How biased is tom's hardware guide?

[Prexaspes]

From tom's hardware guide

It shouldn't be forgotten, though, that the AMD Athlon enjoys cult status among the end users, and this is something that an Intel CPU will never attain. The masses of freaks, DIY fans and overclockers make for a strong faction that is loyal to the Athlon XP. Neither Intel's pricing strategy nor the performance offered (i.e., FSB800 and Hyper-Threading) will be able to change that. This group of clients is waiting eagerly for the Athlon 64, which will be available in the mass market in the second half of the year.

From this page in this article.

Am I a freak because I use AMD processors?

Am I a fool because I haven't surrendered to Intel's much superior 800 mhz bus?

Am I ignorant because I don't believe hyperthreading is the best thing to happen to microprocessors since silicon?

I'd like to say I won't read their e-rag anymore, but I like studying their video card section...

What do you all think?

[Phideaux]

Tom sucks.

Literally.

[Mickwish]

Dr Pabst used to command quite a bit of respect, until he and some of his staff strayed into the Dark Side and seemed to like it.

THG still has some good reviews, and some useful tips, but you need to take any editorial statements with a good pinch (maybe a handful, even ) of salt.

I still enjoy reading the reviews, but tend to filter out the biases that are coming through now. Too bad, 'cause it used to be good, unbiased stuff.

Cheers
Mick

Without leading myself down the proverbial slippery slope, Tom has been an Intel advocate for many years, and will probably continue to do so for many years to come. Us within the media industry just accept it and know what to expect when dealing with THG.

[Prexaspes]

I've known his biases, but calling me a freak. !

[Phideaux]

The guy is a little unbalanced.

Literally.

He's been reported as having made some dangerous threats tword former associates that have disagreed w/ him publicly.

I refuse to visit his site.

[Prexaspes]

And where did you hear that rumor? He literally sucks and is literally unbalanced...

Googling doesn't turn anything like that up.

[Telexen]

It depends on the writer of the article...Tom usually ends up firing people who don't 100% agree with him. So you see a LOT of pro Intel and ATi from them.

Phideaux is likely talking about the ordeal involving Van Smith, a generally recognized AMD advocate that worked as an editor at THG a couple of years ago. After a fallout over AMD versus Intel philosophies, his work was removed from THG, and he started his own site.

However, due to my participation within the mainstream media circles at that time and access to unrevealed information, I can not comment any further regarding what actually went down without questioning my own neutrality in the situation.

Accordingly, I must now gracefully leave this conversation.

[Phideaux]

I read a few things about his shenanigans over at the AMDzone, quite some time ago. I really wish I could remember who he went after. All I know is, it was a former associate who started his own website, and Tom made the guy's life miserable, to the point that he just gave up.