are).

Brent: "If you look at these pictures you can see how card 'x' is much brighter than card 'y' in these areas."

Big difference

Actually, I believe that was Anand in his infamous shootout where in Part1 he claimed he was told that new NVIDIA drivers caused some graphic anomalies in games like Halo. Then in Part2 he turned around and said he couldn't find anything. Well, damn, Anand, why did you say there were IQ anomalies if you hadn't tested for yourself? Isn't this bad journalism? And I'm still wondering to this day who his source was and why he didn't inquire further when he couldn't find anything himself. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it ain't there- games are usually pretty big after all.

 

[ginfest]

his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions - c'mon, too big words for a subject about Derek or Anand...

He knows his argument is weak so he's trying to fluff it up a bit by trying to talk up Derek...it ain't the first time he's tried it.

INTERESTING SIDENOTE: One bad thing about being a wanderer and frequenting a bunch of internet forums, you tend to run into the same trolls more than just once.

Actually if I could be bothered it wouldn't take long to find all the technical threads in these forums alone in which you jump in to "stir the pot" with nothing to add. Of course you can believe that no one else notices the games you play here but I'm the troll?
You're not the only one who reads multiple forums and I'm sure others who do have seen your nonsense.
I wonder how many of the people here who are developers think your "Sharing is caring" is cute?
I never said that Derek or Brent were right or wrong, if any1 has followed the ongoing "drama" with both Brent/HOCP and Derek/Anandtech and the reviews/opinions and subsequent forum posts both here and elsewhere they will know what I am referring to.

 

[T2k]

his reviews/testing methodology/results/opinions - c'mon, too big words for a subject about Derek or Anand...

He knows his argument is weak so he's trying to fluff it up a bit by trying to talk up Derek...it ain't the first time he's tried it.

INTERESTING SIDENOTE: One bad thing about being a wanderer and frequenting a bunch of internet forums, you tend to run into the same trolls more than just once.

Actually if I could be bothered it wouldn't take long to find all the technical threads in these forums alone in which you jump in to "stir the pot" with nothing to add. Of course you can believe that no one else notices the games you play here but I'm the troll?
You're not the only one who reads multiple forums and I'm sure others who do have seen your nonsense.
I wonder how many of the people here who are developers think your "Sharing is caring" is cute?
I never said that Derek or Brent were right or wrong, if any1 has followed the ongoing "drama" with both Brent/HOCP and Derek/Anandtech and the reviews/opinions and subsequent forum posts both here and elsewhere they will know what I am referring to.

"a troll is a person who posts messages TOcreate controversy or an angry response without adding content to the discussion...

 

[digitalwanderer]

I never said that Derek or Brent were right or wrong, if any1 has followed the ongoing "drama" with both Brent/HOCP and Derek/Anandtech and the reviews/opinions and subsequent forum posts both here and elsewhere they will know what I am referring to.

There's no "drama" going on with Brent and Derek except what you seem to try to be drumming up.

Hell, it isn't really even fair to compare Derek and Brent....Derek just ain't anywhere near the league Brent is in. 8)