One thing that will thankfully change once I'm back in NC will be my involvement in major GPU launches. With Derek in Raleigh, I rarely get to be involved in the final testing of major GPU launches like today's X1900 series release. Sure I'm constantly on the phone with Derek seeing how things are coming along and digesting the numbers, but there's just something special about being there when things like this get tested. It's not another Radeon 9700 Pro for ATI, but it is their first good launch with a high performing product and retail availability.
I really hate that availability has become such a big deal that we must address it in virtually every GPU review we do. I'm not looking to point fingers at who started it, as both ATI and NVIDIA are guilty of paper launching in their combined histories, but I do want it to be over.
Just to give you some insight into how things work behind the scenes, whenever ATI releases a product and it isn't widely available, we'll get tons of emails and phone calls from NVIDIA pointing out the issue. Then when the same happens to NVIDIA, the finger pointing comes from ATI with just as much intensity. For us, we don't like doing manufacturers' dirty work - so we end up taking these companies to task only if you ask us to.
There was a point where ATI felt we were being too harsh on them when it came to criticizing availability, I had to point out that a lot of our readers were demanding that we stop reviewing ATI products altogether if they weren't available for purchase immediately. My point is that we end up doing what you want us to, and with enough work on it, your demands are eventually heard. Although it took them about a year to get right, ATI has definitely launched the X1900 series properly and they have you to thank for that.
At the end of the day, manufacturers rarely care about what anyone at AnandTech thinks, they simply like to use us to get to you. I'm totally fine with that and I do understand our role and duties as a conduit to the millions of you out there, it's just that every now and then I like to remind you that at the end of the day you are the ones who drive change.
I really hate that availability has become such a big deal that we must address it in virtually every GPU review we do. I'm not looking to point fingers at who started it, as both ATI and NVIDIA are guilty of paper launching in their combined histories, but I do want it to be over.
Just to give you some insight into how things work behind the scenes, whenever ATI releases a product and it isn't widely available, we'll get tons of emails and phone calls from NVIDIA pointing out the issue. Then when the same happens to NVIDIA, the finger pointing comes from ATI with just as much intensity. For us, we don't like doing manufacturers' dirty work - so we end up taking these companies to task only if you ask us to.
There was a point where ATI felt we were being too harsh on them when it came to criticizing availability, I had to point out that a lot of our readers were demanding that we stop reviewing ATI products altogether if they weren't available for purchase immediately. My point is that we end up doing what you want us to, and with enough work on it, your demands are eventually heard. Although it took them about a year to get right, ATI has definitely launched the X1900 series properly and they have you to thank for that.
At the end of the day, manufacturers rarely care about what anyone at AnandTech thinks, they simply like to use us to get to you. I'm totally fine with that and I do understand our role and duties as a conduit to the millions of you out there, it's just that every now and then I like to remind you that at the end of the day you are the ones who drive change.
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rudreshsj - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
well i dont know what to say really. this article by www.firingsquad.com had got me baffled! i would very much like the comments of you guys here @ anandtech on this article. pls get bak 2 me as i am looking for 1080P support in the new PC i am about to purchase. thanks.http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdc...">http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdc...
Araemo - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - link
I've been doing some heavy research into parts to build a computer for a friend, and I realized something has changed with AnandTech's GPU reviews- and not for the better.Back when I bought my 9700 Pro, your reviews were very complete. I could compare the 9700 directly against the 9700 pro, 9500, 8500, 7200, and a similar range of nVidia products, in the same graph, in the same game, at the same resolution, with the same graphics settings, on the same motherboard, etc...
These days, I have trouble finding direct comparisons between cards that aren't direct competitors. This makes it much more difficult to examine performance-per-dollar over a wide product range, especially if one of the products is a generation older than the rest..
To make a simple request, please start including more GPUs in the graphs again.. admittedly, they can be a bit confusing when you have a lot of parts, but I'd rather have all the information than a subset of it. I also know there can be a lot of extra legwork involved, but some of that can be minized with planning (Like keeping the test platform the same, etc.. I know this is near impossible when reviewing SLI setups, but for single-GPU setups, and most brand new video cards won't be recognized correctly by older drivers.. but I bet I'm not the only reader who would seriously appreciate the extra work)
Theres also a little annoyance that the website's search engine and category listings consider http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2653">this, and similar articles, a 'review'... but this is minor, I still found what I was looking for...
stephenbrooks - Sunday, February 5, 2006 - link
I wonder if this is an issue of the bars just being suppressed from the graphs or the tests actually not being done? I often wish there was a hardware site where all the graphs were made from a live database, so you could generate custom ones - there's only so many fixed graphs you can put in a review article, but some people like to make their own comparisons. Admittedly a tough database to produce, though...microAmp - Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - link
Any chance you can throw a bone to some of these guys?http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid...">Missing accounts?
SoylentG - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I'm already moving over to NVidia for my current upgrade from my x800, along with my move to PCI-Express. If ATI keeps it up, they just might get me to come back to their side for my next upgrade. However, it'll be when the next generation's at the price point that the 7800 series is currently occupying. I think this is a common scenario, and despite their successful launch here, they've got to be consistent. Oh, and AT Users have the powa!overclockingoodness - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I don't think it's just the AT users who have the power, I thank AT for being open-minded and upfront about this. AT isn't the only site with millions of readers, we have CNET, PC World etc. that get just as many readers as AT, but we don't see them taking a stance for their readers.crimson117 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Nearly every single PC World article is something along the lines of "1001 Windows XP Tips!" The others are "We take a surface look at this typical piece of hardware" and "Hot Deal: Cameras that come with FREE 16mb memory!". Even when PC World DOES review some bleeding edge card, it's never nearly as in depth as Anandtech's reviews.They're more of a consumer electronics mag, while Anandtech articles go from consumer electronics all the way to chipset design.
overclockingoodness - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
As you pointed out, they target a completely different readerbase that doesn't want to know what kind of a chipset a CD Burner has as long as the performance and value is there, so PC World, CNET and PCMag don't need to spend hours on testing a particular product in every possible scenario.Furen - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
Their readership is completely different from Anandtech's. Most of the people who go read news at cnet are the kind of people who would buy a GeForce 6200 with 512MB vram just because of the RAM. It'd be foolish to say that those other websites/publications dont care about their readers or that they do not try to cater to their needs but rather that there is a significant detachment between the editors and their readership. I, personally, consider myself just as skilled and knowledgeable as most of the people at Anandtech (with regards to understanding hardware, at least) and appreciate being able to read things written by someone who understands what is important to me. Similarly, I'd guess that most of Anandtech's readers consider themselves something more than a "novice" computer user. As such, our feedback to them probably tends to me much more meaningful than your typical cnet "OMG. PWNAGE" feedback.overclockingoodness - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link
I disagree with you. You can't generalize anything. CNET has tons of web properties. CNET's News.com is one of the top technology news sites and it targets highly educated people. Now CNET.com (which is their review site) targets people who are interested in consumer electronics. As we know, CE and hardware are completely different topics. CNET tried to review PC Hardware, but there wasn't enough interest from their readerbase, so they dropped the idea.People on CNET are possibly just as knowledgeable about CE products as people on AT are about hardware. Neither group is superior or inferior to one another.