Question Are you a brand loyalist?

[SHaines]

With tech evolving every day, we're seeing big leaps forward in the tech we take for granted. For the most part, we tend to pick the best available item, regardless of brand. However, some of us may still have some preferences for specific items.

Do you consider yourself a brand loyalist for any of your tech? If so, why that brand?

For me, I've broken the habit of buying Sony headphones every single time I upgrade. When I was younger, Sony was the only name brand I could afford, so I just got used to using their equipment for pretty much anything related to music. I did use them pretty much exclusively for about 30 years though.

How about you?

 

[Unolocogringo]

LOL!

Oh hey... Someone that's been on here almost as long as me.

I have actually been here a lot longer than my join date.
With forum changes and a name change I ended up with that join date.
For some reason a lot of us ended up with a DEC 31 2007 join date but I have forum post that date back to 2000.
And first found Toms in the fall of 96.
My member number is 882. Yours is 111884 to give an Idea.

 

[Nightwielder]

Yeah, for sure. I'm ROG/Corsair for PC stuff. CPU and such I choose Intel and Nvidia because it's what I'm used to.

I'm all into good brands that have good products and support. That's why I love Shure and hate Lenovo and Skullcandy.

 

[Endre]

With tech evolving every day, we're seeing big leaps forward in the tech we take for granted. For the most part, we tend to pick the best available item, regardless of brand. However, some of us may still have some preferences for specific items.

Do you consider yourself a brand loyalist for any of your tech? If so, why that brand?

For me, I've broken the habit of buying Sony headphones every single time I upgrade. When I was younger, Sony was the only name brand I could afford, so I just got used to using their equipment for pretty much anything related to music. I did use them pretty much exclusively for about 30 years though.

How about you?

Yes.
I am loyal to the brands that I had great experiences with.

Regarding PCs I’d go with these:
OS: Microsoft Windows
GPU: Nvidia (Gigabyte)
Motherboards: Gigabyte
Memory: Kingston HyperX
PSU: Corsair
SSD: Samsung
Cases: CoolerMaster
Sound Cards: Focusrite

CPU:
I was a big fan of Intel, I own an i7-9700K, but I’d choose AMD if I were to build a new PC now!

 

[jonnyguru]

I'm sure you "LOVE LOVE LOVE" enlight power supplies too!

Their AT power supplies? Sure! Those were awesome!!!

 

[Deicidium369]

Hmm I wonder why noctua still remains so damn pricey for years now but it works flawlessly. >_>

As for myself not really a brand loyalist, long as the product and service techs are as good as they say they are.
I'm pretty much game for it, however too many rma complaints, many failure tech from a certain company.
I tend to stay away from it, especially when money is not always there. :/

Noctua just works - not like the fins fall off over time - just the fan - simplicity for such an important part of a high perf build.

 

[Deicidium369]

Their AT power supplies? Sure! Those were awesome!!!

Back in the dark ages of IRQs and DMA - PC Power & Cooling power supplies were the best of the best - somewhere around my win98 build they changed - went from super heavy to being quite light - and blew taking my CPU and motherboard and memory with it.

 

[Deicidium369]

Yes.
I am loyal to the brands that I had great experiences with.

Regarding PCs I’d go with these:
OS: Microsoft Windows
GPU: Nvidia (Gigabyte)
Motherboards: Gigabyte
Memory: Kingston HyperX
PSU: Corsair
SSD: Samsung
Cases: CoolerMaster
Sound Cards: Focusrite

CPU:
I was a big fan of Intel, I own an i7-9700K, but I’d choose AMD if I were to build a new PC now!

Other than the PSU and Case - nice build. Can't ever go wrong with ?Gigabyte.. Never used Kingston memory, but I am sure it works as well as anything.

