User Reviews

[ikix]

lol ah the fruits of an idiot

Well even if not exactly based on a standard thing its always nice to have more reviews than none really and they can give the view on what no reviewer normally can, living with the stuff, how it is in day to day running rather than idealized benchtests.

[Saracen]

lmao

I think user reviews are good for things that corporate reviews dont test such as 6 months later!

The trouble with having people reviewing computer parts etc is the benching is all going to be different and it takes ages to do so a good comparison will be hard to take.

Even with things like monitors peoples ideas on picture quality are going to vary hugely where as a reviewer having looked at 10 monitors and used them for a bit can usually pic out the best of one of the best.

There is some truth in that.

On the other hand, professional reviews have advantages too.

A properly set up pro lab has access to a level of equipment, both for testing and for comparison, that few if any "user" reviews can hope to match.

Also, there will often be a peer review process in place, and perhaps a labs manager, that is ensuring a degree of consistency over time.

And, of course, what you, the reader, sees will likely be a fraction of the data collected.

And benchmarks will be done on a consistent basis over time, with a detailed process to follow, involving working from a known clean state, usually running the tests several times to look for anomalies, and so forth.

And, of course, reviewers that have tested large numbers of products will have a breadth of exposure to competing products that few, if any, home users can hope to match.

Finally, you have to make a judgement as to the competence and objectivity of user reviews. It is not unknown for users to bias their opinions in favour of products they like, because after all, they bought them and it's a bit ego-deflating to have to admit you made a mistake.

So yes, user reviews are useful and are a valuable perspective. And while some magazines do indeed to long-term tests of products in use over months, it's hard to do on a large scale simply because of limited resources.

User reviews offer a perspective that professional reviews can't. But professional reviews offer a perspective that user reviews can't. A complete picture really requires taking both viewpoints, and the advantages and disadvantages of both, into account.

But ultimately, most products don't lend themselves to a definitive statement of one being better than another, simply because most products have strengths and weaknesses, and so will suit or not suit different types of users according to their needs.

I'll give a simple example of that. Laptops. You've got two laptops to test. One has a powerful processor, honking great hard drive, loads of memory and a 17" screen. The other has a 14" screen, modest processor and a 40GB drive.

Which is better? Answer = neither, necessarily. You might want a desktop replacement, in which case the 45 minute battery life on the first machine isn't an issue, and nor is the extra 3lbs of weight. But I might use a laptop mainly on transatlantic trips, so weight and battery life are far more important than sheer grunt or fancy graphics.

Professional reviewers, or at least good ones, are far better at looking outside their own specific interests and needs to take account, when forming and delivering an opinion, of the needs of diverse types of potential user than individuals doing user reviews are.

Both pro and user reviews have their place.

[WoLFe]

Agreed 100%, fantastic post there with important logic.