VGA buying guide at Toms

N

nyt

Newcomer
Guys,
for those tempted to go read the VGA buying guide at THG, here's a very quick summary:
-only UT2003, Q3TeamArena and Gunmetal tested
-no mention of quality whatsoever
-no mention of suspicious driver optimizations either
-editor's choice card: FX5600

Some news for ATI hardware engineers:
ATi's flagship model is called the R380.
Click to expand...

Obviously, they couldn't resist posting
Currently, the FX 5900 Ultra can safely be called the fastest card on the market.
Click to expand...

I guess the market is getting too complicated for the web journalists wannabe :devilish:
It's sad there's no trustworthy alternative for the average buyer.
 
"But Mom, reviewing 3D cards properly is haaaaarrrd!"

</lame excuse>

I glanced at THG's anemic benchmark section--blech. Digit-Life's 3Digest is far better, but I still think they have too many cards per graph. :)
 
What I found amusing was the fact that they dusted off Q3 Bench. They haven't used that game to benchmark a Vid card since LAST July. It wasn't used in the VGA Charts articles either. So why all of a sudden bring it back?
And Gunmetal Bench? An X-Box port? Maybe I'm naive, But that would seem to be a bench that "might" run better on Nvidia cards, don't you think?
And then theres the UT2003 Bench. We're all well aware of the problems with using UT2003 and IQ problems on NV3x.

I doubt I could have hand picked Benchmarks that more clearly favored Nvidia. Another typically slanted THG article. This has been going on for quite some time at Tom's, although It seemed to show up more in CPU reviews. You can make or break any piece of hardware by the Benchmarks you choose to use to compare the hardware. And it is sooo easy to slant a review that way.

Here's another good example of burying your head in the sand.

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/msi_geforce_fx5900u_vtd256_review/default.asp

No mention of IQ anywhere in the article. No mention of any Nvidia Driver "Issues" with any of the benches they used. Just another "Graph Card" review. This is all pretty sad. And very misleading to the avg. consumer. Are these reviewers stoned or stupid?
Actually, I can answer my own question. They are scared! Scared that if they don't kiss Nvidia's ass and say nice things, they won't get the next "Latest and Greatest" card to review from Nvidia.

Journalistic integrity loses out to avarice and greed again...
 
Avoid Toms like the plague, editors choice for a video card that is not even DX9 compliant in the drivers :LOL:

It is time for people to stop giving hits to idiots.
 
Doomtrooper said:
It is time for people to stop giving hits to idiots.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. However, were would you direct the average buyer? There's not much sites with a good facts/PR ratio, which are not too technical as well. Actually, do you know any? :) I wish someone would start a 'reviews you can trust' kind of webring/site/label, or a meta-review service :oops:
 
Question?

Does nVidia times these things to coincide with their releases so all the animosity towards them sort of gets mitigated by losing it's center of focus?

I'm truly starting to detest the business side of the hardware world. :(
 
I like Hardware.fr and TechReport.com (though TR doesn't get enough cards, IMO--they had to *buy* their 5800U on eBay). 3DCenter.de and ComputerBase.com also post buttloads of benches.

Pity three out of those four sites aren't in English, as their reviews seem to be well-done.

If nV keeps this up, pretty soon "Beyond 3D" will become more literal than figurative--this site will transform into one analyzing 3D business practices and the ethics involved. ;)
 
Tagrineth said:
Does nobody remember the Editor's Choice Tom gave to Riva128 but not Voodoo Graphics?
Click to expand...

I DO!!! I DO!!!!! Although that being said, at my age I'm happy to remember...ah.....um........ ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top