I have actually been here a lot longer than my join date.
With forum changes and a name change I ended up with that join date.
For some reason a lot of us ended up with a DEC 31 2007 join date but I have forum post that date back to 2000.
And first found Toms in the fall of 96.
My member number is 882. Yours is 111884 to give an Idea.

weird nerd flex but whatever

 

[DudeBDR]

With tech evolving every day, we're seeing big leaps forward in the tech we take for granted. For the most part, we tend to pick the best available item, regardless of brand. However, some of us may still have some preferences for specific items.

Do you consider yourself a brand loyalist for any of your tech? If so, why that brand?

For me, I've broken the habit of buying Sony headphones every single time I upgrade. When I was younger, Sony was the only name brand I could afford, so I just got used to using their equipment for pretty much anything related to music. I did use them pretty much exclusively for about 30 years though.

How about you?

As someone who has recently switched from Intel to AMD for CPU and from EVGA to Gigabyte for GPU and from ASUS to Gigabyte for Mobos (probably about to swap back though). I guess not. But I do only Use Logitech perifs and WD for storage and Crucial for memory. so slightly, something more than others and on other things, not at all.

 

[ankit213506]

Sometimes we select brand & pay more bucks, whereas you can buy the same products at less price. But sometimes we should go for a brand of some products. It totally depends upon you. you can save the money if you have good knowledge about components & all

 

[bit_user]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Enlight cases and Number Nine graphics cards.

IIRC, Number Nine had legendary 2D cards, but then they totally botched the 3D transition. I was so disappointed.

 

[onespeedbiker]

A long time ago I was always looking for ways to save money, which often resulted in having to upgrade to something that worked better or what I had wanted to begin with. There is an old saying, always buy what you really want because you that's what you'll end up with anyway. So now when I find a brand that works I tend to stick with it and I find it usually costs less in the long run.

 

[bit_user]

RAM - Kingston

Yup. Also, Mushkin and Crucial.

Mushkin gave me a no-hassle return, when I sent them a photo of memtest finding a couple errors on the second pass, with some of their RAM. That was probably > 10 years ago, I should add. All of their RAM I've bought since then (maybe 2 kits) has tested fine.

I did have one slightly bad experience with Crucial's online compatibility tool, which checks compatibility with the motherboard and not necessarily the CPU. So, it recommended 1.35V RAM for use on my Sandybridge board, but the CPU actually wanted 1.5V. Consequently, I had to "overclock" the RAM to run it at the rated speed. When I contacted them about it, their excuse was that 1.35V was supported on Ivy Bridge CPUs with that motherboard, so it was technically within spec for the board. And, by the time I figured all of this out, I could no longer get the equivalent 1.5V RAM.

For USB thumb drives, I always used to do well with Kingston. I haven't bought any for quite a while, though.

Aftermarket filters - Demciflex

Wow, I didn't know that was a thing.

 

[bit_user]

most likely am done buying any CPU until something like the C2Q or Bloomfield equivalent improvement occurs.

Good luck with that. I'm guessing your next CPU won't be x86, then.

 

[bit_user]

Home networking equip - Netgear. I just named the one I'm currently using.

This is what I'm using for a wifi router, and one of my criteria was not to buy anything with a Chinese SoC.

Netgear really did cripple the configuration a little too much, though. I wonder if it was to maintain some kind of market segmentation between residential and commercial products. It doesn't even let me assign static IPs!

Security camera - Arlo. I picked up the Arlo Q a few years back on a black Friday sale. I really like the free (limited) cloud storage for the life of the device.

Let's hope it doesn't meet an early demise, when they decide they no longer want to pay for it.

 

[bit_user]

For me, I've broken the habit of buying Sony headphones every single time I upgrade. When I was younger, Sony was the only name brand I could afford, so I just got used to using their equipment for pretty much anything related to music. I did use them pretty much exclusively for about 30 years though.

That's a funny story, because 30 years ago is probably around when Sony really started to have some brand cachet and become a premium brand. For quite a while, I felt their products were overpriced for what you got.

