What the *@&%! had happened to AnandTech??

[BenSkywalker]

Mobo roundups used to be Anand's forte, on that singular topic AT was hands down the best site on the web, now they aren't a player at all. It really is sad, trying to find anything comparable to the old round ups is nigh impossible, certainly nothing with the quality of the older reviews Anand himself used to do.

AT is still doing a good job of comparing GPUs against each other, including SLI, except for mobile parts.

They really, really aren't. Take a look at the 4670 review- they compare it to the 3850, 3870, 9600GSO but leave out the defacto card in that price bracket- the 9600GT. Open up the 4870 1GB review and while the certainly cover the boards that most sites like to compare, they leave out setups like the 9800GT in SLI which is very much a direct competitor in the price bracket. It isn't what they have in, it is what they leave out more often then not.

For video cards, most are reference design these days so a multi-card [ same-GPU ] roundup would be a waste of time, unless it was to rate the box & heatsink art.

If you read AT only, you may believe that. 9600GTs the clocks range from 650MHZ to 735MHZ, 9800GT 600-700MHZ, 4850 625-700MHZ, 260s 576-684MHZ, 4870s 750-800MHZ(not a huge rift there, but how close current parts are it certainly needs to be considered), 280 602-700MHZ.

There are absolutely huge rifts in the individual cards, sometimes enough to totally flip the charts around(a 260@684MHZ will often times beat a 280@602MHZ etc). You wouldn't ever know this reading AT, but in all honesty some of the boards it is more difficult to find one configured as AT tests it(straight reference design) then it is to find one of the OC versions of the boards. I think AT has done an exceptionally poor job at offering reviews that are good at offering potential buyers the information they would want to look for. At best, they are a snapshot of how reference designs line up in limited situations against hand picked opposition which honestly I can't figure out how they determine(some of the aforementioned exclusions are just part of the typical trend).

 

[Bill Kunert]

Originally posted by: gString

Originally posted by: Bubba56

/shrug, perhaps I am just an old geez that just can't handle change 😛 but .. It seems like there is SO much information spread out that one doesn't get GOOD information on particulars??? (and yes the 56 in handle is year of birth, told ya OLD )

You aren't old. I graduated from high school in 1956. I remember back in the last century when I joined this forum how it was almost like a family get together. Testing was on a much smaller scale. I remember pictures of some of Anand's test setups in those days. Very basic. The site just got more and more popular and was basically turned over to others to accomplish the volume of work rquired to maintain it. I too liked the old days better.

 

[Phew]

The Buyers' Guides first brought me to AT when I built my first computer (2001?). Now this feature seems to have vanished. When building a new system, one now has to peruse like 6 different forums and come to conclusions from thousands of posts.

Wouldn't it be nice to see a comprehensive list of the best bang for the buck in each price category for every PC component again?

 

[AdamK47]

What? You guys don't enjoy reading reviews like Pure, with it's nicely presented marketing/advertising esque screenshots? The "review" was so good I bought ten copies of the game for the XBox 360 and I don't even own an XBox 360. I own that one gaming platform this site use to talk about. The P... something. I can't remember anymore.

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: Anand Lal Shimpi
Hmm...perhaps I can do something about this.

Give me some time, these are things that I've noticed as well and want to address. It's actually good to hear it from you all here, it lets me know that I'm not crazy 🙂

-A

Wait, you exist?

