Most Consistent Brands

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

In this thread we will discuss the most consistent brands for all computer parts, including peripherals.

The brand can be specified for things like OCZ makes good SSD's but average PSU's. Model specific is ok too. Just make sure to specify.

Consistent doesn't mean it has to be consistently great, it can also be consistently bad.
I will be compiling the list in this post, that way people can easily use this as a resource for which brands are generally good.

This is for everything except processors, as there will just be a giant debate over which one is better, plus there isnt really any bad processors now adays, bad as in unreliable or poorly built. Basically just pick a processor from the last 2 -3 years and your good.

If something has an Asterisk * be sure to read the Asterisk section below for that product.

CASES

Great means

Great Airflow
Good Design
Mostly Steel/Aluminium, minimal Plastic
Sturdy

Average means

Decent Airflow
Alright design
Partially or mostly Plastic

Terrible means

Bad Airflow
Bad Design
Almost all Plastic or other breakable material

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Coolermaster HAF series
Corsair
Silverstone

CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

FANS

Great means

Good CFM for its size
Well built / Sturdy
Quiet for its speed
Reliable

Average means

Decent CFM for its Size
Well built / Sturdy
Not very audible
Reliable

Terrible means

Bad airflow for
Flimsy
Audible

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Coolermaster
Corsair

CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

GPU'S
Graphic Card's

Great means

Quiet
Low temps
Sturdy
Very Overclockable
Reliable

Average means

Not very audible
Decent temps
Sturdy
Overclockable
Reliable

Terrible means

Very audible
Bad temps
Weak
Not very overclockable
Not very reliable

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Asus
EVGA
Gigabyte
Sapphire
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE
Powercolor
Zotac
CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

HDD'S
Hard Disk Drives

Great means

Reliable
Long Lasting

Average means

Reliable
Not very long lasting

Terrible

Not Reliable
Doesn't Last Long

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Seagate
Western Digital
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

MONITORS

Great means

Great Picture Quality
Reliable
Sturdy

Average means

Decent Picture Quality
Reliable
Sturdy

Terrible means

Bad Picture Quality
Not Reliable
Weak

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Asus
BenQ
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

MOTHERBOARDS

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Asus*
Gigabyte
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

PSU'S
Power Supplies

Great means

High Quality
Long Lasting
Reliable
Quiet

Average means

Good Quality
Lasts a while
Reliable
Quiet

Terrible

Bad Quality
Breaks quickly
Loud
Will catch your house on fire

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Corsair
Seasonic
Sparkle (SPI)
XFX
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE
OCZ
CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

SOUND CARDS

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Asus*
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

SSD'S
Solid State Drives

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Samsung 830, 840 Pro
Kingston Hyper X 3K
Crucial M3
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

RAM

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Corsair
G.Skill
Samsung
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE

CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

PERIPHERALS

CONSISTENTLY GREAT
Corsair
Logitech
CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE
Saitek (Madcats): Mice*, Keyboards*
CONSISTENTLY TERRIBLE

Their Xonar sound cards have some software issues
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240332-49-asus-xonar-software-driver-problems
Their Motherboards custom software has problems
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?22918-AISuite-won-t-install

Great products until they break, then good luck, their customer support is to be feared, and their RMA process doesn't exist.

I will periodically update this list, and remember, this is essentially a guide for new people to reference when they need to. If you have any problems with an item on the list, like it should be in a different category, don't be afraid to dispute it.

Jolly Roger · Feb 14, 2013

I would like to point out that although ASUS has incredible hardware, their software is absolutely terrible in my experience. Particularly their sound card software. And their mobo utilities also are very buggy, and I am currently experiencing major bugs with their USB 3.0 drivers. And a quick google search shows I'm not alone.

Also, I think this thread may have good potential, but may have a bit of a chance for bias in it. For example: I have loved my OCZ power supplies. Not saying others haven't had bad experiences, but what is the criteria for "consistently bad" because for me OCZ PSU have been "Consistently Good". Just a thought.

