Post by solocityElectricCyan on Oct 16, 2016 16:00:58 GMT -5
After years of buying hardware from different vendors, I have come to notice that certain vendors sell products with higher failure rates and lower quality between their competitors. I have avoided buying from certain companies because I would hear other people mentioning they are inferior, only to find out their hardware works really well. Crucial for instance always had bad reviews. Then Puggles bought an SSD from them and it turned out to be the fastest one, and reliable. In this thread, I will be sharing my experiences with different hardware manufacturers, while also reading your contributions. This should help us when we are determining what hardware to buy in the future.
Note that we're only talking about our experiences here. Not all hardware is built the same, and even good brands can release faulty products. We are exploring trends that can be the result of consistent poor QA within companies or any other factors influencing the final quality of the products they sell.
Razer [Crappy and don't support their products]
mouse - Deathadder elite: double click issues like crazy and the rubber peeled off the mouse
Headphones - Kraken 7.1 V2 - don't even support it and have to use an older driver. The left ear has this bleedingly high pitched sound coming out of it. It's better for me to drop these products. They sound like dollar store headphones.
Razer Sphex V2 Gaming Mousepad: Since there are no electronic components this mousepad is great.
ADATA [AVOID]
SSD - Bought one because of the rep at Canada Computers. He recommended it. After installing the SSD, I had terrible network connectivity issues on a fresh install of Windows. This one, I can't explain, but once I replaced it with a different SSD, everything worked fine. I will be staying away from this company. UPDATE (2017-07-17): My office made me buy an ADATA drive and it was defective. Fuck ADATA. UPDATE (2017-11-01) The drive they replaced it with was also defective - getting BSOD every hour now. I hate this company.
Anker
USB C to HDMI adapter - failed after a couple of years. I only started using it recently and the Anker rep was like o thx for telling us it helps our statistics but we won't replace it for you.
Phone Battery - This actually gave my Note 4 a significant boost to battery life and performance. No idea why or how
USB multi-port 120V to 5.0V - I'm using this as a USB charger for my phones/headphones etc. Works as expected and has a clean signal.
MicroUSB Cables - Strong, well-built cables, recommended. Had one break after a month and they sent out a new one. Had everything done within 2 weeks.
Portable Battery - heavier and bigger than most other manufacturers. It's been reliable though.
Dashcam - It's a few years old now and still works. Haven't thought about it at all.
Asus
Motherboards - I used to have a lot of faith in this company, but I always seem to have trouble with their motherboards. My Sabertooth x79 has boot issues, and the Z170-A motherboards I bought for work don't give you instant boot-ups with SSDs. It takes just as long as with an older hard drive.
Corsair [Avoid Storage Products and Power Supplies]
SSDs - SSD performance is on the low-end, and I've had a 60GB SSD from the earlier days fail on me. Would not recommend.
Computer Case - Corsair has by-far the best computer cases I've seen. Very well made, tool-free and look sleek unlike the other brands.
RAM - Never had an issue with their RAM, seems to be pretty reliable
USB Flash drive - Bought one, it failed.
Power Supply - 3/3 of their PSUs bought over the years failed. Either the fan started to rattle, or they created constant surges that were blocked by the motherboard. Terrible PSUs
Dell
Desktops - They're better than HP and other companies that sell desktops, but they're proprietary and need to be replaced every 3-4 years because of obsoletion. Easy to work inside, but again, proprietary.
Laptops - Their Latitude line is pretty good because they include the pointing stick and often have better video cards. They're also extremely easy to service.
Monitors - They are among the best when it comes to monitors. I highly recommend their displays.
EVGA [Avoid if you can]
June 1 2020 update:
The PSU which I received was causing so many problems on my PC for years that I had no idea about. I just assumed my PC performance absorbed. It' been replaced with a be quiet! unit and everything is so much better. Holy crap. Also the RTX2070 Super I got from them doesnt sync its RGB with my asus aura which is kind of a bummer.
These guys usually rebrand components.
Power Supply - bought a 750W Gold plus power supply from them. Great build quality and modular choices, but my unit failed. After a lengthy RMA procedure, I received a new one and it has been working ever since.
GPU - I've had a fair number of video cards from them. Some of them failed, but as long as you register your card on time, they'll RMA it for you no problem. Otherwise they don't give a shit about you or your video card. My current GTX 970 works as expected, but I notice a high pitched coil whine from the GPU under load. It's fairly loud.
Gigabyte
Motherboards - A brand I hated before, but they are quick to boot up on SSDs. Starting to look here.
Hitachi
My 1TB Hitachi Deskstar has been in my desktop since 2006, running almost every day. I've heard bad things about the Deathstar, but so far, I'm impressed with it.
Intel
June 1 2020 update: So what I wrote earlier is kinda cringe but I will continue with Intel because I don't like AMD.
I believe Intel is the only legitimate computer CPU brand and I will continue to stick with them because they release refined CPUs that work efficiently. They do the research. However, I notice a great deal of coil whine on many older computers running i3, i5, and i7. It's something to watch out for.
Kingston
USB 3.0 flash drive - only like 40 MB/s RW, nothing special but it works.