 

[Chronoshock]

On the good side, I think the AT crew has done a fantastic job with their new PSU testbench and evaluation methodology. The effort and resources invested in it show, and I really think this site has some of the best PSU reviews. In addition, the in depth discussion of architecture for the GPU and CPU articles are also excellent and help separate them from many other review sites. Really, Anandtech shouldn't be seen as just a "review" site, and instead as a computer enthusiast site where one can learn about hardware, understand the specific implementations and their relative merits.
That being said, there are certainly some areas that could be improved. As has been mentioned, the buyer's guides were a really great part about the site. I would like to see more "roundup" type reviews as I think the reviewers at AT have the technical knowledge to distill the key differences. In fact, I recall recently a review of P45 mobos was mentioned but it never materialized. I was hoping to read it before assembling my new computer, so that was disappointing.
Anand, I know you've recently blogged about building your home theater and assembling your HTPC. I'd love to see a HTPC guide (both purchasing components and setup).
I would like to see more case reviews, but I certainly understand that one needs to prioritize and I'm guessing cpu/gpu/mobo/psu reviews trump cases.
Finally, I think its interesting there is some diversification in articles (covering PC/console games, gadgets) but it might be wise to filter these into their own "channel" much like slashdot has an "idle" topic to cover non-tech news.

 

[Blain]

AnandTech Community Update 10/25/08

"<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=509">...we are well on our way to transitioning to vBulletin away from FuseTalk

While tough feedback can some times be tough to hear, we are always open to it.</a>"



Wow, and it's only the end of 2008! :roll: Let's not rush in to anything.

 

[alfredska]

I'm ever so happy to see that the OP wasn't jumped by fanboys; folks are having a reasonable conversation about what has changed at AnandTech. I'm in fair agreement with the OP's observations. The PC hardware reviews are hard to find between console articles, game reviews, multimedia setups, etc. One area that really HAS shined through is Power Supplies. Christoph Katzer has done just a wonderful job with these reviews and informative articles. Other that that, I would like to see more chipset roundups, previews of upcoming standards (what do the next generations of sata, bluetooth, usb, etc look like in the future), recommended configurations of hardware that works well together, new lcd panels on the market (not each end-user lcd monitor, rather I'm referring to new panels which may end up in many many different monitors), and gpu roundups for each category of performance.

I have mixed feelings about reviews on optical drives, hard drives, and individual monitors. While these are all worthwhile topics, it's nearly impossible to cover all of the options available in each category. A quick look at newegg for the number of optical drives available reveals how swamped this site would be if it tried to post reviews for all of them. Other sites dedicate every review to just optical drives: burning speeds, copy accuracy for different forms of protection, media compatibility, etc. Similar statements can be made about hard drives.

Reviews of laptops and pre-built gaming systems are pointless in my mind. If we know about all of the components inside the machine, we can get a good idea of how well it will perform. This is exactly where I would like AnandTech's help: "Tell me about the components in the machine!"

 

[bruceb]

Out of HS in 1970 ... so a young 56 here

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Blain
Wow, and it's only the end of 2008! :roll: Let's not rush in to anything.

Well, these things takes time to make sure the new setup is working properly and that all the data transfers over (test server has been running for a while). The point is to not rock the boat too often or too much. For instance, Tom's Hardware seems to undergo a facelift every year or two. I used to read their site because it is always beneficial to have second/third/fourth opinions on hardware. However, I like to hit a site and see what is new at a glance, or look up old stuff quickly. If stuff keeps changing, wastes my time. With forums, stability is the key. Regardless of Fusetalk problems, Anandtech forums seem to have a decent uptime. I pop in here at least once a day (when possible). As an example, though I rarely go there, Hardforums seems to enjoy downtime here and there. Seriously, I'm here about 10,000x more than at Hardforums, and I've seen them be down (or have problems) about 10x more than here.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Zap
Well, these things takes time to make sure the new setup is working properly and that all the data transfers over (test server has been running for a while).

FuseTalk was played out long ago.

 

[bendixG15]

Lots of sweet talking here... let's see what becomes of it.

Can't take forever.
Lotsa old familiar names are no longer around,
and once the're gone, they don't come back.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: bendixG15
Lotsa old familiar names are no longer around,
and once the're gone, they don't come back.

What "familiar names" are you talking about?

For the forums, people are here for the "community" and not for what software is used or what articles are written on the main site. If someone leaves here, it is usually because they've been banned for some reason or they had a tiff with someone else here and left voluntarily. Or, they just no longer feel a part of the community and have nothing left to say.

