A review you cannot reproduce is an opinion wearing a lab coat. This page documents exactly how we test, so you can check our work, challenge our numbers and trust our verdicts.
Our principles
Three rules govern everything we publish in the Reviews section. First, we test the products people actually buy: retail units whenever possible, never cherry picked golden samples. Second, every number we publish is the average of at least three runs on a documented test bench. Third, no review carries an invented score: we publish measured data and a written verdict, never a fabricated rating.
The test bench
Our primary bench pairs a current generation X3D processor with fast DDR5, a flagship reference cooled graphics card and a clean operating system image refreshed between product categories. Component reviews swap one variable at a time. Drivers, firmware, operating system build and ambient temperature are logged for every test session.
Benchmark protocols
Processors
CPU testing combines synthetic throughput suites, rendering and encoding workloads, compile tests and a twelve game suite at 1080p and 1440p with a flagship GPU to isolate the processor. We report averages and 1 percent lows, because frame pacing is what your eyes actually feel.
Graphics cards
GPU reviews run raster and ray tracing suites at 1440p and 4K, plus thermal and acoustic loops. Sustained clock behavior is measured over thirty minute loops, not thirty second bursts. Power draw is measured at the wall and at the card.
Storage
Storage reviews weight sustained and mixed workloads over peak sequential numbers, including post-cache write behavior, thermal throttling points and real world transfer sets.
Handhelds and peripherals
Handhelds are tested on battery, not plugged in, because that is the product you are buying. Peripherals get a minimum of two weeks of daily use before we write a word of verdict.
Verdicts and ethics
Review samples are returned or donated after testing. Manufacturers see our reviews when you do. Affiliate links, when present, are disclosed at the top of the article per our Terms of Use. If we get a number wrong, we retest and correct the article visibly.
Questions about our process? Contact the lab and we will answer.