A somewhat bizarre and unexpected drama has been unfolding over the last couple of weeks between Linus Sebastian (LTT/LMG) and Steve Burke at Gamers Nexus. The two individuals and their respective sites have been well-known PC hardware reviewers for many years now. However, an LTT/LMG employee was recorded during a recent tour commenting on how its reviews differ from other sites like Gamers Nexus and Hardware Unboxed by using fresh benchmark data for every review instead of using older GPU data. This, in turn, prompted a response from Gamers Nexus who posted a 44-minute video unveiling a number of grievances with LTT but also expanding onto another, still ongoing, situation with a prototype GPU cooling solution from Billet Labs.
Per Gamers Nexus (via YouTube):
“This video is not monetized. This video covers our serious concerns regarding the data accuracy of Linus Media Group, including Linus Tech Tips, ShortCircuit, and TechQuickie, particularly as it relates to rushing content out the door to favor — by staff’s own admission — quantity over quality. As the company continues to expand into its LTT Labs direction, the importance of accurate data increases; however, even as ‘only’ entertainment, there are still certain responsibilities to the consumer and the manufacturers to report fairly (and to have defined corrections processes in place). We tried to approach this as objectively as possible and hope that viewers are able to listen to the evidence we present, particularly as it relates to significant and frequent data errors that now present in nearly every technical review video.”
In the above video, Steve breaks down a number of topics ranging from issues regarding reviews being rushed out too quickly as a quantity vs quality model seems to be happening, bad data, review errors for CPUs, GPUs, and PSUs, potential ethical concerns on numerous levels including the aforementioned prototype cooler from Billet Labs.
Review of Billet Labs cooler review goes completely off the tracks
If everything so far didn’t sound strange then the following goes right into full-on bizarre territory. A two-man-created company called Billet Labs which focuses on reinventing PC building submitted a prototype cooler for a GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. An LTT/LMG employee provided Linus with a GPU off the shelf for testing. At that moment, as caught on video, it was discovered that the GPU was actually a mislabeled RTX 4090, and Linus was obviously frustrated to find out they had one just sitting on the shelf but the team proceeded to conduct the review using the cooler with a GPU it was not designed for. As could be expected due to the manufacturing difference between the two GPUs, things did not go well for the cooler which resulted in a negative review of the cooler.
This was only the beginning of the drama for prototype as more was to come. At some point it was decided by LTT/LMG that it would be put up for auction but according to Billet Labs that was never agreed to by them. Additionally, there was no communication between the two regarding this until two to three hours after the above video from Gamers Nexus had been posted. Billet Labs thanked Steve for doing so and has since had some ongoing communications with Linus but those too are a bit convoluted, but Steve has vetted a timeline for them in another video response. He explains that the two have come to an agreement but in looking at the timeline it was a messy affair.
Evidently, the prototype had eventually been sold in a silent auction. LTT/LMG reportedly agreed to a “quote” value to reimburse Billet Labs but according to a response to GN, at the time on the matter, it said they never provided a quote only an estimated value. Billet has said that as of August 14, they have received another reply from Linus but have not yet responded back. They also go on to express gratitude to the entire community for its support during this stressful time.
Official Statement from Billet Labs (per Reddit):
“You, the PC community, are amazing. We’d like to thank you for your support, it means more than you can imagine.
Steve at Gamers Nexus has publicly shown his integrity, at the huge risk of backlash, and we have nothing but respect for him for how he’s handled himself, both publicly and when speaking directly to us.
…
Regarding LTT, we are simply going to state the relevant facts:
On 10th August, we were told by LTT via email that the block had been sold at auction. There was no apology.
We replied on 10th August within 30 minutes, telling LTT that this wasn’t okay, and that this was a £XXXX prototype, and we asked if they planned to reimburse us at all.
We received no reply and no offer of payment until 2 hours after the Gamers Nexus video went live on 14th August, at which point Linus himself emailed us directly.
The exact monetary value of the prototype was offered as reimbursement. We have not received, nor have we asked for any other form of compensation.
…
About the future of Billet Labs: We don’t plan to mourn our missing block, we’re already hard at work making another one to use for PC case development, as well as other media and marketing opportunities. Yes it sucks that the prototype has gone, it’s slowed us but has absolutely not stopped us. We have pre-orders for it, and plan to push ahead with our first production run as soon as we can.
We also have some exciting new products on our website that are available to buy now – we thank everyone who has bought them so far, and we can’t wait to see what you do with them.
We’re happy to answer any questions, but we won’t be commenting on LTT or the specifics of the email exchanges – we’re going to concentrate on making cool stuff, and innovative products (the Monoblock being just one of these).
…
We hope LTT implements the necessary changes to stop a situation like this happening again.
Peace out ✌
Felix and Dean
Billet Labs”
Linus Tech Tips posted its own response on its own forum which can be found here. It is far more lengthy and the following is only a small excerpt from it.
“There won’t be a big WAN Show segment about this or anything. Most of what I have to say, I’ve already said, and I’ve done so privately.
To Steve, I expressed my disappointment that he didn’t go through proper journalistic practices in creating this piece. He has my email and number (along with numerous other members of our team) and could have asked me for context that may have proven to be valuable (like the fact that we didn’t ‘sell’ the monoblock, but rather auctioned it for charity due to a miscommunication… AND the fact that while we haven’t sent payment yet, we have already agreed to compensate Billet Labs for the cost of their prototype). There are other issues, but I’ve told him that I won’t be drawn into a public sniping match over this and that I’ll be continuing to move forward in good faith as part of ‘Team Media’. When/if he’s ready to do so again I’ll be ready.”
Gamers Nexus on the defense
Steve does not hold back in defending Gamers Nexus’ approach to this, and other situations involving patterned behavior by corporations or individuals that cause harm to consumers. He emphasizes great disappointment in Linus’ numerous responses online, in LTT’s forums and it WAN shows, how Linus has dealt with these situations. Steve explains that Gamers Nexus does not normally reach out to corporations or individuals when damage has been done actively to consumers when it begins investigating such matters. This is due to said parties using prepared stating they are the victims, not the consumers.
There are many quotes and replies shown in the above videos, as well as in the LTT forums so those interested in more should check them out. An interesting side note is that this is all happening mere months after Linus Sebastian (LTT/LMG) said that he would be stepping down as CEO.