Why don't reviewers analyze cards better?

[TaintedSquirrel]

Looking through reviews over the years it seems to be common practice to just take a few pictures of the sides/top/bottom of the cards and call it a day. There seem to be very few reviewers who actually remove heatsinks/shrouds and take pictures of the cooler and even the PCB. I usually have to dig through a dozen reviews to find ONE who has a good photo shoot with a video card. (TechPowerup does a good job).

Do reviewers have some kind of policy with GPU manufacturers to not show what the cards look like under their skirts? Don't want us to know elpida/hynix or the quality of their cooling?
It's most unsettling in reviews that praise amazing coolers but won't take the extra steps to show us what it actually looks like.

If they have a problem with it, they can mail me the card and I'll take 15 minutes out of my day to unscrew a few screws and snap some photos with my cell phone.
These people are PROFESSIONALS, shouldn't they WANT to see what it looks like? Shouldn't they assume we also want to see it? Just my rant for the day.

 

[The Mac]

Most cards are on loan, they cant do that because they have to return them.

 

[Rizen]

Most cards are on loan, they cant do that because they have to return them.

This.

Also, unless you are evaluating an aftermarket PCB design, all of the boards are going to feature relatively the same components. So for reference cards there isn't much of a reason to do a photoshoot of the card, since it will be physically identical to the reference cards which are usually posted around the internet.

 

[LordEC911]

Not to mention, you have about a week from once you get the card till the NDA expires.
Reviewers have to squeeze in about 300hours of work into less than a week, slight exaggeration but that is what it feels like when you have a looming deadline.
Taking the cooler off before you bench is a no-no. Taking it off afterwards means the card is nearly useless in any sort of comparison.

 

[FrgMstr]

Taking the cooler off before you bench is a no-no. Taking it off afterwards means the card is nearly useless in any sort of comparison.

Bingo!

 

[Haserath]

Any decent cooler must cool the memory and VRMs too, even reference cards cool them. It's difficult to find reviews that point out the cooling on the important components.