Are we RTX On or RTX Off? Purchase (not)recommendation , colleagues' scolding and common sense | Editorial (Update)

Update from 30.08.2018 – 17:00 o'clock

Since no one could foresee the momentum of the criticism and discussions (really not?), the criticized "Just Buy It!" -Article by the US colleague in the media, I have to speak again at this point. This is also because even this opinion has now gone extremely viral, which was not intended in this form. Everyone, including the author of the US article, has the right to articulate their own opinion openly.

However, this should also be marked in this way according to journalistic rules. Subsequent changes in the text without an update reference always have a bad taste of a failed crisis management. But just as the author now vociferously demands his right to his own opinion, it must also be possible for readers and colleagues to articulate their own opinions objectively in the forums and on social networks. Hundreds of posts have since been deleted in the thread of the US forum for the article – including factual ones.

In the process, the search was also made for statements by former employees and current colleagues and many foristers were banned. Just pointing out that we are legal licensees of the brand for the German language space and that such statements and behaviors are negatively resonating with our own business, it was worth the commissioned community-managers to me (and others) for 100 years. in the US forum and delete all my posts in the overall package.

However, such a thin-skinned response to a factual description of our current situation shows once again how correct we are with our assessment of the situation. In addition, insinuations that we would specifically contact moderators and users from the US forum and recruit them are completely unrealistic. It was the community managers of the US side who did not announce the closure of the site in our former forum and even asked me to translate the email text to all users of the German forum, in which they advertised for the US community. Alternative truths, then, also here.

English:

Since nobody could have foreseen (really not?) the momentum of criticism and discussion that the criticized "Just Buy It!" article of the US colleague triggered in the media, I must take the floor again at this point. So because even this statement was now extremely viral, which was not intended at all in this form. Everyone, including the author of the US article, has the right to express his or her own opinion openly.

However, this should also be characterized as such according to journalistic rules. Subsequent changes in the text without an update reference always have a bad taste of unsuccessful crisis management. But just as the author now loudly demands his right to his own opinion, it must also be possible for readers and colleagues to express their own opinion objectively in the forums and social media. In the thread of the US forum to the article hundreds of posts were deleted – so factual ones.

The search for statements by former employees and current colleagues was also targeted, and many forists were banned. Just pointing out that we are legal licensees of the brand for the German-speaking area and that such statements and behaviors fall back negatively on our own business was worth banning me (and others) in the US forum for 100 years and deleting all my contributions in the total package.

Such a thin-skinned reaction to a factual description of our current situation shows, however, how right we are with our assessment of the situation. Furthermore, there are insinuations that we would specifically contact moderators and users from the US forum and entice them away completely unrealistic. It was the community managers of the US site who unauthorizedly announced the closure of the site in our former forum and even asked me to translate the email text for all users of the German forum in which they advertised for the US community. Alternative truths here too.

Because of the many requests on the social networks, we now have set up a discussion forum for all English-speaking visitors to our site, where we will also publicly comment and answer the questions for which one is immediately banned in the other forum. Democracy and freedom of expression are a great asset:

International Corner

https://www.igorslab.de/community/forums/international-corner.62/

That was my statement on social media after the ban in the US forum, which I would like to add for the sake of completeness:

I signed a contract to NOT damage the reputation and image of TH with my publications under the TH brand logo. That's fine and self-evident. And I still believe in objective journalism, which refers to facts and real test results and not to speculation and click.baiting. I have always represented my opinion publicly, because whoever ducks away also sells his own ideals.

It is my great hope that everyone involved will remember what once distinguished this website. I am the last person who would not support this with all his strength, time and also his own money. My hope is entirely with the new owners, who will hopefully implement what was stated in the letter of intent. It will be my pleasure to be able to continue to offer all those loyal readers exactly the content they have received for years and whose right it is to demand exactly this standard also in the future.

The whole process has also received a very lively response in the international media landscape, such as the following video by Steven Burke on the relevant article by Avram Piltch (see also original article below):

A contribution by the colleagues at Tweaktown sheds some light on the possible reasons:

The deletion process, the censorship and also terribly failed crisis management were also the subject of further videos like this one (from minute 1:53):

 

Original article from 25.08.2018

You can find technologies good or bad, evaluate new products untested at least as exciting and interesting, but without a real, independent test to release an ultimate purchase order on humanity and instead all critical minds as incapable of stamping, borders on overestimation and , sorry for that, idiocy. Why am I pre-introducing this here now?

Before I even write anything about whether and why I am more RTX On or RTX Off, I have to make a very clear statement, which refers to an article by Tom's Hardware USA, which I believe I have to do both in terms of content and in the form of administration. i don't want to contradict the reading patient, because I find it simply impossible.

Purchase order instead of objective restraint?!

Titled "Just Buy It: Why Nvidia RTX GPUs Are Worth the Money," the current editor-in-chief of Tom's Hardware USA represents the entire readership, including his own US colleagues and others. Localizations, to the level of purchased lemmings, who, in the dark nightmare of the market universe, eagerly await an illuminating orientation order of the self-titulated geeking chief.

Worse still, however, is the phrase "But, what these price-panicked pundits don't understand", which, in addition to the readers, even his own collaborator (and colleague I have appreciated for years) Derek Forrest as more or less matte-coated mental lights that simply haven't heard the shot of technical progress and probably need 10 meters to stand.

Derek's article "Why You Shouldn't Buy Nvidia's RTX 20-Series Graphics Cards (Yet)" deals with the topic in a much more nuanced way, appearing exactly one day before. Only that this obviously doesn't interest your own boss, because clickbait-pushing seems to be a great (and lucrative) hobby and is therefore fully on trend. Declaring this retrospectively as an expression and counterpart to Derek's article is an admission of what the competing media world has (justifiably) shot into the binary universe as an outcry.

