Nec_V20 wrote:I'm not going to challenge the veracity of your statement; I fully believe your experience. I will say, though, that your experience is likely far from average, and that being more specific would help us better understand your stated experience and argument(s) that it underpins.
I should have been clearer, I'm sorry about that. If it were just me having bad experiences then I might chalk that up to bad karma.
One of the most respected - actually the most respected - Computer Magazines is the German "C't Magazin" which has been going for nearly three decades now. It was they who uncovered how systematic the practice was by Nvidia to the point where they would no longer publish any benchmark results but rather used real world applications and games to see if the drivers delivered with newly released Nvidia cards would run without a BSOD. Regularly the cards would fail and whereas other magazines were gushing about the speed of the new cards the C't Magazine would once again call Nvidia out for fraud.
BTW the C't Magazin is the only computer magazine which makes a profit purely from the sale of the magazine itself and is not reliant upon advertising. Over the years companies who got bad reviews threatened to pull their advertising and the magazine responded essentially with, "Don't let the door slam you in the ass on the way out".
As I said this went on for a period of many years.
But you strongly imply it's still happening today, which is obviously not the case unless you didn't realize that all the respectable reviewers have been using 'real game benchmarks' for years?
For all I know they might still be doing it, I don't know and don't care any more because their policy thoroughly sickened me off them and I don't even look at them any more.
But if you want to talk about the ancient (in technology years) past, don't forget about ATI's Quake/Quack cheating. So, if you apply your reasoning fairly...enjoy your Matrox video card.