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MSI and ASUS Accused of Sending Reviewers Overpowered Graphics Cards (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via The Verge: TechPowerUp discovered that the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming X card they were sent for review was running at faster GPU and memory clock speeds than the retail version. This was because the review card was set to operate in the OC (overclocking) mode out of the box, whereas the retail card runs in the more regular Gaming mode out of the box. This may result in an unobservant reviewer accidentally misrepresenting the OC performance numbers as the stock results from the card, lending MSI's product an unearned helping hand. The site found this was a recurring pattern with MSI stretching back for years. Fellow Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS, in spite of having better global name recognition and reputation, has also show itself guilty of preprogramming review cards with an extra overclocking boost. Needless to say, the only goal of such actions is to deceive -- both the consumer and the reviewer -- though perhaps some companies have felt compelled to follow suit after the trend was identified among competitors. The Verge notes that TechPowerUp revealed its finding on Thursday of last week, and has not received any official response from either MSI or ASUS. They did update their story to note that MSI addressed the matter, in a comment provided to HardOCP Editor-in-Chief Kyle Bennett, back in 2014.
It's not "sites like reddit" claiming it.
It started with techpowerup article, mentioning exactly what was wrong: cards running at higher frequencies than normal retail versions: Here is it:
MSI and ASUS have been sending us review samples for their graphics cards with higher clock speeds out of the box, than what consumers get out of the box. The cards TechPowerUp has been receiving run at a higher software-defined clock speed profile than what consumers get out of the box. Consumers have access to the higher clock speed profile, too, but only if they install a custom app by the companies, and enable that profile. This, we feel, is not 100% representative of retail cards, and is questionable tactics by the two companies. This BIOS tweaking could also open the door to more elaborate changes like a quieter fan profile or different power management.
http://www.techpowerup.com/for...
It's a catch-22 though, and video game reviewers have the same issue.
If you get a review copy, you don't just get it FREE- you get it EARLY. That means you can write a story before someone who has to wait for the product to ship. Since most of the hype occurs before the launch (obviously- if you are super into product X and it is out, you go and buy it and are happy), this means that most of the readers about product X will want to read about it before it launches, be it a video game or a video card.
This gives the companies a lot more power over the "journalist" (if you can call a product reviewer that at all, lol) than you might see elsewhere.
Real reviews are done by places like Consumer Reports. They do blind purchases, don't accept advertisements, and they do their reviews based on objective things decided ahead of time. This isn't nearly as glamorous as luxury items like games, video cards, etc.
Well, at least racismguy mixes it up a bit, eh?
Just ask yourself: when's the last time you recall a city full of white people rioting because a court decision didn't go their way? When did you last remember hearing about masses of white people looting and pillaging because of a natural disaster? In the last few decades can you think of one white equivalent of Ferguson, Katrina, or L.A.?
I'm not asking if you can do a Google search and find such a reference someplace in the world. I'm asking if you can remember any such event off the top of your head, honestly, using an honor system definition of "honestly".
Do you think that's because white people like and agree with every court decision? No, lots of them are bullshit. Do you think that's because natural disasters never affect whites? No, the Mississippi floods rural white people all the time, and hurricanes don't give a shit about race (in fact most ocean-front property is owned by whites). Do you think that's because white youth never get gunned down by blacks? No, that happens all the time, so much so that it isn't considered newsworthy, though you can find examples if you search for them. In fact many of them catch stray bullets from blacks shooting other blacks. It's still unjust.
Still you don't see masses of whites rioting. destroying property, pillaging, looting, and starting fires over this shit. You don't see riot squads called in to deal with white crowds when the same things happen to whites. Why, it's as though one race is more civil, less savage, more lawful, less tribal than the other. That is a theory that fits the facts. Feel free to come up with your own, but beware, lying to yourself to feel good about adhering to a narrative is not mentally healthy. It's a form of mind-fuck.
I'm not some hick redneck or uneducated yokel. I'm acquainted with the facts. I don't like the facts. I wish they weren't true. But facts are facts. They don't ask for my approval before becoming facts. They just are. See that's the thing - I don't like the current situation. I'm not "consumed by hate" or whatever. If I "hate" anything it's the way things are now. I would love change. I wish blacks would better themselves and stop being the bottom of the barrel. But only the black community can fix its own problems. Kissing their ass just makes them more comfortable the way they are, and the way they are needs to change. Kissing their ass and pretending they are equal when they are not, well in other contexts, this is called "being an enabler". They are sort of like the alcoholic who must first admit that he has a problem before there is any hope of change.
Well in fairness any reviewer caught out by this isn't actually doing their job properly anyway.
Don't feed the professional Russian trolls seeding discord.
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.