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?

 

[johann.text]

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?

AMD and AsRock. So tremendous. Love them. Brand loyalty is 100% me. I am loyal to AMD because I love red, and I have always loved everything AMD does, and their price points. AsRock because it is so easy and works well with AMD.

 

[_Treadstone]

Wouldn't particularly say that I have specific brand I'm 100% loyal to, I accept that most companies at some point will mess up. But I do have a few go-to brands for certain parts that have gained notoriety from the public and that I trust based on personal experiences with them. None of these are set in stone, and are bound to change eventually.

MoBo: MSi and ASUS right behind, though I will say that as a previous MSi X570, they really dropped the ball on the lower end X570 boards. Found it hard to think they dropped the ball this hard on the X570s.

CPU: If Intel does what is best for its consumers, and it fits my needs, I'll take it. Vice versa for AMD.

CPU Cooler: I haven't used anything other than Hyper 212. I've been really looking into Dark Rock and maybe Noctua for Air Coolers recently. Arctic for an AIO.

GPU: EVGA, without a doubt. Have heard overwhelming positive remarks about their cards from reviews, plenty of friends, and of course I've had nothing negative in regards to their cards. Outside of what had happened with the ACX 3.0 in the GTX 10XX series that burned up, they've been one of the most solid AIB partners for Graphics Cards. I'm open to MSi and Gigabyte too, but EVGA takes the cake for this one easily.

RAM: Being a Ryzen Owner, the past 3-ish years, I'm going G.Skill easily. But since RAM doesn't really go bad or rarely does, it hardly matters. I'd go Corsair, Crucial or hell, even HyperX.

HDD: I am definitely in the minority here, but Seagate drives have never failed me, and both in my current system 2 & 8TB 7200RPM are Seagate Drives. I've had 4 WDs in my lifetime, all have failed me within a year. So I'm definitely on the Seagate end of this.

SSD: The most popular is Samsung, and that's for good reason. But that isn't to say that there aren't any other good ones. Plenty of high quality brands that are much lesser known than Samsung.

Case: I don't have a go-to brand. Currently an owner of a Corsair, but I have my eyes on my next upgrade being either a Lian-Li, NZXT or Phantek Mid-ATX.

Mouse: I've been a Steelseries guy for a number of years, especially the Rival 300 being a mouse large enough for my hands. Logitech and Razer as well are 2 I'm looking into, and have heard great things about for a while now.

Keyboards: Outside of self-building a keyboard, which I am in no position to drop so much money into. I'm quite certain after spending hours at a Best Buy trying out different keyboards. I'm a Corsair guy for sure; these keyboards are really durable. Love my current K95 RGB Platinum MX Speed switches. Not without complaints for a while though, until they released the recent version that comes with PBT keycaps. May try a Ducky one day. Open to self building one.

Headset: Don't really believe too much in gamer branded headsets, having spent a lot of time trying other headsets at a local Microcenter. But I've been the owner of a HyperX Cloud II for close to 3+ years now and it's something I have no regrets about. I have heard some good things about Corsair as of late though. so these two may be the only "Gamer" brands I trust. Looking towards a Philips, Audio Technica, or Sennheiser as my next upgrade.

Monitor: It could be anything. As long as it provides 144hz+ Freesync/G-Sync compatibility, at least 24" 1080p and above, with adjustable height and tilt on the stand at a reasonable price.

PSU: If it works, it works. As long as it's 80+ rated, preferably Gold or above I'll research its reliability and give it a go.

 

[scodd]

I want to be, but sometimes even the things you love the most can put out some real <Mod Edit>. Glad AMD got the CPUs going, again, finally. Heck I had AMD 386-40s and even 486-DX2 120s way back. I wish I would have waited 9 months and picked up a 3900x or even 3950x instead of a 9700k, but the almost 8 year old 3930k I was running was a bit behind and I needed something faster. I think the 5700 XT is pretty nice for the price and hope the next round of AMD GPUs really impresses me. Almost there, so I will wait before I get another GPU and maybe by that time can put an entire AMD system together. Hook, line and sinker. Lead me. No wait. Follow me.

 

[Rdslw]

Only if quality is all over the place and I care.
I take cheappest pendrives with certain speed & size, any monitor with adobeRGB 70+ coverage, but after frying 2x gpu's (gigabytes) in 3M, Iearned to not cheapskate on PSU (but its not brand but tier loyalist), and GPU's are always EVGA.

Now I think about it, I might have something for bequiet PSU/coolers. Both end up without thinking in basket when I need one, and everyone else is checked toughly.

