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| URL | http://www.bit-tech.net |
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| Commercial? | Yes |
| Type of site | online magazine |
| Registration | No |
| Owner | Dennis Publishing |
| Created by | bit-tech staff |
| Current status | online |
bit-tech.net (often abbreviated to bit-tech, bit or BT) is an online magazine for computer hardware enthusiasts, gamers and case modders, based in the UK. It was founded in 2000, became a fully professional online publication in 2005 [1][2], and announced its acquisition by Dennis Publishing in October 2008 [3]. Dennis Publishing then partnered the site with existing monthly publication Custom PC Magazine, making bit-tech the online version of the magazine. The two editorial teams now work together closely.
The website caters specifically for the computer hardware enthusiast market, providing reviews and articles on higher end hardware and computer games. Bit-tech is also prominent in the custom case modding scene, providing a focus point for professional and amateur case modders. Much of the site’s content and writing style revolve around this particular reader-base, and its regular readers have been responsible for some of the most well known case mods, such as Orac3 and the Blackmesa HL2 mod.
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History
Originally bit-tech.net was designed to be a small site where people who were interested in case modding could see new ideas from the team and discuss them in the forums, due to the relatively small presence of modding at the time.
It has since diversified and, along with the trend-setting case mods, bit-tech now also features detailed reviews of computer hardware as well as computer and video games, industry news and editorials. There is now increased coverage of console games, though PC games are still the major focus.
Wil Harris was Editor-in-Chief of bit-tech for almost six years and in February 2007, he announced that he was stepping down[4][5] the end of March 2007 to move onto a fresh challenge. At the time, Wil's successor was not announced and it wasn't until April 2007[6] that Tim Smalley announced that he would be taking over as Editor with immediate effect.
Hardware Reviews
bit-tech is known for reviewing computer components in a less than traditional manner, where it chooses to focus on real-world benefits in real applications instead of small (or theoretical) advances in performance. In some cases, this resulted in apples-to-oranges comparisons - something that has split the enthusiast's community on many occasions.[7][8][9][10]
At the start of 2007, the site pulled back[11] from its apples-to-oranges graphics card reviews and instead chose to focus on a more traditional apples-to-apples comparison, while still maintaining the real-world aspect of its testing.
Modding Content
bit-tech first became widely known for its community of PC case modders who would re-shape and decorate PC hardware into a variety of more creative forms. Although the site has since expanded to include hardware and games reviews it still runs regular modding coverage including a Mod of the Month competition and regular project logs.
bit-tech has been host to some of the most popular and striking mods on the Internet, including the BlackMesa Mod[12] (currently on show at Valve), Anemone Mod[13], Macro Black[14] and Lian-Li GOO Mod[15].
Games Reviews
bit-tech uses an arguably more in-depth review model than many other review sites and has a strong focus on PC titles, though console and handheld reviews are increasingly common. PC game reviews do not just provide a commentary of gameplay but also include graphical analysis and a breakdown of how the game will look on different hardware. This review model means that PC game reviews are typically much longer than reviews from other sites, though console reviews are a more traditional length.
bit-tech employs a typical 1-10 review scale with both a 'Recommended' and 'Excellence' award. Unlike many review sites, bit-tech uses the full range of this scale and scores poor games harshly. While the writing style of the site often leans towards New Games Journalism, this has mostly been downplayed since the site was bought by Dennis Publishing and the current writing style is similar to that of partnered magazine, Custom PC Magazine as the two editorial teams work together.
Recently the site has moved to embrace the indie games community and has run several features exploring and supporting this side of the PC industry. Several prominent independent developers, including Introversion Software and writers from Free Radical Design have written columns for the site which explore a number of issues in and around the games industry.
Staff
- Group Editor - Alex Watson
- Editor - Tim Smalley
- Deputy Editor - James Gorbold
- Technology Editor - Richard Swinburne
- Reviews Editor - Clive Webster
- Senior Staff Writer - Joe Martin
- Staff Writer - Harry Butler
- Staff Writer - Mark McKay
- Staff Writer - Anthony Leather
- News Correspondent - Gareth Halfacree
- Sales Support and Trafficking - Hiren Laxman
- Developer - Jamie Cuthill
External links
References
- ^ Harris, Wil. bit-tech takes a giant leap, bit-tech.net, 3rd June 2005
- ^ Emeran, Riyad TrustedReviews and bit-tech Get It Together, TrustedReviews, 1st June 2005
- ^ Tim Smalley [1], bit-tech.net, 20th October 2008
- ^ Harris, Wil. Changing times at bit-tech, bit-tech.net, 9th February 2007
- ^ Bit-tech supremo steps down, shocka, The Inquirer, 8th February 2007
- ^ Smalley, Tim. Bit-tech: The Next Generation, bit-tech.net, 6th April 2007
- ^ Bennett, Kyle. Benchmarking Future, HardOCP, June 2003
- ^ Apples vs. Oranges, Beyond3D Forums, October 2004.
- ^ Harris, Wil. An open letter to the graphics ecosystem, bit-tech.net, October 2005
- ^ Chester, Edward. The Trials of Testing, TrustedReviews, March 2007
- ^ Bennett, Kyle. bit-tech Drops Real World Testing, HardOCP, 16th May 2007
- ^ BlackMesa Mod. [2]
- ^ Anemone Mod. [3]
- ^ Macro Black.[4]
- ^ GOO.[5]
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