SSD - 480 GB SSDNOW - only about 200-300 MB/s RW, but haven't had any other issues
RAM - Never had an issue with Kingston RAM. They seem to be the most reliable brand for it.
Lexar [AVOID]
32 GB MicroSD card - randomly corrupted files on the disk, on 2 different units. Lost pictures and videos I took of Ewan Dobson performing live, so I was very annoyed about this, but I managed to recover some of the pictures at least when I discovered what the problem was. I had a friend at work with another MicroSD card from them which failed. You'll be enticed by their low prices, but I promise you, it will die and you will lose your data.
Logitech
Mouse - Great tracking, an abundance of features in most of them. Only caveat is that they fail after about 3-4 years, forcing you to buy a new one. Either single clicks are registered twice, ending up with a double click, or other weird problems like that. The scrollwheel also tends to misfire , registering an input before the actual click happens, or way after.
z623 speakers - Convenient inputs, good for consumer use. I've always had issues with the volume knob though. If you move it, you will hear explosions coming from the speakers.
Microsoft
Mouse - Never, ever get a mouse from Microsoft. The tracking is awful on every single one and they are completely unusable.
Samsung
40" Smart TV - Good TVs, but they have to be calibrated. The UI absorbs and the harmonious/inspirational music they play with the menus is extremely tacky. It came with all of the functions I was looking for in a TV though. Network streaming, good app support.... that's about it
Phones - Galaxy S3, Note 4. Hardware is ok, software is horrible. Too much bloatware and too many notifications. To get a good Android experience, you have to root.
SSD - I have a 500GB Samsung EVO 850. It runs well, 350MB/s RW, no issues for a year
Colour Laser Printer - This has to be my favourite thing about Samsung. I had a colour laser printer made by them, and it just worked. There was no BS.
Sandisk
32GB MicroSD card - This was my replacement for the Lexar - and it worked ok.
Seagate [AVOID]
Most of the PCs in my office were purchased around 2012-2013. Unfortunately the IT members working at the time bought Seagate hard drives for all of them and now at the 2016 mark, they are dropping like flies. I have had 3 of them fail so far, and I'm anticipating more soon.
Note: When formatting a hard drive/installing Windows on them, make sure they are running a GPT partition style, not MBR. This way, it's possible to get a warning that the hard drive is about to fail within 2 weeks of the failure.
Sony
128 GB MicroSD card - works wonderfully
Thermaltake [Reliable]
I've never had a Thermaltake PSU fail. They are highly reliable and get the job done. Great safety features too.
Their computer cases are pretty bad though. The rear expansion slots usually have break-off sheet metal instead of the replaceable kinds. Same with the front expansion bays. Also they're ugly.
Western Digital
I've had older WD drives fail, but they are pretty affordable, and much more reliable than most of the competition (seagate)
Will update later.
Note that we're only talking about our experiences here. Not all hardware is built the same, and even good brands can release faulty products. We are exploring trends that can be the result of consistent poor QA within companies or any other factors influencing the final quality of the products they sell.
Razer [Crappy and don't support their products]
mouse - Deathadder elite: double click issues like crazy and the rubber peeled off the mouse
Headphones - Kraken 7.1 V2 - don't even support it and have to use an older driver. The left ear has this bleedingly high pitched sound coming out of it. It's better for me to drop these products. They sound like dollar store headphones.
Razer Sphex V2 Gaming Mousepad: Since there are no electronic components this mousepad is great.
ADATA [AVOID]
SSD - Bought one because of the rep at Canada Computers. He recommended it. After installing the SSD, I had terrible network connectivity issues on a fresh install of Windows. This one, I can't explain, but once I replaced it with a different SSD, everything worked fine. I will be staying away from this company. UPDATE (2017-07-17): My office made me buy an ADATA drive and it was defective. Fuck ADATA. UPDATE (2017-11-01) The drive they replaced it with was also defective - getting BSOD every hour now. I hate this company.
Anker
USB C to HDMI adapter - failed after a couple of years. I only started using it recently and the Anker rep was like o thx for telling us it helps our statistics but we won't replace it for you.
Phone Battery - This actually gave my Note 4 a significant boost to battery life and performance. No idea why or how
USB multi-port 120V to 5.0V - I'm using this as a USB charger for my phones/headphones etc. Works as expected and has a clean signal.
MicroUSB Cables - Strong, well-built cables, recommended. Had one break after a month and they sent out a new one. Had everything done within 2 weeks.
Portable Battery - heavier and bigger than most other manufacturers. It's been reliable though.
Dashcam - It's a few years old now and still works. Haven't thought about it at all.
Asus
Motherboards - I used to have a lot of faith in this company, but I always seem to have trouble with their motherboards. My Sabertooth x79 has boot issues, and the Z170-A motherboards I bought for work don't give you instant boot-ups with SSDs. It takes just as long as with an older hard drive.
Corsair [Avoid Storage Products and Power Supplies]
SSDs - SSD performance is on the low-end, and I've had a 60GB SSD from the earlier days fail on me. Would not recommend.