 

[bit_user]

Gonna be honest, never seems to work for me.

I have 2x Arctic F14 PWM 140mm fans at the front as intake and 2x Arctic F12 PWM 120mm fans as exhaust. Should have positive pressure since there are larger fans at the front

My case has a filter at the front and a PSU filter.

Still gets caked with dust in the inside

Are they all on the same PWM fan controller and set to spin up/down together?

Do you have a "blower-style" GPU?

Do you see any evidence of dust getting in through the cracks, such as dust buildup behind various holes or in the cracks, themselves?

Is one of your exhaust fans behind a tower-style CPU cooler, or is that possibly a separate source of effluent?

Have you tried unplugging or reducing the RPMs on one of your exhaust fans?

Finally, if you look at the size of the dust particles, is it super-fine dust that plausibly gets through the filter, or is it "dust bunnies" that must obviously have gotten in another way?

Regardless, thanks for the feedback. FWIW, I don't live somewhere that's very dusty. I've only had firsthand experience with my own setup, so that's the only experience I can relate. As I said, it's been a night-and-day difference for me, on multiple different cases.

 

[bit_user]

Ironically enough, there's a some Razer mice on Tom's Best Mice list...

Maybe they need to add some longevity testing to their reviews.

 

[bit_user]

That is what I was realizing as I pondered posting. Asus has done well for my main system, both their MBs and GPUs. I've used it all. Back when SETI1 was going strong, I would build systems with the best deals I could find, usually from the outdoor computer market on 3rd Saturdays in Dallas, TX.

The first PC I pieced together for myself was from parts at a computer fair. Kids, these days, are missing out on the joy of finding bargain bin deals and the excitement of taking the stuff home and seeing if it works.

...then, you find out you need a special VRM to make the CPU work with the mobo you bought, and have to wait 2 weeks for it to arrive in the mail.

OMG, the flashbacks! So much beige!

 

[Nobody-Important]

I operate on an internal ratings system. Efficiency is key and unquestioning loyalty to a brand is inefficient and irrational.
Bad ratings being more important than good ones to avoid frustration means that i care more about not buying from bad brands than buying from good ones.
So i'm a brand unloyalist.
Or something like that.

I used to be an ardent supporter and advocate of microsoft but i must say that they worked restlessly and tirelessly on erasing every bit of good will i had left over towards them, so now that is gone. They and AMD together were so helpful that if it was focused on one person instead of being dumb general policy it would be considered sabotage.

Apart from them the only brand i've had rateable experiences with was HP, and they were moderately good but not good enough for me to not consider other brands.
The rest of the brands i got things from i couldn't even name, because i shop by specs.

 

[ubercake]

Because of decades of past experience, I do have some loyalties:
Processor - Intel (solid and the de facto standard) though the AMD offerings over the last few years have me considering AMD again.
Cooling - Noctua for CPU and Case fans. I've been around the block with many different self-contained liquid and air solutions. The NH-D15 is my choice and has covered a couple different processors so far. I've replaced any case fan I've owned with Noctua's ugly beige fans.
Case - I like what Fractal Design offers. Usually smart designs that are easy to work within. Seem like their cases are designed by people that actually have to work with cases. Some companies are definitely not this way.
MB - Asus with Gigabyte a close second. One brand of MB I won't touch again due to my own past experience: MSI.
GPU - Nvidia. Any producer. I've had luck with them all. Haven't touched an AMD/ATI GPU since their 5000 series due to terrible drivers and customer support (at the time). I can't compromise with the GPU. The EVGA buy-up program is definitely something to consider when purchasing. It's what got me from the 1080 Ti to the 2080 Ti.
Mechanical HDDs - Always WD though I will not buy and won't own a mechanical HDD for my own purposes ever again.
SSD - Just about any have treated me well. Intel, SanDisk and Samsung are those I'll seek out.
M.2 SSD - Samsung. I have 3 in my main rig. Nothing compares.
RAM - I'll use anyone's RAM. I've had luck with bargain G.skill as well as expensive Corsair and many other brands. It all does what is on the spec so I will probably never pay for the expensive stuff again.
PSU - Seasonic though their pricing for comparative competitive products has me thinking about trying something else.
Mouse and Keyboard - Corsair
Headset/Headphones - I tend toward Sennheiser.
Speakers - Bose
Monitor - Dare I say Alienware? I have the 3440x1440 G-sync 120Hz IPS model. It has far less backlight bleed than the 165Hz 1440p G-sync IPS monitors I had from Asus and Acer. While I would probably never consider paying for Alienware PCs or laptops, I'm really impressed with this Alienware product and I got it for a relative bargain.
Fitness Watch - Garmin

