The coming end of Anandtech?

I don’t upgrade very often, but I found I used anandtech more for the forums than any front page stuff. I’d spend a week or two researching the best bang for buck stuff I needed at the time, then never visit again (I don’t like reading about all the shiny stuff I can’t really afford). Between the Hot Deals board and general user reviews in the motherboard/cpu/video cards sections, I could usually build an 80% machine at a 50-75% price.

true

ram doesn’t matter other than how many gigs you have,

In the HTPC space, integrated graphics are becoming a viable alternative. For those, RAM speed is important.

SSDs basically saturate SATA channels

which is why PCI-e SSDs are the new hotness

and dedicated GPUs are so fast that all of them run 1080p fine.

true.

Why am I taking this statement apart? Because currently, AnandTech has two very interesting articles (to me) on its front page regarding these subjects: a re-review of the Brix Pro Steambox avant la lettre (less throttling, still loud), and a look at Intel’s PCI-e SSD.

While I think that currently AnandTech’s focus is too broad, running the full spectrum mobile phone - tablet - laptop - desktop - desktop components - accessories, to have it really shine in any department, especially their attention to SSD technology is admirable.

But their focus is definitely shifting. Or maybe it’s just their current design which confuses me. But I seem to recall that, only one or two years ago, their Computex coverage was excellent, interesting, expansive. This year it’s skippable. Does that meen AnandTech is more d0med than PC gaming? I don’t believe so, personally.

They don’t do such specific roadmaps. Both Nvidia and AMD are waiting for TSMC to get its 20nm process in a state where it can produce the GPUs, and then they’ll bring the cards ASAP.
Techreport just provided a link to the most current rumor: Nvidia’s semi-high-end replacements will arrive in the fourth quarter. These will still be based on an 28nm process, but they’ll be based on the more efficient Maxwell architecture, which enables moderate speed bumps and huge power savings. AMD will probably do something similar (they have a lot of catching up to do in the power-saving department). The true new generation won’t see mass production before The Witcher 3 arrives, if that rumor holds true.

Because all such info only comes to us as rumors, the sites that reports it are the less reputable ones. Speaking up about it also seems to lower the odds of getting access to pre-release review hardware. So reputable sites have a tendency to say nothing, grumble a bit about NDAs the last weeks before release, and then pile on the reviews. And Nvidia and AMD mostly keep silent until they can launch a card (or paper-launch it), to the sound of a thousand glowing reviews.

They have access to the gear, I don’t. That’s why I’m reading their review. What I’m talking about is when they go on about how the architecture works, how it’s different than before, what type of fab is used…all I need to see is the charts comparing it to the competition. For instance, what do I care if it uses a 22nm vs 28nm die? I don’t need to see three pages of writing describing the design of the die. Mention it only when it’s relevant, ie “this component uses less power due to a die shrink”, and leave it at that. I’m sure there are people who find that stuff fascinating to read, but that should be a separate article from a product review imo. If I’m reading a review of a car I’m thinking of buying, I don’t need to read about the factory it’s made in.

Anand started the site when he was 14, and has spent over a third of his life working on it. It wouldn’t really surprise me if he was looking for something new to focus on.

Anand was able to do a lot of good financial stuff for his family by starting that site before the .com crash in the late 90s. Plus send himself to college.

That’s sort of the point of the site, though – in depth review and commentary. Not just the what, but also the how and the why. It’s a big part of why they’re popular with their core audience. If you don’t care about those details, you’re on the wrong site. There are plenty of others that cater to different tastes and levels of interest.

Exactly. I don’t understand this bizarre thread. Anandtech continues to be great at in-depth consumer electronics reporting that goes beyond a mere buyer’s guide. You can find that stuff at a million other websites, and besides there’s very little practical difference between most products with similar pricing & release dates anyway. Makes no sense to review every minor iteration that manufacturers keep churning out just to say “yeah, it’s pretty much the same as the other 20 products sitting right next to it on the shelf!”

Exactly. I don’t understand this bizarre thread. Anandtech continues to be great at in-depth consumer electronics reporting that goes beyond a mere buyer’s guide. You can find that stuff at a million other websites, and besides there’s very little practical difference between most products with similar pricing & release dates anyway. Makes no sense to review every minor iteration that manufacturers keep churning out just to say “yeah, it’s pretty much the same as the other 20 products sitting right next to it on the shelf!”

Completely agree. Anandtech is fantastic, and there’s no indication it’s going anywhere.

I agree with the majority. If I’m going to read a review of a consumer product it’s going to be on Anandtech because all the other reviews are interchangeable.

That’s why I read them, to be fair. I am professionally interested in the sparkly new graphics technology and how it’s going to let games do new or cheaper visual effects.

There’s other sites for buy/don’t buy.

I recently bought a laptop, and relied heavily on benchmarking and review sites. So I see the necessity of such sites. Anandtech also put out some good review and insight articles, especially in the mobile space. (See: their recent rundown of how PowerVR works. I assume many people were interested in how they differ from the desktop architectures which are well understood/publicised?).

However I find the act of benchmarking so mundane and tedious that I can’t for the life of my understand my amateurs do it for fun. I can completely empathise with his disdain for his hardware reviewing staff, even though they’re essentially professional. People seem to take to much pride in getting a 7% improvement on their CPU when it’s simply changing a voltage value in the BIOS and leaving you computer to run a benchmark for hours. You can’t even use your computer at that time! This kind of thing is entirely automatable, and is infact what the factory does before it bins and ships your components. No wonder he’s looking for something better to do with his time.

Very perceptive thread.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8456/the-road-ahead

My read is that it’s still his site, he never sold it, he just doesn’t feel like doing computer hardware articles any more. So he’s going to do other stuff while profiting from the site and editorial team he built. Which is perfectly fine.

Yea, I expect he’s got something else which he’s doing. Heck, I suspect he’s not been working full time on the site for a few years.

I’ll be interested to see what it is.

Hired by Apple.

Happy for him, sad for us – Apple isn’t the type of company that would let him out to do random podcasts. I was hoping his retirement would mean he lets loose more.

Edit: Holy crap Brian Klug is at Apple too, that’s where he vanished too for the last bunch of months. Smart pickups for Apple.

I just realized he had left when I went looking for phone & watch commentary. Well darn… I wonder what he and Brian up to at Apple.

Bought by the parent company of Tom’s Hardware.
http://anandtech.com/show/8790/anandtech-acquired-by-purch

I look forward to 50 1 paragraph pages with interstitials.

Yeah, lots of ads, strong editorial drifting away, etc. It’s a shame. Ars is still around, though, and they’re owned by conde nast.