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: Anand Lal Shimpi
Hmm...perhaps I can do something about this.

Give me some time, these are things that I've noticed as well and want to address. It's actually good to hear it from you all here, it lets me know that I'm not crazy 🙂

-A

**bows to the boss**

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: Dravic

Another thing I really think needs to be addressed is lack of legacy Hardware in these reviews. Why not throw a older P4 or A64 in your video review suite for example - doesnt have to be all cards only one card. Or why not throw a 7900 GT or at least a 8800GTX video card in your 4870 X2 review? This does two important things to my mind. Updates peoples memory how fast the new stuff really is compared to their popular choices back in the day and shows them if they can even handle the new software out. It may or may not but at least it would be informative to know.


Anyway I could go on forever but then I'd just be nit picking a great site!

This is a great idea, not everybody upgrades every cycle. A lot of old school budget overclockers tend to skip a generation.

I would love to see the most popular pieces of hardware from the previous generation(or 2 for landmark pieces like the 8800gt) added to the benches just to crystalize the benefits the current gen gives you.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Gannon]

Site is losing focus, I find myself going to other hardware sites. I come to websites because they are

1) Informative
2) Useful

Anand has been slipping. The layout of the site and infrequent updates means I visit less. I would also like them to call bullshit on hardware manufacturers, anandtech seems to waver between calling manufacturers on their BS claims, and "Selling ice to eskimo's" (i.e. not being totally truthful because it would hurt ad dollars).

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

agreed.
i used to go to the main site to learn about which parts to use for building my next pc.
now i jump straight to the forums.

 

[bendixG15]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: bendixG15
Lotsa old familiar names are no longer around,
and once the're gone, they don't come back.

What "familiar names" are you talking about?

For the forums, people are here for the "community" and not for what software is used or what articles are written on the main site. If someone leaves here, it is usually because they've been banned for some reason or they had a tiff with someone else here and left voluntarily. Or, they just no longer feel a part of the community and have nothing left to say.

You have to recognize shortcomings in order to correct them.

You guys keep the statistics on how long members stay here. Why don't you publish them for all to see.

And as far as the 'people are here for the community" logic, I don't believe too many of us will buy in that. If the "community" were that strong, then the forum would not need so many mods to maintain some semblance of civility.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: bendixG15
And as far as the 'people are here for the community" logic, I don't believe too many of us will buy in that. If the "community" were that strong, then the forum would not need so many mods to maintain some semblance of civility.

Besides those who come here just for some tech support or to research hardware, why do people stay? You've been here since 2001. Why still here? If this place is so full of shortcomings, what's keeping you here? What possessed you to post over 3000 times? Or are those all FS/FT bumps? 😱 Well, heck, FS/FT is a community too.

One of the definitions of "community" is: An interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location.

We are a population that interacts in a place called Anandtech Forums. Therefore we are a community.

 

[Blain]

Is this thread about the main AnandTech review site or the Forums?

There's nothing to worry about

 

[bendixG15]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: Anand Lal Shimpi
-A

We are humbled by your presents :heart:


> The Good Old Days <

An excerpt from "The Good Old Days" posted by Blain

Happy Thanksgiving!
11/25 02:08 AM - Anand Lal Shimpi

On behalf of myself and everyone at AnandTech, I'd like to wish you all a very happy thanksgiving. Enjoy this day and spend it with your family and loved ones (your computers are not considered loved ones) and take a moment to reflect back on what you are truly thankful for.
What am I thankful for? The chance that you, AnandTech's readers, have given me to run this site -- a job I love doing. Thanks for the 2+ years of support, for the 2+ years of emails, and the 2+ years of the opportunity I'll never take for granted. Thank you all.

You'll start seeing articles pop back up starting Friday, but for now, take care and have a wonderful day.


Those were the community years.

