Benchmarking: Games - a Tom's Hardware Editorial

Dom · Jun 25, 2003, 11:00 AM

You'd think that going out and buying a new graphics card isn't that big a deal, nowadays, and that it should be a pretty straightforward matter. First, you decide what features your card should offer. Then, after poring over the test results of the immense number of cards available and selecting the one that suits you best, you go out and find the lowest price for your new dream card. After all, you're very well informed now, having read all of those very informative tests with their clear recommendations derived from benchmark results. And you can trust benchmarks, right?

For the chipmakers, benchmark results are very important and can decide the fate of their products. If a chip excels in the usual tests, the big computer makers will take note, consider using it in their product lines and, ultimately, buy the chip in great quantities. This so-called OEM market is by far the most important for the graphics card makers, as this is where most of their orders come from. The short product cycles in the graphics chip industry, which leave only six to eight months between new chips, make it increasingly difficult to make the "right" decision. With most games available around the time of a chip's launch usually not able to support all of its new features, it is difficult to win over the prospective buyer, be it the single-card, retail-channel customer or the large volume OEM.

Read on...

Jun 25, 2003, 11:00 AM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	Benchmarking: Games - a Tom's Hardware Editorial You'd think that going out and buying a new graphics card isn't that big a deal, nowadays, and that it should be a pretty straightforward matter. First, you decide what features your card should offer. Then, after poring over the test results of the immense number of cards available and selecting the one that suits you best, you go out and find the lowest price for your new dream card. After all, you're very well informed now, having read all of those very informative tests with their clear recommendations derived from benchmark results. And you can trust benchmarks, right? For the chipmakers, benchmark results are very important and can decide the fate of their products. If a chip excels in the usual tests, the big computer makers will take note, consider using it in their product lines and, ultimately, buy the chip in great quantities. This so-called OEM market is by far the most important for the graphics card makers, as this is where most of their orders come from. The short product cycles in the graphics chip industry, which leave only six to eight months between new chips, make it increasingly difficult to make the "right" decision. With most games available around the time of a chip's launch usually not able to support all of its new features, it is difficult to win over the prospective buyer, be it the single-card, retail-channel customer or the large volume OEM. Read on...