That's so sad. Farewell and thanks for everything!
For me, the beginning of the end was when Anand and Brian Klug both moved to Apple. While I bet that they're doing great things there, I've been significantly less fascinated by new hardware, and in particular Apple hardware, ever since.
Shiny exteriors and magical features might appeal to many, but to me, somebody explaining in all detail what makes it work doesn't take anything away from the magic – quite the opposite.
This times 1000. I loved their deeply technical reviews and articles. I got hooked early on their CPU and GPU deep dives and their mobile deep dives in the 2010s.
I've been reading them since before my teenage years and they got me interested in the insides of tech enough for me to pursue and gain my degree in Computer Engineering. It definitely changed when Anand and Brian left, but end of an era now that the site is shutting down.
Of course they're doing great things, but my point is that they're trying hard to keep it a secret how they're doing them. Compare what Apple is revealing about their chips with what Intel used to present back when they were the market leader, for example.
Anandtech was great at exploring these secrets and presenting their findings in a great way. That's what I miss.
For me, the beginning of the end was when Anand and Brian Klug both moved to Apple. While I bet that they're doing great things there, I've been significantly less fascinated by new hardware, and in particular Apple hardware, ever since.
Shiny exteriors and magical features might appeal to many, but to me, somebody explaining in all detail what makes it work doesn't take anything away from the magic – quite the opposite.