I'm only now starting to come back to them (aside from a PS1 and PS3), specifically in the noise cancellling headphones arena.

 

[Schlachtwolf]

Asus
Corsair
AMD
Samsung
AOC monitors, I have my second one now and are great value for what you get here in Europe.
Solid parts for any build imo.

 

[bit_user]

The two motherboard manufacturers left that I trust the most, Supermicro and Tyan, don't build workstation type boards anymore.

Um, wut?

https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboards/workstation-boards

I've used Linux for years myself, but I've seen the strange problems people are having these days. Yikes!

Such as?

Aureal came up with a real breakthrough in sound cards a while back,

Yes, a while.

With stuff like this going on, it's kinda hard to be brand loyal anymore.

If that's your most recent example, I'm guessing you're longing for the days when you could just buy IBM products and be done with it.

 

[bit_user]

Cougar 120mm PWM fans

I bought a 120 mm and 140 mm Cougar fan, like 7-8 years ago, and they both made a clicking noise and felt a little unbalanced. After that, I switched to Noctua and never looked back.

 

[bit_user]

But I do only Use Logitech perifs

Oh yeah, every pointing device (mouse & tracball) I've bought for the last 25 years has probably been Logitech.

...with the lone exception of an il-fated Gyration "air mouse", I got around 2004. That was pretty awesome for HTPC, while it worked. Here's the modern equivalent:

https://www.gyration.com/products/air-mouse-elite/

If the reliability problems are fixed and I still needed one, I'd give them a second chance.

 

[mihen]

Totally a brand loyalist for AMD, MSI, inWin, Seasonic, LG.

 

[techngro]

I used to be. For a while I only bought Samsung phones (S2, Note, Note 3, Note 4). Then I bought a couple of other manufacturers. Now I'm back to Samsung (A70). But I would consider other manufacturers more readily now.

 

[Colif]

Every single monitor I have owned since 1999 has been made by Samsung. my last 4 mobile phones have also been made by them. Everytime I upgrade mobiles I do look at alternatives and then end up with a Galaxy.
My last 4 motherboards have been Asus.
My last 2 sets of 5.1 speakers have come from Logitech (that covers 20 years)
My last 2 mice have been Steelseries. (thats 10 years)

I use a product until I find a fault with it. So far the above have all worked so why change? I am more likely to remember who not to use. Razer comes to mind.

I had about 4 Sony Walkman + one of their mp3 players, so I could say half the headphones I have used in the past 40 years were Sony too. I only moved away from them in recent years and use Sennheiser wireless headphones now. The Sony ones were out of my price range.

 

[timmllnsw]

Um, wut?

https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboards/workstation-boards


Such as?


Yes, a while.


If that's your most recent example, I'm guessing you're longing for the days when you could just buy IBM products and be done with it.

Don't quit your day job then. There used to be a lot more manufacturers. I mean a lot more. There was one mobo brand, HSB Labs, who created killer products. No, things weren't as fast as they are now, but you could actually see a visible difference in your builds. Now it's just a steady push on OC, not nearly as much thought on throughput. Now I'm not saying this is anybody's fault or it's like anybody lacks ability. Far from it. This is just the world that's been left for the moment is all. The greedy folks screwed it up, but they're almost outa here. There are plenty of sharp cookies who'll bring everything roaring back as soon as they get the chance. Just watch, you'll see. It's a regular pattern that always repeats .............. in everything.

But right now they do have things screwed up. I hate that. They don't need to do things that way. There's plenty for everybody. But <sigh>. some folks are just that way. Oh well ..................

Things will liven back up in a few years.

 

[RARRAF]

Cooling - Noctua
Motherboards - Asus
Memory - whatever is fastest look on toms have 3600 Patriot
Gpu - EVGA I had one go wrong and sent me a good replacement
Storage - whatever is the best for my use and has a price that is reasonable
Psu - EVGA

 

[Flayed]

Yes it has to be Heinz ketchup