Brands

landbeforetimelover · **on:** February 06, 2009, 05:40:14 PM

I've decided to compile a list of good and bad brands for consumer electronics. Let's get started then.

Desktop Computers

Good Brands: HP, Compaq, Acer, Packard Bell, Micron

Bad Brands: Dell, Gateway, ALL Other Off-Brands

Laptop Computers

Good Brands: Toshiba, HP, Acer

Bad Brands: Dell, Packard Bell, Gateway

LCD Monitors

Good Brands: HP, Proview, KDS, Acer

Bad Brands: Dell, Gateway, All Other Off-Brands

HDTV's

Good Brands: Samsung, Toshiba

Bad Brands: Not known yet. I haven't tried any other brand of HDTV

Hard Drives (Internal)

Good Brands: Seagate

Bad Brands: Western Digital

Hard Drives (external)

Good Brands: Seagate

Bad Brands: Western Digital

DVD Players

Good Brands: Panasonic, Toshiba

Bad Brands: Not known yet. Haven't had any real trouble with DVD players yet.

____________________

These are all my personal experiences. Please don't argue. It'll do no good. These are NOT facts, they're my opinions. I'll add more to this list as soon as I can think of more to add.

action9000 · **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2009, 07:05:42 PM

Let's see, my turn!

LCD Monitors
Good: Samsung
Almost as good: NEC
Bad: Should be obvious: cheap brands like Xtreme.

TVs:
Good: Definitely Samsung

HDMI cables:
The cheaper, the better. Rocketfish is probably the best bet.
Monster is stupidly overpriced! It's a DIGITAL signal. The cable won't make a difference!

Hard Drives (Internal):
good: Honestly, I don't think there is a good brand.

I found a huge list of Seagate HDD models which supposedly have up to a 30% failure rate! Unfortunately, I own 5 of them. One of them has died in less than 2 years of use so I'm a pretty accurate proof of that statistic.

Western Digital: Had two of these, both died within 2 years.

A truly good Hard drive: Get a solid state drive if you don't need a boatload of space. They have the durability that mechanical drives just don't. Too bad they're still so small and expensive.

Motherboards:
Good: Asus
not as good in my experience : Gigabyte. I currently use one in my main computer, already had one die on me. Same problem in my last computer: Went through two before I got one that worked. My old systems all use Asus and they're happy as can be.

Computer Speakers:
overpriced for the sound quality:
high-end Logitech or Creative systems. get a receiver and an entry-level set of bookshelf speakers or tower speakers for the same price. They'll kick a lot more ass.

Good value:
middle-range PC speakers, up to about $60 at the most. Sound good for the price. Again, Logitech and Creative are okay choices in this price range.

Home Theater Speakers:
This is really personal taste. I havent' seen a bad brand of speaker, it's really just what kind of sound you like.

A/V Receivers:
Bad: Sony! The lower-end Sony receivers have a pretty short lifespan before they start giving you trouble.

Car Speakers:
Good brands:
MTX Audio (awesome value for middle-of-the-road pricerange), Phoenix Gold (higher-end and expensive though)

Bad Brands: Lots!

JVC, Pioneer, Low-end Alpine, Infinity (not bad but the small speakers suck and the brand tends to be expensive. If you can't use the 6" or larger speakers, avoid Infinity. The 5 1/4" and smaller all suck

)

Just bad brands of stuff in general
Nexxtech! Absolutely useless products! They just don't work! :blink:

MadCatz: I've never bought anything from them that is any good.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #2 on:** February 06, 2009, 07:48:17 PM

Wish I could offer a list of brands that I think are good/bad, but I haven't really tried a wide variety of things. Not to mention, I'm not really in control when it comes to computers. My brother and dad usually are.

Petrie. · **Reply #3 on:** February 06, 2009, 08:27:59 PM

From my experiences, these are good:

Desktops: Dell (my seven year old Dell is still chugging)

Laptops: haven't found one

Computer Speakers: none

These are Bad:

Desktop: can't tell; family has had more DIY computers than not

Laptops: Dell (my last one had three motherboard replacements--thankfully all under warranty)

Computer Speakers: just about everything; they're made for overcompressed pop--high bass and treble, no mids

Mumbling · **Reply #4 on:** February 07, 2009, 02:41:05 AM

I agree with you on the desktop Petrie. Dell is working perfectly fine for me. It's on my room and never give me any trouble at all so far.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #5 on:** February 07, 2009, 02:57:13 AM

The reason I said Dell desktops are bad is because of the way they've turned as of late. They were great up to 2004-2005. Then everything went to crap when they started using cheapo off brand ram and hard drives. Now when you buy one new, you'll be lucky to get a year out of it before the hard drive AND the ram need to be replaced. Dells that are newer than 2004 are the #1 thing I get in my shop because they just don't last anymore. <_< Gateway was never great but they've become just as bad if not worse than Dell. Dell actually used to be a nice respectable brand, but not anymore......

Mumbling · **Reply #6 on:** February 07, 2009, 03:40:52 AM

Hmm ah I see. Yes mine dates from quite a while back so I understand now.

TheNumberOneShmuck · **Reply #7 on:** February 07, 2009, 08:15:15 AM

I got my Dell in October '06, and it works just fine. I've added 2 gigs of RAM and another Hard Drive, but the originals are still in there, and still working. The only thing I've changed is the graphics card, upgraded from a GeForce 7300LE to an 8800GT (the original worked properly, I just wanted a better gaming experience) and the power supply (only because the 8800 required a better one; like the card, the original worked properly) last Summer. The only thing that's crapped out on me is a Dell monitor, and that was a used one from '04 that my friend gave me (I didn't get one with the computer).

Petrie. · **Reply #8 on:** February 08, 2009, 09:42:09 AM

Well, you can't get a $400 computer without cheaping out on components somewhere or cutting corners. That's the bigger problem...you can't get really reliable good stuff anymore because all that is made is garbage.