I think PC hardware review and benchmark sites need to be more grounded.

So i have mentioned in a earlier blog about me not being keen about synthetic benchmarks but after reading through a lot of review sites i think they need to go back to basics.

I always think if it was just the average joe reviewing things would be different.For example i tried reviewing and benchmarking a few graphics cards but i had paid for them and i was testing them on a lot more modest hardware and i thought that would be a bit more useful...of course i was underwhelmed and because using lesser hardware meant the differences were not as great but that is the real world issue.I just think with hardware reviews should be more grounded. Often heard they use high end to avoid bottlenecks......but i do not have that high end hardware so bottlenecks will exist and i need to know how it will affect the next graphics card i buy.


It can make a huge difference in making that purchase decision lets for example say i have Graphics card A and i am looking to see benchmarks of Graphics card B but i would only buy it if it was a certain percentage faster then seeing reviews on systems that are far beyond mine are not much use especially if on the high end system there is a 25% difference between the two cards but because of my systems bottlenecks it is only 15%.

In the end i would love it if a site did the most comprehensive benchmarks system ever i know anandtech have a pretty good charts for benchmarks but with the gpus they are only tested on the one system.

I am really hoping steams new refund policy puts a end to buggy broken games at launch.

So steam have announced that you can claim a refund for a game within two weeks of launch and providing you have not put more then two hours into the game.

So if you bought the game that is a broken buggy mess you can claim a refund. And i really hope that pushes developers to stop releasing games in this state.

I know some developers have expressed concerns with comments such as the game can be completed in two hours. But my argument would be if the game is priced appropriately then people would probably not want to refund that. But if the price is pretty high and you offer no replay value then i cannot blame a consumer for feeling a bit cheated.

I often see on websites and developers the phrase quality over quantity but you can have both. take my fav shooter of the last few years crimzon clover it is a short game (less then a hour to complete) but i have put 9 hours into it as it has unlocks and encourages replay.

But in the end it is better for the consumer and i hope we get better quality games as a result.