Why Tom's Hardware Should Be Banned from the Internet

[p4l1ndr0m3]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cq5700y-i560-565nbk-s5704y,2934.html

A friend posted a link to this on Facebook. How this article every saw the light of day we'll never know. Anyway, I was reading through the comments, some of the more negative ones are getting deleted right away. How far this site has fallen...

[McSteel]

I don't have a problem with this. The article self-discredited within the first couple of sentences. Truly problematic ones are those that aren't outright idiotic and obviously useless such as this one is...

[p4l1ndr0m3]

I don't see where it discredits itself, at least not intentionally, other than the obvious fact they are comparing a $550 tower with no keyboard, mouse, speakers or OS to Best Buy prebuilts ranging from $300 to $410. This is like Porsche saying the 911 Turbo is better than the Nissan GT-R because the 911 Turbo is faster around Nurburgring than the Nissan Cube. I just fail to see how so many people still blindly follow Tom's with garbage articles like this.

The comparison should be the custom tower at $650 (factoring the aforementioned missing items) to prebuilts $500 and up. Then adding in a graphics card, when needed, on models that are not at the full price saturation of $650.

[McSteel]

"other than the obvious fact" being the highlight here. If it's not obvious to those reading the article, they'll be fooled elsewhere anyway. This is not to say Tom's isn't wrong for publishing this dreck, it just lessens their overall impact. And in this case, Tom's is the blind leader here, those who follow do so at their own peril.

[p4l1ndr0m3]

"other than the obvious fact" being the highlight here. If it's not obvious to those reading the article, they'll be fooled elsewhere anyway. This is not to say Tom's isn't wrong for publishing this dreck, it just lessens their overall impact. And in this case, Tom's is the blind leader here, those who follow do so at their own peril.

Couldn't agree more. Though it somewhat reminds me of the Apple worshipers.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43126515/ns/business-retail/t/dont-call-them-fanboys-now-call-them-acolytes/

[LxMxFxD]

I'm wholly confused about the hate. I thought it was a good article.

What most computer enthusiasts forget is this: Most people aren't technical and hate the technical. In addition, most computer enthusiasts are young and have no marketable skills. Any 16 year old can get an A+ cert and make $9/hr working at fry's, lets face it. If you have an MBA and are making $50 to 150/hr (equivalent salary) you really don't give a shit about the few dollars you save by building a custom system, and most importantly: its a big hassle. Wealthy people are wealthy because they know how to hire the right person for the right job (or at least delegate). I think this article does a pretty good job of pointing this out. Yes, you get no upgrade path with a low end walmart special, so nerds shouldn't buy them.

People who spend $300 on an emachines want a complete system with no hassle. Do you really think anyone buying this system is going to play World of Warcraft or get pissy when they can't edit a 16MB tiff file in the $500 application called photoshop? I think not.

So i'm curious really as to why the hate? As an IT specialist I recommend to my clients "Just buy the lowest end system you can with the longest warranty." I see it day in and day out: people read emails, edit word files, do some "over the network" printing and file sharing and for the truly advanced: actually backup their data. A PIII/512MB can do all of that. Don't forget it.

In the final analysis he does forget the OS in the final bill. I take issue with that. Since 90% of america has no clue how to install an OS, and it would cost them at least $100 to have someone do it, this is pretty silly. Overall the article is interesting. At least proves that the low end walmart boxes can compete. Also, i'd really like to see Tom's build a system for $200 to compete with that emachines with its $100 OS. Seriously.

In the end this article is more comparing hassle to cost to performance. I could drive a 1980 toyota truck and save a ton of money doing so - so long as I know how to fix it when it breaks down. But since I don't, its far better for me to drive a modern vehicle because getting to work reliably makes me more money than the cost of the car. Same for computers. If I can fix my own, i'm at a major advantage.

[370forlife]

Well, the fact that they compared $300-400 complete (OS, keyboard, mouse, etc...) systems to a $500 not including OS, mouse, keyboard, etc... is one thing. Like a lot of people pointed out in the comments, you can get a dell with a quad core phenom II, 8 gigs of ram and a 1TB hd for $500. Why not compare that to theirs?

They also didn't actually compare any of those systems against the $500 one. They just compared them to eachother, then posted the specs of 1 of the machines next to the $500 one.

[p4l1ndr0m3]

I'm wholly confused about the hate. I thought it was a good article.

This article is a fallacy compared to the usefulness of articles that Tom's used to have before they went revenue crazy. TBH, I cannot think of anyone this article helps because it does not make an accurate comparison due to the huge price discrepancy mentioned both by me and 370forlife.

If you liked this article, maybe you should read Tom's power supply reviews. You know, the ones they had Cooler Master do the actual testing for...

[370forlife]

If you liked this article, maybe you should read Tom's power supply reviews. You know, the ones they had Cooler Master do the actual testing for...

Don't you like how in those reviews the other brands performance is comparable to what other review sites have gotten, but the coolermaster power supplies are always better, or strangely missing large chunks of testing?

[p4l1ndr0m3]

Don't you like how in those reviews the other brands performance is comparable to what other review sites have gotten, but the coolermaster power supplies are always better, or strangely missing large chunks of testing?

It is just frustrating to see a site I used to thoroughly enjoy reading release stuff like this.

[walterm]

Things change, enjoy what you can, the article isn't that bad.
But there is a certain fluffiness present on the site, and some inexplicable choices/recommendations.
They still do things no one else does.

[mdk777]

Well just my 2 cents.
The article just confirmed what I have said for years and years. (hence I liked it.)

I always tell people that if you want a web browser, than you can't beat the price of these entry level machines.

I see the pay-back for DIY at the $800-$1000 price point. (including the OS tax). At that point you can improve quality(efficiency, quite, durability) , control(maintain) upgrade path, and get more bang for your buck at the same time.

However, guess what? None of my family or in-laws gives a crap about getting twice the value for their money. They just go and buy the cheapest.(lowest initial cost, not lowest total cost of ownership)

Win win. they get their cheap browser, and I don't have to worry about providing tech.support / warranty service. :D

[LxMxFxD]

toms has been around for ages. It SHOULD be cranking in money by now, but not at the cost of quality. Tom is a dentist, or was. Back in 1998/1999 when it was ONLY Anand, Sharky and Toms, all were about equal. Those were the days. Sad times.

[walterm]

For a more serious comparasion, Circuit City is offering a $100 discount on a $900 Gateway with Operating system and gt 440 video card.
Deduct $100 OS, $30 mouse and keyboard, $60 FOR GeForce GT440 :
$900-100-200 = $600
This buys an I7 2600, 8 GB Ram (2x2x2x2), 1 TB HDD, case and power supply.
What this means I have no idea.
Since it does not include a powerful gaming card or overclocking ability, otoh dropping to an I5 2500 cpu would free up a $100.