 

[spdragoo]

100% brand loyalist, no. But there are certain brands that I give more weight to when making purchases:

• Mobile devices: I stick to Apple. Not because I think their hardware, ecosystem, or apps are necessarily superior to the other offerings out there, though. Mainly, it's because when we first decided to buy MP3 players years ago, our first choice was the iPod Touch (4th-gen). We bought 2 (1 for me, 1 for my wife), & we still have them. Because of our iPods, our first smartphones we purchased to replace our Tracfone models were iPhones (iPhone 6, to be exact). From the perspective of maintaining our music library so it's accessible to all of the devices, to our first smartphone upgrades (went from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 11), it's been a much easier experience just staying with Apple. So when we look at our next smartphone upgrade (probably 3-4 years in the future), we'll most likely stick with Apple.
• CPU brand: For laptops, I don't care so much. When it comes to desktop PCs, though, I usually go with AMD. My first 2 systems were prebuilt models, but even then I was able to easily replace the CPUs as needed. Although I love playing games, I've never had a top-line gaming system because a) my PC is used for a lot of different tasks (including work & personal for both me & my wife), & without top-line monitors there was never a reason to need top-line GPUs...which meant mid-range CPUs have always worked well for me. Say what you want about AMD, but when I can save money on the CPU & motherboard (or even use that extra money for extra performance somewhere else), AMD's always seemed like the better choice financially.
• TVs: Not so much a particular brand preference here. But I do prefer to choose brands that are more well-known -- Sanyo, LG, etc. If I haven't heard of the brand before, I don't care how good the price looks.

 

[jcmatoskx]

I'm definitely a brand loyalist of GoPro cameras. It's a fairly straighforward story. Got my first GoPro Hero 3 Black and 1 week after I got it, I had it (unprotected, not on the case) on the middle of the street because we were making some sports takes (a car would pass there every hour maybe).
Well, how lucky I was, a car suddenly came, ignored our waves and passed with the wheel right on top of the camera. It got squeezed pretty badly but still works after all these years. I ended up getting a GoPro hero 7 just out of love for the brand, that is sitting unused in the shelf because I don't even have time (or friends) anymore to do silly stuff with it (sucks to be an adult )
Also, after my warranty was over already, my underwater casing got broken, I sent them a message and they sent me a completely new one free of charge.
Couldn't help but become a fan of the brand.

Also ASUS, since I was a kid all the best quality/cost laptops were always ASUS and they always came out great.

 

[logainofhades]

I am on vehicles. I bleed Ford blue. For other things I am more of a brand avoider. I avoid Asus, due to their terrible customer service, and I despise Apple, as a company.

 

[ProgamerIV]

Depends. In smartphones, I am. I used to have all the HTC flagships since the Desire HD to the One M9, and that's when they went bad. Since then, OnePlus only. I use a Samsung as my company phone and I really don't like it.

In the PC world, I have some preferences but I wouldn't call myself a loyalist. I build many PCs as a hobby and as a side business, therefore I tried many different parts from different manufacturers, and made a few choices I always utilize with the systems I make.

For budget gamer builds (which I mostly make), I usually use the AMD RX 580 or RX 480, and always the Sapphire models, Nitro+ or Pulse. I have an old Sapphire R9 Fury Nitro in my PC (still doing fine with a 1080p monitor, even my RDR2 playthrough was absolutely great with it), and their cooling kinda made its way on the top of my list with this own GPU of mine. This is a very power-hungry card, a real heater, yet this cooler makes a fine job of keeping it relatively cool and really quiet. So yeah, with AMD GPUs, I always choose Sapphire.

With processors, I always liked AMD more, but had to admit Intel was the go-to manufacturer until Ryzen came out. Now it changed, so I almost always go AMD (most people do these days as far as I can tell).
But for the rest? I can't tell. I like to buy Arctic fans and CPU coolers since they offer great value. I also like Zalman's cheaper cases like the S2, S3 and S4, so I go with those quite often.

I think it just comes down to feeling comfortable. If I buy a Kingston memory module, I know it's gonna work and not fail on me for a long time. If I buy an FSP power supply, I know it's going to deliver the performance advertised. But if some other manufacturer starts to compete with the one I like and I see that it now holds better value, it doesn't take much persuasion for me to make the change.

