Tom from Toms Hardware Bashes Kyle and Van

[Ioman]

http://www6.tomshardware.com/blurb/02q3/020825/index.html

I had no idea Van from Vanshardware used to work at Toms Hardware. Notice the website name similarities? How original Van... :sponge

[flashfire]

Boy if that isn't the best reason to maintain our own high levels of integrity.

[Ioman]

Originally posted by flashfire
Boy if that isn't the best reason to maintain our own high levels of integrity.

Pretty scary isn't it?

[ECA]

Iv always done it the hard way...
Look at 100 opinions, look at the desenters opinions, compare what is SAID, talk to a few techs for Spacific Input, and then DECIDE.

I have seen so much Bias, and so many people being PAID for a GOOD opinion, that if you DONT ASK the right questions, and get the Most current knowledge....YOU WILL get screwed.

[llbbl]

Originally posted by ECA
Iv always done it the hard way...
Look at 100 opinions, look at the desenters opinions, compare what is SAID, talk to a few techs for Spacific Input, and then DECIDE.

I have seen so much Bias, and so many people being PAID for a GOOD opinion, that if you DONT ASK the right questions, and get the Most current knowledge....YOU WILL get screwed.


What kind of Input is that ?? :P

So basically what you are saying is advice can get you only so far and there is alot that can be said for learning on your own, through trial and error.

[ECA]

Not really Vind..

Just that if you ask 100 ppl HOW good a product is, and they ALL say the same thing. They probably have been PAID off.
If it Looks cool, and everybody SAYS its cool, And there is NO decent, then you have the WRONG product. There is NO perfect Device. The ppl I find that can tell you about MOST problems are the Ppl that INSTALL them, or do returns on the product.

[ruri]

Just about all of these review sites are pimping themselves, it's just the degree of pimpiness (okay I made up that word). I mean, somebody gotta pay for the bandwidth.

I personally think /. is a great site to read when new products come out. The knowledgeable community that is /. isn't afraid to call a spade a spade.

Tech-report and Aceshardware, IMHO, are the two best review sites out there. I gave up on Tom's & Anand's along time ago.

[dang]

Wow. Thats a pretty amazing article.

[Ioman]

The problem with all of these sites is that they are looking for groundbreaking stories. They also have a closer relationship to most PR reps from the large companies. I do not know the details of those relationships and I won't pretend to. But I can tell you that it makes me wonder why we cannot get products from some companies when other websites do, regardless of how large we are.

The bottom line is there there are too many computer related sites on the net. People from 14 years of age and up are running them. Who do you believe? The young and innocent or the old and experienced? Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

[ECA]

Very true IOMAN:
This is why I go to ALOT of places to get my info..
EVEN a good site may look the other way, to garner a bit of GREEN(sometimes). I like reading Pro's and Con's. Every card has them. If you read an article and THERE AINT, its not worth the comments.
A GREAt game card is NOT always the best for Art, or 3D cad. So what you can do graphics greater then 1600x1200.. But the refresh is 30.. ALOT of the 3D glasses need a 100+ Refresh.
I have seen Extravagant cards, that did NOTHING you wanted. then I have seen Basic cards that are worth there weight, no promises, just DO what they say. Im not into paying $1000+ for a video card, and have my monitor be the WIMP.

[llbbl]

I would hope that some review sites give bad reviews despite the fact that they might have got the hardware for free to test out.

I don't think that all the information that are contained in reviews are relevant to anyone making and educated decision about what hardware to buy. While it is interesting to hear what they have to say about the product, you most certainly have to read it with the idea that they might have some sort of biased towards the product. By the same token, your expectations of how the product performs shouldn't be completely based on one review from one hardware site.

[Ioman]

Originally posted by vindisco
I would hope that some review sites give bad reviews despite the fact that they might have got the hardware for free to test out.

I don't think that all the information that are contained in reviews are relevant to anyone making and educated decision about what hardware to buy. While it is interesting to hear what they have to say about the product, you most certainly have to read it with the idea that they might have some sort of biased towards the product. By the same token, your expectations of how the product performs shouldn't be completely based on one review from one hardware site.

We once had a person ask why most in most of our reviews, we give good scores. The simple answer is that no one wants to review a bad product. We request products which we know are cool and cutting edge. If a manufacturer wants to send us a product without us inquiring, we may of course give it a bad review (see the Terapin Mine, or Genica MP3 player review for examples). The bottom line is that reviewing a product takes time AND money. I would rather spend my time with a product I know is good versus spending money on a product which is bad. As we get larger and have more products sent to us, of course you can expect reviews of bad products. Companies usually know if a product is not good and they will try not to send them to you. Thus we would need money to actually purchase the product ala Cnet. Make sense?

[llbbl]

makes sense to me !