THG Radeon driver article is BOGUS?!?!?!?!?

[lifeguard1999]

Look at the Radeon article at THG. Is this not almost the exact same article that is at Rivastation?!?!?!?!?

What's the deal???????

The Rivastation uses a P4 1.8 Ghz CPU. THG says they use an Athlon 1.33 GHz CPU. Two different CPUs. Two different motherboards. Yet they get exactly the same score?!?!?!

This is bogus. Very bogus. It is in fact, impossible for them to get exactly the same scores, .... unless ....

... it is a rip off.

And it is a rip off.

The author is exactly the same person. He is: Lars "Borsti" Weinand - Editor In Chief - RIVA Station 2001

From the THG website, it says about Lars:


Lars Weinand - Contributing Editor
lars@tomshardware.com
Lars' passion for computers began with a Commodore VC-20, followed by several other C-Series computers and PC compatibles. His first computer game was Defender, which led to his interest in computer hardware in the entertainment sector. He worked for 4 years as a technical illustrator (using CAD and 3D ray-tracing applications), and he spent 3 year studying Computer Science in Zweibrücken, Germany, specializing in Digital Media. In 1998, Lars founded RIVA Station, a popular website for PC gaming and related hardware.

So we know he is the same person.

But we also know that the article's results are questionable now.

Were the results run a P4 or and Athlon?
Which motherboard was used?
Are the results valid?
Which results are valid?
Did Lars get paid by THG for this reused, junk article?

And finally, unless you think that I am biased towards NVidia by calling this Radeon 8500 article in question, you can simply search this forum and the Rage3D forums to see that I owned a Radeon, and now own an 8500.

Sign me:

Disappointed in THG.

 

[Rand]

It's also almost word for word identical to an article they posted on November 14 with a few minor differences, which makes me wonder why they seem to be passing it off as a new article when they first posted it almost a week ago.

If the same author is working for two different sites I find that a very definite conflict of interest.
And if said authors results are identical on two different systems, I'm inclined to believe only one system was tested. I wonder which it was...
the Rivastation system or THG system?

While I don't doubt at least one of the articles are accurate I would very much be interested in why he is posteing identical articles at multiple sites, and claiming different test systems with identical results.
Either way someone is being intentionally misleading, and the author has a bit of explaining to do.
I'm sending of an email to the author, Tom Pabst, and Tom Pabst.

I usually like THG, but something is very definitely wrong here.
And it seems "Lars" could do with a bit of explaining.

 

[boran]

yeah I also had the feeling of Deja-Vu when I saw the article ... exactly same content and data is used .. the author is trying to get payd twice IMHO

 

[lifeguard1999]

I'll bet you are right boran.

 

[Eagle17]

well one thing is sure this lars guy most likly lied at least about the hardware setup, and that puts the whole review in question for me...

 

[geek167]

Why did he use a different name for Rivastation? Lars Borsti? and his translator, Benjamin strength. Instead of Benjamin Kraft at THG. Interesting.........

 

[Rellik]

Lars "Borsti" Weinand is the webmaster/editor of rivastation. He wrote the THG article since rivastation does videoreviews for THG for
some time now(rivastation is hosted by THG for a few weeks now).

kraft can be translated as strength, although it should be noted that context is relevant. If translated literally, He should have chosen Power...