Reverend said:Not me. I think it is great that NVIDIA is back in the FM beta member fold. It is essential for a good and impartial FM benchmark application (regardless of how you view FM's benchmark applications, because we see its use), it is essential for a comprehensive-taking-opinions-from-all-sides approach to content development. Again, if you have never seen any value in 3DMark03 (for example), then this matters not a bit to you.
Sidetracking a bit off topic : many of you guys don't see any value in 3DMark03 mainly because you say it doesn't represent how games are made (or doesn't represent games at all per se). While I don't disagree with this, I think that is missing the actual picture, much like missing the picture of using various purely synthetic tests. Many folks tell me :
Well, I do see the value of 3DMark03 as a synthetic benchmarking tool (especially for individual test results), although I disagree with the "gamer's benchmark" title. Also, I certainly see value in IHVs participating to the beta program in good faith. But NV rejoining the Beta program after several months of dissing the benchmark (either directly or through the "guys with webpages" gang) and complaining about the price does not improve FutureMark's credibility at all, especially after the "it's only an optimization" backpedaling exercise... IMHO, NV rejoining the program would not be to actively and honestly participate in it, but rather to further destroy FM's credibility and bury 3DM before next year.