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

I would like to point out that although ASUS has incredible hardware, their software is absolutely terrible in my experience. Particularly their sound card software. And their mobo utilities also are very buggy, and I am currently experiencing major bugs with their USB 3.0 drivers. And a quick google search shows I'm not alone.

Can anyone else confirm this?
I won't remove it from the consistently great section, but I will probably be putting star's or something in and put a list down below with known problems and hopefully links to fixes.

twerk · Feb 14, 2013

I don't get this thread at all.

OCZ definitely aren't consistent, up until the Vertex 4 many of their drives suffered from a variety of issues.

Corsair have had major issues with their Force series SSDs, the firmware and software for their peripherals has been glitchy, their hydro coolers have had huge pump issues and their Corsair Link software has only just become usable, these are just some off the top of my head.

Seasonic I would have to agree with because the majority of their products are great.

Asus are hit and miss, their products are generally overpriced, especially their motherboards and graphics cards. They have issues with their sound cards and their AI Suite software still does not work properly. Again this is just some things I can think of, I'm sure there's more.

All companies make bad and good products, it's always better to judge individual products rather than a company as a whole. The only thing that matters to do with the company is their customer service.

Jolly Roger · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADHDadditiv

Can anyone else confirm this?
I won't remove it from the consistently great section, but I will probably be putting star's or something in and put a list down below with known problems and hopefully links to fixes.

I wouldn't remove from the "great" section either. I love ASUS, and will use them forever. Just see the sig rig. But an asterisk by it may be a good idea.

Heres a few sources:
Sound Card Issues

Motherboard Utilities

WR6133 · Feb 14, 2013

OCZ PSU's I have to disagree with the OP. The one that I had die on me (of many used) was RMA'd and a brand new one back at my doorstep in under 48 hours despite having to go all the way to Amsterdam, they even sent me updates at everystage of each day I waited. I would rate them for PSU's between consistently great and consistently average and challenge anyone to name a current or recent line of PSU's from them that were consistently bad.

Madcatz now they have a [email protected] RMA. My RAT 5 took 2 weeks and at no point did they aknowledge receiving it or despatching the new one. Infact a week after the RMA was all over they emailed me asking if I had sent the thing to them yet.

Seagate also have a slow and shoddy RMA process with awful customer service.

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyM95

I don't get this thread at all.

OCZ definitely aren't consistent, up until the Vertex 4 many of their drives suffered from a variety of issues.

Corsair have had major issues with their Force series SSDs, the firmware and software for their peripherals has been glitchy, their hydro coolers have had huge pump issues and their Corsair Link software has only just become usable, these are just some off the top of my head.

Seasonic I would have to agree with because the majority of their products are great.

Asus are hit and miss, their products are generally overpriced, especially their motherboards and graphics cards. They have issues with their sound cards and their AI Suite software still does not work properly. Again this is just some things I can think of, I'm sure there's more.

All companies make bad and good products, it's always better to judge individual products rather than a company as a whole. The only thing that matters to do with the company is their customer service.

I do agree, every company has problems, but I started this thread as a sort of quick reference guide for people to look at if they need quick help.

I do agree that the Corsair SSD's arent the best, the firmware and software for the peripherals is now great, I have never heard of the Hydro series coolers have any problems, and if they do, Corsair promptly replaces them. Corsair link is just a terrible concept to begin with.

As for Asus, yes they do cost more, but rarely ever do you hear anything bad about their products. I'm not making this list for Affordability, I'm making it essentially for everything else. Reliability, Customer Service, Product Quality, etc.

And OCZ, I only put them into the great section for specifically the Vertex 4, nothing else.

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

I wouldn't remove from the "great" section either. I love ASUS, and will use them forever. Just see the sig rig. But an asterisk by it may be a good idea.

Heres a few sources:
Sound Card Issues

Motherboard Utilities

Thank you kindly for those links.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WR6133

OCZ PSU's I have to disagree with the OP. The one that I had die on me (of many used) was RMA'd and a brand new one back at my doorstep in under 48 hours despite having to go all the way to Amsterdam, they even sent me updates at everystage of each day I waited. I would rate them for PSU's between consistently great and consistently average and challenge anyone to name a current or recent line of PSU's from them that were consistently bad.

