From There to Here, and Beyond
by Dr. Ian Cutress on February 18, 2022 9:50 AM EST- Posted in
- Site Updates
I’ll be the first to admit, I had no history with AnandTech before I joined. It was by sheer chance, meeting one of the writers at an overclocking event, that led me to first become a reader, then a writer, to what has become my career in journalism. If you’re new to AnandTech then welcome! It’s been my home for over a decade, where we’ve always had the goal of pushing the boundaries for all things technical and engineering-related. For all the old hands - I know many of you work at the companies we report on around the industry, and we’ve been forever glad for your continued support and interactions. Long may it continue, especially in an industry that is slowly consolidating around a few key players, both in technical and publishing – for as long as the audience demands it, AnandTech will aim to provide.
Personally, I was always into computers, but it was overclocking that got me into hardware. Not just getting more frames in my games, but actual competitive overclocking, trying to get the best scores in the world. People liken it to the Formula 1 or car tuning, when in reality it feels like drag racing – 8 hours of preparation for a 10 seconds quarter mile. Studying chemistry at the time, on the surface there seemed to be not much more than a little overlap, except for a desire to learn more about what I was doing, the why, and how it all worked. That oblivious-yet-determined manner led to Rajinder Gill, senior motherboard editor at the time, suggesting that Anand bring me on as a freelancer back in 2010. Initially with news, I transitioned into Rajinder’s role rather quickly after he left, and starting from the Sandy Bridge launch in early 2011, I spent the next five years reviewing motherboards at AnandTech as my day job after graduating my PhD. I still look back on my first proper motherboard review, the ASRock P67 Extreme4, with rose-tinted spectacles. It was a great board for the time, and I still have it in my collection.
That’s what got me to AnandTech, and after 11 years I feel the need to change, so I have decided to take up a new position in the industry. When Anand left in 2014, after 18 years at the helm, I was still quite green in my role and didn’t really take his words to heart at the time. Looking back at them today, I see a lot of parallels, even though I’ve never sat in that senior role. Since Anand left, I was promoted to Senior CPU Editor, and Ryan Smith has taken the Editor-in-Chief role with grace and poise – he’s consistently talked me down from a ledge when this industry has piled on, and all I’ve wanted to do is lash out! After Anand left, it was Ryan who brought me on as a full-time employee, and helped navigate AnandTech through two acquisitions, to where the brand currently sits today with Future. Despite being (roughly) the same age, Ryan has been a mentor and a director for a lot of the content I’ve written, for which I’m very thankful. I hope he knows how much it has meant over the years.
I’ve really enjoyed working at AnandTech. I love getting my teeth into the latest technical details, and getting advance briefings from the researchers never ceases to be a great pleasure of mine. It doesn’t matter whether that’s for an upcoming product, attending technical IEEE conferences, or for Hot Chips talk, or seeing inside the secret R&D room at Computex. In a lot of ways, my academic experience has overlapped with my coverage that I would never have predicted - we're on the cusp of finding out how we need More Than Moore's Law in the modern era. My travel in 2019 topped 200,000 miles, which doesn’t really bother me in the slightest, as I’ve been able to meet and discuss with key industry movers and shakers. A crowning moment was talking AMD into making its 64-core Threadripper into a better price the evening before the announcement. Or biting one of Intel’s 10nm wafers. Being able to travel around and visit companies has shown me just how many amazing people and stories there are in our industry, and it’s a shame there aren’t enough hours in the day to focus on them all, as I know a lot of you would want to hear about them. I hope I've also been able to bring a little bit of humor and fun to my content too.
If there’s one thing that has remained through all that time, it’s the dedication of AnandTech’s writers to provide as many detailed technical write-ups as we can. Over the years I’ve worked with some incredible talent, especially Andrei, and I’ve managed individuals that I’ve seen improve leaps and bounds, especially Gavin who now leads our motherboard coverage. Big shoutouts go to the rest of the team over the years: Ryan, Brett, Ganesh, Billy, Kristian, Tracy, Anton, Joe, Matt, Matt, Josh, Nate, Rajinder, Gary, Virginia, and Howard. You’ve all meant a lot to me in so many different ways. Then there’s also the audience, who have always provided copious feedback, either here, on social media, or through our email conversations. Please don’t stop giving all of us constructive criticism on how to do our jobs better, regardless of where we are or who we work for.
As for me, I’m finding new ventures: a mixture of behind-the-scenes and public-facing opportunities, as well as continued consulting, but still within this tech industry that we love to analyze. We're on the cusp of finding out how we need More Than Moore's Law in the modern era. I’ll still be that loud voice on Twitter, criticizing every financial disclosure and presentation, and if you’re interested in what I’m doing next, then I’m likely to announce my future roles over there or on LinkedIn in short course. While today is my final day at AnandTech, don't be surprised if my name pops up again here over the next week or two, as I’ve prepared some content in advance, including our AMD Rembrandt review and an interview with Raja Koduri. Stay tuned for those.
To all of the readers over the years, thank you so much for this opportunity. I couldn’t have done it without you. I hope that you’ll continue to give all the AnandTech writers the support you have shown me.
~Ian
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smalm1 - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
Hi Ian,I've never posted before, but AnandTech and specifically your content was a driving force in pushing me into the semiconductor industry - you inspired me to turn a hobby / fascination into a career in an industry that I will hopefully find just as captivating. I'll be starting at AMD the coming summer, something the high school me, who dumpster dove and refurbished Optiplexes to keep myself busy, would not have considered a possibility. Thank you for the years of quality content, especially the interviews. I'm sure there are many others you have inspired in this way.
Sam A
psyclist80 - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
Best of luck Ian! May the cats be forever plentiful in your lifedrw392772 - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
Best wishes for the future for both the good doctor and AnandTech!faizoff - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
I've been following Anandtech religiously since the release of Sandy Bridge as it was the CPU I upgraded and loved the in-depth reading on the site. This site for me is still the defacto tech site that I peruse over and over again. I don't always comment but have visited several decades-old articles numerous times. Each and every one of them is a pleasure to read and I love the nitty-gritty details. With every passing writer, I am continuously amazed the standard that is still maintained at the site and that makes it forever my favorite place for all things PC hardware related.Good luck and all the best.
SydneyBlue120d - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
Thank you for your great work!HappyCracker - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
I have been a reader since 2001 according to my forum profile. In the last 21 years, this site has been nearly a daily read for insight and long-form articles. I am personally not a fan of 'everything must be a video' we have these days because maybe I'm old or I just don't want the noise. In any case, thank you Ian, and the rest of the AT crew for continuing to produce in-depth pieces that are so lacking these days. I mean who is writing articles like Jon Stokes' CPU stories anymore?Best luck Ian and thanks for all the knowledge.
ezekiel68 - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
I've been with this site since the early days with Anand (though I don't post often) and I have to say -- you really filled your position(s) very well while here, Dr. Cutress. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors!zanon - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
Thank you so much for everything. It's been both informative and a pleasure reading your articles all these years, and the tech world has been richer and better grounded in fact for your efforts. You'll be missed here, but the creative juices need fresh fields sometimes too. Good luck!plopke - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
thx for the many years of awesome articles , goodluck with your new adventures.Oxford Guy - Friday, February 18, 2022 - link
Best wishes.