Computer Case - Corsair has by-far the best computer cases I've seen. Very well made, tool-free and look sleek unlike the other brands.
RAM - Never had an issue with their RAM, seems to be pretty reliable
USB Flash drive - Bought one, it failed.
Power Supply - 3/3 of their PSUs bought over the years failed. Either the fan started to rattle, or they created constant surges that were blocked by the motherboard. Terrible PSUs
Dell
Desktops - They're better than HP and other companies that sell desktops, but they're proprietary and need to be replaced every 3-4 years because of obsoletion. Easy to work inside, but again, proprietary.
Laptops - Their Latitude line is pretty good because they include the pointing stick and often have better video cards. They're also extremely easy to service.
Monitors - They are among the best when it comes to monitors. I highly recommend their displays.
EVGA [Avoid if you can]
June 1 2020 update:
The PSU which I received was causing so many problems on my PC for years that I had no idea about. I just assumed my PC performance absorbed. It' been replaced with a be quiet! unit and everything is so much better. Holy crap. Also the RTX2070 Super I got from them doesnt sync its RGB with my asus aura which is kind of a bummer.
These guys usually rebrand components.
Power Supply - bought a 750W Gold plus power supply from them. Great build quality and modular choices, but my unit failed. After a lengthy RMA procedure, I received a new one and it has been working ever since.
GPU - I've had a fair number of video cards from them. Some of them failed, but as long as you register your card on time, they'll RMA it for you no problem. Otherwise they don't give a shit about you or your video card. My current GTX 970 works as expected, but I notice a high pitched coil whine from the GPU under load. It's fairly loud.
Gigabyte
Motherboards - A brand I hated before, but they are quick to boot up on SSDs. Starting to look here.
Hitachi
My 1TB Hitachi Deskstar has been in my desktop since 2006, running almost every day. I've heard bad things about the Deathstar, but so far, I'm impressed with it.
Intel
June 1 2020 update: So what I wrote earlier is kinda cringe but I will continue with Intel because I don't like AMD.
I believe Intel is the only legitimate computer CPU brand and I will continue to stick with them because they release refined CPUs that work efficiently. They do the research. However, I notice a great deal of coil whine on many older computers running i3, i5, and i7. It's something to watch out for.
Kingston
USB 3.0 flash drive - only like 40 MB/s RW, nothing special but it works.
SSD - 480 GB SSDNOW - only about 200-300 MB/s RW, but haven't had any other issues
RAM - Never had an issue with Kingston RAM. They seem to be the most reliable brand for it.
Lexar [AVOID]
32 GB MicroSD card - randomly corrupted files on the disk, on 2 different units. Lost pictures and videos I took of Ewan Dobson performing live, so I was very annoyed about this, but I managed to recover some of the pictures at least when I discovered what the problem was. I had a friend at work with another MicroSD card from them which failed. You'll be enticed by their low prices, but I promise you, it will die and you will lose your data.
Logitech
Mouse - Great tracking, an abundance of features in most of them. Only caveat is that they fail after about 3-4 years, forcing you to buy a new one. Either single clicks are registered twice, ending up with a double click, or other weird problems like that. The scrollwheel also tends to misfire , registering an input before the actual click happens, or way after.
z623 speakers - Convenient inputs, good for consumer use. I've always had issues with the volume knob though. If you move it, you will hear explosions coming from the speakers.
Microsoft
Mouse - Never, ever get a mouse from Microsoft. The tracking is awful on every single one and they are completely unusable.
Samsung
40" Smart TV - Good TVs, but they have to be calibrated. The UI absorbs and the harmonious/inspirational music they play with the menus is extremely tacky. It came with all of the functions I was looking for in a TV though. Network streaming, good app support.... that's about it
Phones - Galaxy S3, Note 4. Hardware is ok, software is horrible. Too much bloatware and too many notifications. To get a good Android experience, you have to root.
SSD - I have a 500GB Samsung EVO 850. It runs well, 350MB/s RW, no issues for a year
Colour Laser Printer - This has to be my favourite thing about Samsung. I had a colour laser printer made by them, and it just worked. There was no BS.
Sandisk
32GB MicroSD card - This was my replacement for the Lexar - and it worked ok.
Seagate [AVOID]
Most of the PCs in my office were purchased around 2012-2013. Unfortunately the IT members working at the time bought Seagate hard drives for all of them and now at the 2016 mark, they are dropping like flies. I have had 3 of them fail so far, and I'm anticipating more soon.
Note: When formatting a hard drive/installing Windows on them, make sure they are running a GPT partition style, not MBR. This way, it's possible to get a warning that the hard drive is about to fail within 2 weeks of the failure.
Sony
128 GB MicroSD card - works wonderfully
Thermaltake [Reliable]
I've never had a Thermaltake PSU fail. They are highly reliable and get the job done. Great safety features too.
Their computer cases are pretty bad though. The rear expansion slots usually have break-off sheet metal instead of the replaceable kinds. Same with the front expansion bays. Also they're ugly.
Western Digital
I've had older WD drives fail, but they are pretty affordable, and much more reliable than most of the competition (seagate)
Will update later.