 

[86zx]

I wouldn’t say I’m a brand loyalist but typically I go with msi motherboards and laptops and the rest Corsair. Neither have ever let me down and I’ve switched between amd and Intel over the years and between amd and Nvidia for graphics. I’ve also bounced between windows and Linux and macOS so I guess I’m not that particular. For media consumption I like macOS but for games windows hands down.

 

[scodd]

Noctua does have me on fans and cpu coolers. I even ordered a 40mm for an ICE tower on a Pi 4.

 

[Gman450]

I've had 5 Nvidia cards in the past (FX 5500 Ultra, 8400GS, GTS450, GTX 750 Ti, RTX 2060) so that kinda makes me a loyalist to them I guess. I've never gone AMD in the graphics department yet.

I've had 3 Intel CPUs as well (Pentium 4 HT, Intel C2D E7500, Intel i3 3220) but I broke off with them because of AMD's strong Ryzen CPUs. I have a 2600 at the moment and I'm super happy with it.

 

[VeePee]

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?

I have had a couple of HP products - all that worked quite well...so I have sort of stuck to them....But if an cheaper dell came out with similar specs...I could be turned...

Unlike OS environments - I think hardware changes are simpler.

Then again, I was a Windows Phone guy till 2019.....

 

[Deleted member 1560910]

It depends. If the Brand has treated me good them yes.

 

[bit_user]

Bad ratings being more important than good ones to avoid frustration means that i care more about not buying from bad brands than buying from good ones.

My approach to customer reviews on Amazon and Newegg is as follows:

1. Sum the 4 + 5 star reviews and the 1 + 2 star reviews. I then classify the first group as "X % like or love it", and the second group as "Y % dislike or hate it".
2. Based on this love vs. hate score and specs, I quickly narrow down my options to just 2 or 3.
3. I then go through the 1-star and 2-star reviews and figure out how many of them are from people who know what they're doing and have similar needs and expectations as I do.
4. Based on step 3, I might feel that some of the products were unfairly penalized and mentally adjust their score.
5. Finally, I go with the best love/hate ratio, using things like brand reputation and price as tie-breakers.

 

[James Gilbert]

With so many brands to pick from, its sometimes hard to find whats the best for you. I personally love to try new brands of components and hardware. I find this very useful to have an open mindset on the different brands since it allows us buyers to pick a component that suits our budget and preferences best. I also find that certain brands can have different characteristics and companies like to prioritise what they want their component to excel at. All in all if you go for any of the main popular brands they most likely won't let you down and you'll find that price probably has the biggest impact on what brand you choose.

 

[wolfhors3]

I only drink diet coke but that's a taste thing not brand loyalty. I buy the best value for the money when I have the ability to know and check the quality of what I buy. If it comes down to a question of trust, that's when I go to brand.

 

[bit_user]

I only drink diet coke but that's a taste thing not brand loyalty.

I went through a phase of that. I didn't even like Diet Coke, at first, but wanted to cut down on sugar. But then, I discovered it's almost addictive, and I'd be drinking Diet Cokes when I wouldn't normally even have a Coke.

Eventually, I dropped it and now I just have an occasional Coke Zero or Diet Barq's with foods I'm accustomed to having with soft drinks.

 

[GabeDG]

I tend to stick with what's working for me vs. what's new. So I've been sticking with AMD products across the board for most things except laptops.

 

[The WOG]

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?

I really buy the best products available from cases to motherboards and processors (Intel vs AMD) and of course memory, drives and power supply... The list goes on. But I do have some specific likes regarding components and peripherals. This includes the Aorus line from Asus. The Asus Aorus motherboards, graphics cards, and cooling solutions seem to be where I lean toward. I even like their latest NVMe. Perhaps a lot of that has not just to do with specs, but with the aesthetics of their products. None can match that. And there is the integrated WaterForce as an optional line that makes getting cooling to every component so easy. I also tend toward Seasonic, Sabrent and Teamgroup T-force products.

 

[hank-1]

I worked for IBM for 33 years, so I was loyal to IBM PCs, PS-1s, PS-2s, MicroChannel, Thinkpads, and then Lenova for a while, I also loved OS/2, obviously I have had to reevaluate my preferences! (LOL) Now I use Win-10 and Ubuntu and I like to build my own PCs with the best components that fit my budget (which is never enough). As for components, I'm still partial to Intel CPUs but I have used AMD processors to save a few bucks. I usually check this site when deciding on any components before I buy, to check specs and price (value for the $$ )