Matrox & Selective Reviewing?

[Ty]

I can't believe anyone today would still think that is a good for the gaming industry, to each their own.
I don't buy products based on Market Share..I buy based on price, performance and features, otherwise I would drive a GM and Own Intel..and I do neither

Being BIG does NOT mean better.

Who said that I or anyone else think that's it's "good for the gaming industry"? Call me cynical but I agree with Plato when he referred to business(men) as the appetitive. That means that NVidia, MS, Krispy Kreme, and yes, ATI aren't out to better the industry. They're out to better themselves. That also applies to dev teams, the vast majority of which are not very profitable. Those select few, like ID, can do whatever they wish because they have the resources to do so, even if it's not profitable aka 'worth their time'. Do you focus your argument on the decided lack of games that run on Linux? You should because it's "good for the gaming industry".

No where in my post did I infer that bigger is better.

 

[MikeC]

Mike,

While I can´t disagree with your point completely, there´s one detail that bothers me: results have to be reproducable.

In a case example like the one you illustrated above with Max Payne you´d have to find a way to record a cutscene/replay that reflects your findings as accurately as possible and then publish it for download.

Agreed, although in the Max Payne test I re-ran the level multiple times and the average frame rate was consistently within 1-3 fps while the minimum and maximum had a bit more variance.

I tried not to deviate during each test and after examining the resuts I was confident that they could be shown in the review. I'm not sure if Max Payne has a replay feature so I explained how the test was run.

The reason I went through this exercise is that the review was focused on performance during gameplay as opposed to measuring the performance during a cutscene.

Another important consideration is that any bias I have in a review is strictly between NVIDIA's products since I don't review other graphics cards. My goal when conducting a review has always been to provide the reader with pertinent information to assist in making an informed purchasing decision.

Look at it this way - I'm over 40, married with two teenage boys, and have held the same full-time job for the past 22 years. What have I got to lose (other than getting first dibs on NVIDIA's upcoming products

 

[Dave B(TotalVR)]

No where in my post did I infer that bigger is better.

/me looks down at his crotch



Yup, bigger is definately the best....

 

[Ty]

No where in my post did I infer that bigger is better.

/me looks down at his crotch



Yup, bigger is definately the best....

Doh! Alright, you got me there. Unless of course you lost some sort of bet and are going to have to ......

 

[Dave B(TotalVR)]

RUHHAHAHAHAHAA!!!

 

[Ailuros]

Mike,

I know perfectly well what you mean, but as someone else pointed out people like to compare. Reading any review it's easy to detect wether results/claims reflect reality or not at least for me. If there seems to be something fishy about them I just contact the reviewer and ask about it.

I wasn't in any way implying that you've created unrealistic results or any of the kind. I think you understood my mindset perfectly well.

Ty,

Me was wise enough to not result to any bets. Everything seems to be in place

 

[ben6]

Hehehe Mike , you're older than I am . Have a lot less hair too...


As to this argument, I would make the argument that you can include gameplay experiences from your POV as well as benchmarks in a review. For my current reviews I'm playing Morrowind, Neverwinter Nights , Nascar 2002 , Flight Simulator 2002, Soldier Of Fortune II , GTA3, Madden 2002 Dungeon Siege , Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast , IL-2 Sturmovik (This list changes based upon what I'm CURRENTLY playing). For benchmark purposes I have : Dungeon Siege, Quake3, Serious Sam The Second Encounter, ChameleonMark , Comanche4, Aquanox . Jedi Knight II ,3dmark 2001SE build 330, VillageMark 117 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein

I don't use all 20 games and benchmarks (unless I have a ton of time(sadly less and less nowadays) but I use them as a guideline to provide both measurable performance and personal experience....

 

[MikeC]

Mike,

I wasn't in any way implying that you've created unrealistic results or any of the kind. I think you understood my mindset perfectly well.

Ty

Understood. I was merely taking the opportunity to convey some of the techniques I use when conducting a graphics card review. I'm eagerly awaiting the NV30 as I've been purchasing the latest games to test performance.

But Ben is a benchmarking beast

 

[MikeC]

Hehehe Mike , you're older than I am . Have a lot less hair too...

OK Ben, you've left me no other choice with your wiseass remarks

Go immediately to your room and stand in the corner until next Tuesday

You are hereby forbidden to play with Par....., uh, on second thought, nevermind.

Golf anyone

 

[Ailuros]

Ben,

You "play" Villagemark?

Come to think of it how bout some sock puppet theater, would be far more interesting

 

[ben6]

Ailuros naw , but having some synthetic benchmarks in your repetoire doesn't hurt . Hrm sock puppet theater maybe something I add later hehe ....'

Note I'm not saying I'll use 10 benchmarks in a review because that would be insane , especially if I want to include FSAA and anisotropic benches , but to use a number of benchmarks both synthetic and game to show performance...

 

[Ailuros]

I just can't help being curious how Parhelia would do with stencil shadows like in the case of FableMark.

You don't have to include it in a review; just let me know after the 25th when you'll be allowed to I figure

 

[FrgMstr]

Too much fun

You guys are too much fun! Well even though you think I am a out of control ego maniac with nothing but a personal NV agenda to push, we are glad you still read.

I learned a long time ago that we would not please all the people all of the time and to be frank, I don't really care to. We tackle things in a way that we think it will mean the most to the general gamer out there. I do not cater to the .1% of the already niche market that stays up late at night having long technical discussions.

Our readers generally want to know "what works good" and personally that is what I want to know too.

Just different schools of thought. Sorry we are not up to you guys' level, but then again if we were, you would have one less target to whine about.

Thanks to the guy that showed me the thread! It was a really great read.

 

[Doomtrooper]

EGO

 

[cellarboy]

{edited by cellarboy - inappropriate}

 

[FrgMstr]

That "X" in the upper right hand corner of the browser will solve all of your [H] troubles for good. If you are so fully disgusted with myself and/or our site, why do you read it?

Also, I am SURE there is a good reason for you have a banned IP. Don't hate me because you are not allowed to use our forums.

 

[Doomtrooper]

I'm surprised you would have time away from HardOCP, with the R300 launch only a couple of months away I thought you would be busily working on Quake/Quack Version 2 binary patch program ....oops I forgot it was given to you by......

 

[cellarboy]

Yeah, there may be a good reason why my IP address is banned Kyle, but I'll be buggered if I know what it is seeing as I've never joined, nor posted at your forums. And obviously right now I'm never going to be able to.

Probably just some heavy handed blocking of a whole bunch of shaw.ca IP addresses.....

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Hardocp a lot, I just think on this particular subject you are not showing a great deal of class and professionalism.

 

[Doomtrooper]

Another bad ass canuck

 

[Bajzel]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Hardocp a lot, I just think on this particular subject you are not showing a great deal of class and professionalism.

What else were you expecting from the trailer park equivalent of hardware review sites.