Madcatz now they have a [email protected] RMA. My RAT 5 took 2 weeks and at no point did they aknowledge receiving it or despatching the new one. Infact a week after the RMA was all over they emailed me asking if I had sent the thing to them yet.

Seagate also have a slow and shoddy RMA process with awful customer service.

I personally have an OCZ PSU and my friend has one, on startup of certain games, it sounds like the electronics are being overloaded, like a buzzing noise comming from the PSU that isnt the fan. Their RMA process is alright, and to be fair, I never did have problems with the PSU, just the noise, but that noise sounds bad. I will move it to the average section.

Dudewitbow · Feb 14, 2013

I cant really agree with this kind of thread in general. most of the products, each company utilizes another companies technology/stock to manufacture the item. for ssds, the type of controller may vary. PSU oems will always vary and stuff like that. One should never judge by brand but by the very specific unit. Sure some brands are slightly more consistent than others, but it does not mean it is always better, and that's the catch.

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

Motherboard Utilities

Could you be more specific with this link, its kind of vauge. Its more just a google search, specific website please, I want this to be helpful, not something they can do themselves.

thanos999 · Feb 14, 2013

it might be better if you divided the catagouries ie motherboard manufactoreers harddrive manufactoreers ect

also why are they great is it reputation is it price is it aftersales service ie samsung 830 series ssd v intel 520 series ssd in the benchmarks thiese 2 models off ssd are constantly in the top 3 when it comes to benchmarks only differance between buying one from the other is price where the samsung is a lot cheaper than the intel

as far as im aware the ocz ssd are the worst on the market constantly failing after one or two years off use

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by thanos999

it might be better if you divided the catagouries ie motherboard manufactoreers harddrive manufactoreers ect

also why are they great is it reputation is it price is it aftersales service ie samsung 830 series ssd v intel 520 series ssd in the benchmarks thiese 2 models off ssd are constantly in the top 3 when it comes to benchmarks only differance between buying one from the other is price where the samsung is a lot cheaper than the intel

as far as im aware the ocz ssd are the worst on the market constantly failing after one or two years off use

I am sort of putting it into group, if someone else says it should be in groups I will do so.

And I did explain, if you read the whole post, and I will add the Samsung and Intel SSD's to the list.

Bit_reaper · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADHDadditiv

Can anyone else confirm this?
I won't remove it from the consistently great section, but I will probably be putting star's or something in and put a list down below with known problems and hopefully links to fixes.

While Asus has a lot of good stuff not everything with a Asus label is great or even good. Like the above mentioned lackluster software for motherboards or slightly dodgy build quality on low end laptops. Nor are all Corsair PSU great as the CX line is average at best.

No matter what way you slice it almost all big companies make some products that are sub-par.

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bit_reaper

While Asus has a lot of good stuff not everything with a Asus label is great or even good. Like the above mentioned lackluster software for motherboards or slightly dodgy build quality on low end laptops. Nor are all Corsair PSU great as the CX line is average at best.

No matter what way you slice it almost all big companies make some products that are sub-par.

Hence the reason for the Astericks

Jolly Roger · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADHDadditiv

Could you be more specific with this link, its kind of vauge. Its more just a google search, specific website please, I want this to be helpful, not something they can do themselves.

LINK

Heres a specific one. I just did a google search to show that it is a pretty universal problem. As a side note. I was eventually able to get it installed, After tons of headache, but it is real buggy. Messes with my fans, opens itself sometimes, sometimes not, shows in the taskbar when its not open (sometimes), in fact thinking about it I may just uninstall it.

ironsurvivor · Feb 14, 2013

Crucial SSD? Should that be in consistently great?

ADHDadditiv · Feb 14, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironsurvivor

Crucial SSD? Should that be in consistently great?

It is now

Most Consistent Brands

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