| URL | bit-tech.net |
|---|---|
| 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 have been totally integrated.
The website caters specifically for the computer hardware enthusiast market, providing reviews and articles on higher end hardware and 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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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 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 was not until April 2007[6] that Tim Smalley announced that he would be taking over as Editor with immediate effect. After Tim had successfully integrated the site into the Dennis Publishing technology portfolio, he stood down as Editor in April 2010[7] after launching a new consumer technology website at Dennis, Expert Reviews, at the start of the year. Alex Watson took over as bit-tech's Editor with immediate effect and was replaced by James Gorbold in December 2010.
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.[8][9][10][11]
bit-tech continues to expand its hardware content in 2009, whilst remaining committed to its enthusiast style in conjunction with its sister title Custom PC magazine.
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]
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. Video 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 video game reviews are typically much longer than reviews from other sites, though console reviews are a more traditional length.
bit-tech employs a percentage scoring system with 'Approved' and 'Premium' awards. Unlike many review sites, bit-tech uses the full range of this scale and scores poor games harshly, with 50% used to represent average games. 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 site and magazine are written by the same editorial team.
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.
As of 2011 bit-tech's games section has been rebranded as bit-gamer and has begun to be spun off into a separate games website.
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