 

[Ksyder]

I haven't been around the forums for that long but I've been reading Anandtech main site for awhile before that. I didn't know what a good resource the forums were at that time. From time to time there would be a link from an article to a thread about a particular motherboard that overclocked well, for instance, but I didn't know the wealth of info that has been generated by the community. Nowadays, I generally read the forums exclusively, and only sometimes check for new content on the main site.

The reasons for this are two-fold -
one is because I read Anandtech and other hardware sites for so long that I have a good technical understanding now and simply don't need to read reviews quite as much. Also, while things are always changing, the improvements made in hardware are always incremental but still fundamentally similar enough that i'm not interested in this gpu vs. that one or different re-spins of the same cpu architecture, (looking at you, AMD)

the other is because I can't afford to upgrade right now anyway! As soon as I can, I'm sure I'll be yelling for more in depth coverage as only Anandtech does...

 

[BushLin]

I'd like to add to the chorus asking for Anand to focus back to their core: hardware reviews and guides, even if I'm not planning on buying anything soon I'd know what was worth waiting for and which bargains could be had when new kit comes out... if I wanted to read about Cameras or Macs I wouldn't be on a serious hardware site. Come on, don't make me check to see if TomsHardware have pulled their finger out!

Having said all that, I'm thankful for the useful information I've gathered from you chaps (if you're reading) but just don't like the extra topics you're covering, there's plenty of sites for those audiences.

 

[Sunrise089]

Here is my list. Let me first say though that I think every article on the site right now is well-written and potentially useful (with the possible exception of the game reviews because they aren't critical enough). That said, AT has only limited resources, and I don't feel they're being properly utilized.

Please ELIMINATE coverage of:
-Game reviews (you don't have a comparative advantage here)
-Camera reviews (my favorite camera reviews online, but this isn't a consumer electronics site)
-Business articles (if you follow the hardware it isn't hard to see why AMD or nVidia has a bad quarter)
-Power supply reviews (there are so many of these, and yet they are all so similar. It's why the site doesn't do DVD-R reviews very often - they all work fine)
-System reviews (has even one person bought the systems reviewed here? Jarred is an awesome writer, but these are useless)
-Laptop reviews (almost as bad - leave pre-configured computer reviews to sites that can cover more than 5% of the available parts)

Please REDUCE coverage of:
-HSF reviews (these should be one page - a paragraph on installation, the idle and load temp charts, and the price)
-All articles that aren't finished (follow-up is very inconsistent, which is worse than not publishing at all)
-All single product reviews that differ only due to packaging or have only tiny performance differences from competitors.

Please INCREASE coverage of:
-Roundups (every resource currently devoted to single motherboard, video card, memory, case, or display reviews should be re-directed into offering a roundup. If the product doesn't offer a totally new experience (like Pentium 4->Core2Duo) then it only makes sense to cover it in the context of the alternatives)
-Buyers guides (this is most obvious area of decline, please let Jarred spend his laptop and system reviewing time making these instead)

BONUS POINTS for being perfect on your reviews of Apple products, new CPUs, new GPUs, and trade events. The iPhone and Macbook reviews have been flawless because they are products that deliver a unique experience. AT is at its best when it's discussing a new CPU architecture, new GPU architecture, or some other totally distinct product. It's at its worst when discussing commodity products with minimal differences between competitive products.

 

[Bonesdad]

Just catching up with this overdue thread now...shows how my time spent at AT has diminished. I'm in agreement with most of what is said here. Though over time, my commitment to hardware sites waxes and wanes with my budget and/or upgrade needs! I too am frustrated with the camera reviews and the game reviews...though I do like to see comparatives for the games on different hardware. Roundups are a must have...motherboard roundups, gpu roundups, even case roundups (in the past, case reviews here were very frustrating as the site kept looking at "bling" cases for teenyboppers and very little for "mature" users like myself who appreciate sleeker lines and hate glowy lights, not sure what is going on now...).

I hope Anand is true to his word and the site skinny's down and gets lean and mean with the articles and reviews. GREAT THREAD!