my 9000 Pro review
- Thread starter ben6
- Start date
Doomtrooper
Veteran
Yes nice work on the review, some key things that stood out for me:
1) You compared performance to a MX460
2) The Review was very snazzy and looked very professional...
It was a well done review overall.
1) You compared performance to a MX460
2) The Review was very snazzy and looked very professional...
It was a well done review overall.
Few quick layout comments
I liked the idea of the format, but the realization was a little short. I prefer form over function, but I still loves pretty pictures, so the format was a wash.
First off, I agree that the benchmark page was very nice--the less scrolling, the better.
Which brings me to my next point: repeat the navigation elements on the bottom of the page, or just move them there. I don't like having to scroll down to read the text, then having to scroll back up and down to read the next column, then back up top to move on. It kind of defeats the point of fitting the page to certain browsers in the first place...
...And who uses 640x480 anymore? Most new computers start at 1024x758 nowadays, and 800x600 should cover pretty much every other computer for the past five plus years. Palm PCs aren't above 320, so they're gonna have to scroll anyway. I doubt they make up more than a few points of your readership, anyway. Browsers generally have more usable width than height--there's a reason magazines use columns, and their fixed format is a big part of it. You can just as easily inline images with wider (or even a single) columns, IMO.
I like the ability to change the font size more than I like a nice background picture. Please incorporate this into your next revision, or consider using Flash and allowing the page to be stretched to the browser width, much like a PDF. The fonts are barely large enough on a 19" at 11x8, Normal Windows font size.
I'm not sure why you switched column layouts and line spacing, either. A consistent presentation is more, well, "professional," IMO. I have to use quotes because I still have a hard time considering gaming hardware remotely professional.
I'm not sure why you went with polar color schemes, either. I'd prefer if you stuck with light on dark (or vice versa) throughout. The text box on the Tiger Woods page could've been a little more opaque, too.
An interesting start, Joe, but I'm waiting for you to use some of that DHTML/JavaScript magic to turn the tide in favor of ease of use.
Ben, I'd comment on the review, but I didn't really read it, just skimmed--I'm kind of reviewed out recently. I'll give it a better look-through later, though the 9000 and its ilk really don't interest me. If I'm aiming for the low end, it'll be 8500 or 4200. The next step I'd consider is DX9-class hardware, so I'll be waiting for the 9500 with interest.
You and other reviewers might consider researching pricing in markets outside your hometown/main audience, as well, as the price differences may change relative scores considerably. Perhaps incorporate a sub-rating system (speed, quality, polish, price), so it's easy to amend the score for different markets.
Hope you both found this criticism constructive, and take it as such.
I liked the idea of the format, but the realization was a little short. I prefer form over function, but I still loves pretty pictures, so the format was a wash.
First off, I agree that the benchmark page was very nice--the less scrolling, the better.
Which brings me to my next point: repeat the navigation elements on the bottom of the page, or just move them there. I don't like having to scroll down to read the text, then having to scroll back up and down to read the next column, then back up top to move on. It kind of defeats the point of fitting the page to certain browsers in the first place...
...And who uses 640x480 anymore? Most new computers start at 1024x758 nowadays, and 800x600 should cover pretty much every other computer for the past five plus years. Palm PCs aren't above 320, so they're gonna have to scroll anyway. I doubt they make up more than a few points of your readership, anyway. Browsers generally have more usable width than height--there's a reason magazines use columns, and their fixed format is a big part of it. You can just as easily inline images with wider (or even a single) columns, IMO.
I like the ability to change the font size more than I like a nice background picture. Please incorporate this into your next revision, or consider using Flash and allowing the page to be stretched to the browser width, much like a PDF. The fonts are barely large enough on a 19" at 11x8, Normal Windows font size.
I'm not sure why you switched column layouts and line spacing, either. A consistent presentation is more, well, "professional," IMO. I have to use quotes because I still have a hard time considering gaming hardware remotely professional.
I'm not sure why you went with polar color schemes, either. I'd prefer if you stuck with light on dark (or vice versa) throughout. The text box on the Tiger Woods page could've been a little more opaque, too.
An interesting start, Joe, but I'm waiting for you to use some of that DHTML/JavaScript magic to turn the tide in favor of ease of use.
Ben, I'd comment on the review, but I didn't really read it, just skimmed--I'm kind of reviewed out recently.
I'll give it a better look-through later, though the 9000 and its ilk really don't interest me. If I'm aiming for the low end, it'll be 8500 or 4200. The next step I'd consider is DX9-class hardware, so I'll be waiting for the 9500 with interest.You and other reviewers might consider researching pricing in markets outside your hometown/main audience, as well, as the price differences may change relative scores considerably. Perhaps incorporate a sub-rating system (speed, quality, polish, price), so it's easy to amend the score for different markets.
Hope you both found this criticism constructive, and take it as such.
As much as I like innovative presentations on the Internet, this one doesn't do it for me. Most of my complaints (about the presentation, not the contents) have been mentioned by others in this thread. And the only real presentation part that I liked has also been mentioned (i.e. the benchmark page).
Do not try to replicate magazines on a website. Doesn't work ATM. Especially when it comes to a video card review where most folks care less about presentation and care more about actual *and* specific data. May work for some other type of website though (fashion websites, car websites, etc... you get the drift).
Insofar as the review itself goes, I was attracted to Ben's preliminary chatter than the review proper.
Oh, and no ads! Goody!!
Do not try to replicate magazines on a website. Doesn't work ATM. Especially when it comes to a video card review where most folks care less about presentation and care more about actual *and* specific data. May work for some other type of website though (fashion websites, car websites, etc... you get the drift).
Insofar as the review itself goes, I was attracted to Ben's preliminary chatter than the review proper.
Oh, and no ads! Goody!!
putin said:
I find this comment mind boggling, and the comparison to TP's latest rant so incredibly superficial, it strikes me as almost slanderous. It is like saying both ben and some homicidal maniac had the same grooming habits, so you'd better watch out when you hang around ben. Actually, I think my analogy is a pretty good parallel between the two articles I have in mind with examples of pictures of the author being included 
Must have been quite a party. You look a little stoned in one of those shots.
ben6 said:Geez, you try to be a little different , and then you get jumped on for not doing the same ole thing .....
Some sugestions for next time:
- Maybe you could put a bikini girl holding the card
- What about a Quicktime 3D picture of the card (with the girl).
- Some infrared pick of the card (and the girl too)
- The specs of the card and the girl side by side.
- Some benchmarks of both
I totally disagree with this. I didn't see anything wrong with Ben having his picture in the review, especially since he was (not coincidentally) holding a 9700. And it appeared in context in a review, not pointlessly at the end of an editorial, as Tom is wont to do. Tech-Report poked a little fun at Tom in their P4 2.8GHz review--check the last page.putin said:
Wow!! I got some feedback from my review from Dave Orton President and COO of ATI on the article. Thought I'd share it with everyoine
Benjamin,
Great article - and fair.
I like seeing the launch event and what goes on around it through the eyes of someone outside of ATI.
This was enlightening.
Dave
Benjamin,
Great article - and fair.
I like seeing the launch event and what goes on around it through the eyes of someone outside of ATI.
This was enlightening.
Dave
Doomtrooper
Veteran
Hitting the bigtime now
