What happened to unbiased reviews?

[SwampKracker]

When I read a review on Toms Hardware about an AMD processor, the article is very matter-of-fact and objective as one would expect. However, when I read the latest Intel processor reviews, the tone of the article seems to be right out of Intel's fan club. I have never seen pictures of Toms Hardware Intel Cheerleaders, but they must exist.

Can we get back to objective reporting instead of blatantly favoring a particular processor manufacturer?

 

[turpit]

When I read a review on Toms Hardware about an AMD processor, the article is very matter-of-fact and objective as one would expect. However, when I read the latest Intel processor reviews, the tone of the article seems to be right out of Intel's fan club. I have never seen pictures of Toms Hardware Intel Cheerleaders, but they must exist.

Can we get back to objective reporting instead of blatantly favoring a particular processor manufacturer?

I don't read into this as much as you do, Tom's was all syrup over AMD processors when they wore the speed crown --- I see Tom's a a group of guys who just like fast computers, and will heap on the glowing adjectives when they see a good product.

They drooled all over the K8 when it was released in much the same way. The language was much harsher on Intel when they were producing a substandard part (ehem, Prescott).

Jack


What Jack said.
THGs reviews of AMDs CPUs were enough for me to switch from Intel to AMD years ago. Now THG reviews (amd others) have prompted me to switch back to Intel. THG is biased, and its all about the speed. When AMD comes out with something that cleans intels clock, I think you can trust that THG with be "cheering" for AMD

 

[Action_Man]

Citing some examples would help your cause.

 

[The_Abyss]

Echoing what others have said, Toms lavished praise on the AMD line-up when all Intel could throw back was their P4s. I remember when the P4 EE was first released, it overtook AMD in many benchmarks and this was sort of grudgingly acknowledged with a warning note stating all the the same problems existed (heat, therefore noise etc).

It is important to bear in mind that Intel has taken a major step forward, and has the hardware out there to show it off, i.e. Core 2 Duo. In contrast, AMD hasn't really released anything new apart from some Powerpoint slides and then Energy Efficient versions on some of their CPUs (which got good reviews incidentally). Nothing new though.

Now, very soon after Core 2 Duo, we have the first 'mainstream' quad core CPU actually able to be tested and only 4 weeks away from being available to buy. Still nothing new and physical that can be tested from AMD. It's no real wonder that the reviews go the way they are going, and infact they do a very decent job of remaining as impartial as they are.

If you were watching a race, and one of the two competitors dropped a way back, and then unexpectedly got pushed back even more by a sprint from the leader, then it becomes harder to see the 2nd place person in the distance whilst the camera concentrates on the leader. A clumsy analogy maybe, but the principle is the same. Before long, everyone already knows about who and what is in 2nd place, and it becomes difficult to say anything fresh, so you end up with "yeah, they're still back there trailing".

 

[dasickninja]

Intel has come a long way from sending out a ES PIII that would only work in one board just to beat AMD in the speed wars. Seriously, that was incredibly juvinile and stupid.
Every dog has its day, and its Intels turn to be king of the hill.

 

[Talon]

I've been reading Tom's for many years now, almost as long as they've been on the web. They've always seemed as objective as you can find to me. Is every review perfect? No. Overall tho I've felt you get the proper info to make an educated hardware choice.

If the fact they're excited over a new product shows through so obviously in a review I just take it as hinting that maybe, just maybe they are as big of techno-geek as myself. Makes me feel better about their conviction to tech not worse, but thats me. Peace.

 

[jaguarskx]

I tend to agree with the posters above. THG main focus is on performance. Whichever CPU that gave the best at the time THG would praise it. The only time that I can recall THG would hashly criticize a CPU is with Intel's Prescott CPU due to to enormous heat output and power consumption and rightfully so. THG never criticized any AMD CPU as hasrshly as the Prescott to the best of my knowledge.

Based on recent articles, you may think that THG is just a bunch of Intel Fanboys because of the Core 2 Duo CPU, but underneath that false surface you'll see something quite different. Before Core 2 Duo THG was firmly prasing AMD's Athlon 64 X2 because they simply beat Intel's Pentium 4 Ds in nearly all the benchmarks. Now it's Core 2 Duo's turn to be praised by THG, just look at the benchmarks that are available on the web.

In short, yes THG is biased. They are biased towards any brand of CPU that provides the best performance. Hell, if VIA can pull out a trump card that demolishes Core 2 Duo and the K8/K8L, then THG would be showering VIA with praise.

 

[Kenyada]

I tend to agree with the posters above. THG main focus is on performance. Whichever CPU that gave the best at the time THG would praise it. The only time that I can recall THG would hashly criticize a CPU is with Intel's Prescott CPU due to to enormous heat output and power consumption and rightfully so. THG never criticized any AMD CPU as hasrshly as the Prescott to the best of my knowledge.

Based on recent articles, you may think that THG is just a bunch of Intel Fanboys because of the Core 2 Duo CPU, but underneath that false surface you'll see something quite different. Before Core 2 Duo THG was firmly prasing AMD's Athlon 64 X2 because they simply beat Intel's Pentium 4 Ds in nearly all the benchmarks. Now it's Core 2 Duo's turn to be praised by THG, just look at the benchmarks that are available on the web.

In short, yes THG is biased. They are biased towards any brand of CPU that provides the best performance. Hell, if VIA can pull out a trump card that demolishes Core 2 Duo and the K8/K8L, then THG would be showering VIA with praise.

Yes, indeed, the pendulum swings both ways. That's why THG's reviews are among the most trusted. Works for me!

 

[MasterLee]

Keep dreaming, you'll not get that here, at least not from user's. However where the articles are concerned it depends on who's writing I suppose.

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

Tom's Hardware, like many of us, get hard-ons over uber fast processors. AMD used to be the king, now Intel is King, by far. Intel has a much larger edge on AMD than what AMD ever had on Intel.

The Intel quad-core was just freakishly fast in multi-threaded applications, more than enough to justify the pro-Intel language.

Back in the day people said that Tom's was AMD biased every time they released another FX processor.

 

[sirheck]

that is the good thing about intel and amd (competition)

its the same with any company.

it makes both strive for something better. mainly money.
thus evolution.

how would the pc world be if there were 2 more cpu companies?

 

[battousai831]

that would just be insaine... 4 companys would probably mean some compatability issues but 1 would never know, maybe via will step up lol!

 

[sirheck]

compatibility issues?

hell i hope we dont see it with ati/amd. maybee a bad thing
or maybe a good thing.

intel/amd/ati/nvidia all merg and use asus/msi/bfg/evga and so on
to make their computers?

 

[dasickninja]

Speak not of such evil, would thou have it come true?
The ATI/AMD merger has me wondering what will happen to all the ATI chipsets for Intel, will Intel move over to Nvidia?