Maximum PC

Nothing is worse for a best of the best list than it containing outdated information. Has MPC given up on it or forgotten about it? Someone get that web editors ass in gear.

The seagate 1.5TB hd hasnt been the biggest for awhile, nor the best drive in the 1.5TB space. Personally I'd say the Samsung F2-eco takes that honor with 3 platters.

The linksys wrt600n has been discontinued - it isnt even sold anymore, and where you can find the thing its $350+. That is NOT "near the cost of one device"

I hoped to get advice on what 19-22 inch LCD monitor to buy for possible gaming and movie watching for less than $250~ (hopefully less than 200). After not seeing that information in the magazines last page where the best of the best list now resides i did what the list said - came online for the rest.

P.S. If anyone from the MPC staff reads this please ask Katherine Stevenson what her opinion is. She seems to be the MPC goto for this kind of stuff.

agreed. Also, didn't MPC say that the Corsair P256 overcame the VelociRaptor in everything but cost? I really don't see any reason the VelociRaptor is up on the list with the newest Seagate 7200.12 drives coming very close in performance for half the price and 3x the capacity.
oh and another thing I noticed- until recently, when something reviewed got a kick ass verdict, it took its niche in the best of the best list much more often then they have been recently.

I wonder if MPC's vision is drifting, and if so where too. For awhile I noticed MPC seeming less organized and cohesive. A few months ago (5 or so) there were some really well done issues that made me want to consistently read MPC again. It was like 85% of the stuff I wanted to read about condensed from long in depth articles on anand/toms into something that takes 20% of the time.

Now I'm not so sure again. I know the people at MPC work hard and put in 45+ hour work weeks generating content, but I have to wonder whats planned on the roadmap.

Edit: I guess this is as good a time as any to post the rant I started months ago and kept meaning to fill out.
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Even after discovering online review sites for chipset, cpu, gpu and mobo reviews I still enjoy reading MPC, which is why I've kept my subscription.

Listen up Will, You've done a bang up job at keeping the presses running at MPC, but you're letting the enthusiasts down on the accessory front. I remember you said awhile back that you guys shy away from reviewing sound cards and accessories because they kill newstand sales. Well so be it, we need an issue dedicated to finding the best media card reader, fan controllers, sound cards and portable media players (3.5 hard drives in external enclosure style media players).

I understand this hurts circulation, which is all the more reason to make this an epic effort. Break the page limit, put collums or features on hiatus for a month. Just give us an issue jam packed with enthusiast caliber info on the seldom reviewed accessories that we all need and use, but lack relevant purchasing information on.

A few notes I wanted to expound on:
-The WD TV may be close to perfect but it doesnt have the ability to integrate a 3.5 HD. It could also use more connectors in the back. Cost be dammed.
-Not everyone wants fan controllers with lights. It's ok to make several or a "best of" selection with these types of things.
-Which 2000-in-one media card reader won't install 7 drives in my computer and will give at least 90% the transfer times as the best individual reader chipsets?

...

I feel so ignored.

FWIW, I don't think I ever said that that stuff hurts newsstand sales. I just said it isn't as interesting. When we have a limited number of pages and limited staff time, I'd rather test and review as much of the core hardware as I can get done in the time we have. With that in mind, we've been focusing on testing and reviewing core components for the last year--motherboards, videocards, hard drives, cases, optical drives, coolers, etc. I'd rather focus on a narrow list of products, but be authoritative in those categories than survey many categories and do a half-assed job.

The other thing to keep in mind is that peripheral-type products aren't good or bad, they either work or don't. USB drive enclosures are ALWAYS limited by the USB bus, while eSATA enclosures perform exactly the same as the SATA drive you put in them. There's nothing really to review. Same for fanbus controllers (are they even necessary anymore, with good software fan control?).

That said, we're planning on expanding our review coverage in the next year. We haven't gotten final budgets back, but if we get what we're asking for, we'll be doing LOTS more reviews.

Just send Norman to the diamond pit more often.