Well, colleagues don't really belong, but a border has simply been crossed here, because it also affects all of us here in Germany, France and Italy, and so it falls directly on us as a whole publication. Yes, it really had to be, because I completely distance myself from such articles in terms of content and verbal form, but indirectly now I am now put on a par with this journalistic infantilism. We are all reluctant to do that, because it is definitely not my style. And that of the long-time committed colleagues certainly not.

If you click on the article linked above, you should definitely exhibit the adblocker beforehand, otherwise you won't even see the text. This is not an article, but a highly concentrated advertorial, which as such would have had to be labelled. At least in this country. To all those who have already written to me indignantly or are still planning to do so: this verbal attack on common sense finds my full collegial pity, but the understanding of it must starve out the door.

By the way, the interim editor-in-chief also counteracts my very personal work with this attitude, as I am directly involved in the launch article. After so much letter-based advertising balm, who should still believe the hard-won results? And hello? Testing complex components requires more basic and expertise than the superficial casing of notebooks and colorful Lego clusters.

Everyone has to make it up with themselves in the end

In private, by the way, I find the whole story extremely exciting, although one really honestly has to ask oneself where one's own premises lie and what all the technical progress is ultimately worth financially. That is why I am simply trying to describe it in a very simplified way from my point of view, but I deliberately refrain from recommending a purchase or rejecting it. In addition, of course, I already have other details, all of which are under the usual NDA until the launch.

If (the emphasis is on the first word of this sentence) the featured technogies and approaches even approximate what they are currently verbally promising, then the green corner certainly has my deserved respect for this part of the event. I deliberately omit that with the price (yes, the certain P-word), because whoever can, can (or at least thinks he can). Whether real ray tracing (RT) or hybrid RT, as well as all the arithmetic pirouettes and balance files with the RT and Tensor cores – this has its charm and is actually fun for more.

In general, the holy trinity of CUDA, RT and Tensor cores gives hope for something in the future. AI-Upscaling is just one facet. Sounds good and has already worked quite well in the presentation. But what about all things like async compute or such profane hard work as normal visualization (DirectX, OpenGL, Vulkan)? As a potential buyer and owner of a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and a 1080 SLI, I would like to know a little more. But the current slides, even if you don't know any settings or test system, give you a little hope.

Even if it could only be a real side-grade for users of current high-end hardware, because at least at the same price you would have to buy exactly one combination of numbers lower, it is a good offer for newcomers. Because, it seems, you get at least the same performance per euro as with the older models and stocks. A minus is therefore not on the list of possible consequences, good to know.

Since I was able to talk to the very people who have already tested the Quadro RTX in a productive environment (up to the unreal makers) in Vancouver last week, there has also been a bit of euphoria attached to me, admittedly. Because their tenor was consistently positive to completely enthusiastic. It should also be noted that those who are not likely to be on Nvidia's list of donations. This was, to a large extent, really real and convincing. But whether it also affects the concerns of the private gambling community?

It is already clear that all this has to be costed a little as an early adaptor. But the first generation customer after the hour zero of the Holy Grail of total pixel deformation is really already the winner, or does it need more iterations or even real successors, until the new world of tracted content really performs revolves around himself? This question should, indeed must (be) asked. For all the euphoria, it is not yet possible to estimate where the added value really lies without real tests. You have to be so objective and fair.

It's nice when new maps on the PR slides are so far ahead of the old predecessors (at least visually). But is this really true of all that the customer plays with current hardware himself, wants to play in the future or perhaps can't, as hoped and expected? Awakening expectations and fully fulfilling are two pairs of shoes, not forgetting dominating. Most of the demos looked impressive, while others didn't. At least not quite in the corresponding relation to the evil P-word.

The content of the presentation for the common people with the sole focus on ray tracing was, in my opinion, somewhat unfortunate chosen. The postponed Ansel-Prese goes down smoothly in the discussion tangle. And other things that would have been taken into account in the decision-making process are unfortunately missing completely and are still under NDA. It is not for me to criticise Nvidia's salami tactics, but it has not hit the people's nerves, that is a fact.

And DLSS and GeForce Experience, as well as the fear of the final cloud-flooding, along with hours of home phone calls with the green overfather, are also a point that urgently needed even more clarity. I hope that this will soon be given even more openness and clarity. By the way, this is not only a German hobby, but a matter of course to know what happens to my PC and my data.

Conclusion

When everything arrives as advertised: fine and Chapeau! If not, then surely none of the authors would like to take responsibility for the financial contribution of persons or families, only to have to find out in a self-experiment that the investment made elsewhere is likely to be would have made more sense. It is the task of the media to ensure independent testing and not to issue the purchase order and the direction number of marches in advance as the slogan of the day. All please at his time and within the framework of responsibility and objective evaluation. Nothing else.

Speaking of tests… The collated NDA case on 14.09.2018, which ghosts across the media world, gives me a bit of a headache. First of all, I can't remember Nvidia ever launching anything on a Friday. Secondly, the material appearance at the customer is on Thursday, 20.09.2018. Third, the whole DXR stuff on the current Windows 10 versions doesn't run at all yet and the common end customer would need at least a decent update. Patchday is usually always on the… Aah, yes. Exactly that!

Which might suggest that there could be another carefully crafted launch. Theory and gedöns on the presumed 14.09.2018 and the real benchmark parkour then a week later as had been so often. I wouldn't be surprised at all and at least the whole pre-orderers would have been quiet. Either way, it's and remains exciting. But I just don't want to read things like the jubilant article That I haven't yet digested. I just don't want to have to justify myself for such a stus, even if I don't even have a share on it. Family detention can be cruel. Hence this editorial.