What are your defaults when it comes to tech?

[Ashleyyyy]

i don't just mean brands with this. for example my list:

 

For laptops i always go with MacBooks.

My OS outside of one Mac i have is always Manjaro, at least as primary.

For phones i always use iPhones.

 

when it comes to computers my GPU is always AMD, and my base platform is always something enterprise, like my current build with a server board and Xeon cpu's.

For headphones i always go with Sony.

 

As my TV i always use a CRT.
My main computer display is always 16:10. i really hate 16:9... (part of the reason i use a 2011 MBP as main laptop, even though it does not run macOS. it has a 16:10 screen)

[Downkey]

On 1/29/2021 at 8:22 AM, Ashley xD said:

i don't just mean brands with this. for example my list:

 

For laptops i always go with MacBooks.

My OS outside of one Mac i have is always Manjaro, at least as primary.

For phones i always use iPhones.

 

when it comes to computers my GPU is always AMD, and my base platform is always something enterprise, like my current build with a server board and Xeon cpu's.

For headphones i always go with Sony.

 

As my TV i always use a CRT.
My main computer display is always 16:10. i really hate 16:9... (part of the reason i use a 2011 MBP as main laptop, even though it does not run macOS. it has a 16:10 screen)

For my phone I’d prefer IOS, because basically everyone I know uses IOS, and all of my family uses it. Not to mention I couldn’t care at all about the customizability of Android, because I don’t use my phone for more than 30 minutes each day. All I use it for is texting, calling,  tracking my steps, taking photos, and checking the time. I really don’t need anything else. I just upgraded to an iPhone 8 and I love it.

for a laptop/desktop W10 is ideal (don’t care if it’s home or pro)

Honestly I don’t care about my CPU/GPU, I guess it would be AMD (Ryzen) and NVIDIA because those are the only GPU + CPU combos I’ve had in a “gaming” laptop or PC. 
if I’m using an ultrabook I don’t care too much, it should just have an SSD

 

For my TV I don’t care. The TV i mainly use is some 2011 1080p TV. Still works great even tho it has huge bezels. I also have a 70” 4K TV but we still have cable (don’t ask why) and my cable provider doesn’t allow anything over 1080p so it’s a bit useless

 

updated stuff -

I’m fine with most OEMS, although I’m never buying an acer desktop again

 

PSU - Honestly doesn’t matter much too me, as long as it’s a quality unit I’m fine w/ it.

 

Monitor - Don’t have a brand preference but my ideal scenario would be 1080p 240hz, although currently I have 1080p 144, it’s good enough

mobo -

Have never built a pc before, so again I don’t really care. Currently MSI and ASUS are my favorites to put on PCP lists

 

 

 

[CommanderAlex]

For laptops/desktops, my OS of choice is Windows for its range of freedom. 

For phones, my brand of choice is Samsung. Tried Apple and went back to Android. 

 

For CPUs, I will always stick to Intel. 

For RAM, Corsair, enough said. 

For motherboards, I will stick with MSI.

For GPUs, I will stick with MSI Nvidia cards but if AMD can give more performance for less than Nvidia and driver stability, then I might buy an AMD card. Might try out EVGA though. 

For my monitor, I really have no preference as long as its good and the customer reviews are high. 

For PSU, EVGA or Corsair, but will pick the former first over the latter. 

For storage, between Samsung, Western Digital.

For fans and coolers, Noctua. 

[AnirbanG007]

20 minutes ago, Ashley xD said:

i don't just mean brands with this. for example my list:

 

For laptops i always go with MacBooks.

My OS outside of one Mac i have is always Manjaro, at least as primary.

For phones i always use iPhones.

 

when it comes to computers my GPU is always AMD, and my base platform is always something enterprise, like my current build with a server board and Xeon cpu's.

For headphones i always go with Sony.

 

As my TV i always use a CRT.
My main computer display is always 16:10. i really hate 16:9... (part of the reason i use a 2011 MBP as main laptop, even though it does not run macOS. it has a 16:10 screen)

For phone, I prefer Android.

For OS, my favorite would be Pop OS, (I like to try different Linux distros). Even though my primary OS is Windows 10, and there are programs I do need it for. Never got the chance to use a Mac.

For GPU, Nvidia.

I don't currently own a good pair of headphones, but if I had the money I'd go with the Sony XM4.

Funnily enough, my TV is a CRT.

And even though my laptop has a 16:9 aspect ratio, I'm planning to get a Dell 16:10 monitor.  

[SignatureSigner]

3 minutes ago, Downkey said:

For my phone I’d prefer IOS

for a laptop/desktop W10 is ideal (don’t care if it’s home or pro)

Honestly I don’t care about my CPU/GPU, I guess it would be AMD (Ryzen) and NVIDIA because those are the only GPU + CPU combos I’ve had in a “gaming” laptop or PC. 
if I’m using an ultrabook I don’t care too much, it should just have an SSD

 

For my TV I don’t care. The TV i mainly use is some 2011 1080p TV. Still works great even tho it has huge bezels. I also have a 70” 4K TV but we still have cable (don’t ask why) and my cable provider doesn’t allow anything over 1080p so it’s a bit useless

For my phone I use an iPhone

For a laptop I use Win10 (Pro/home IDRK)

CPU is intel or ryzen it doesn't matter to me

GPU is Nvidia

For headphones, I use whatever I have. (I prefer earbuds)

TV/Monitor I like something small but HD and I like to have 2 screens

[flashiling]

phone i used to prefer samsung but recently i've been getting 1+ phones.

 

computers i always use windows, don't feel like i want to swap to linux and i dislike the expensive mac products so i have never used their MacOS and such.

Computer parts i go with what's good, i couldn't care less if Intel Bad because bla.bla.bla or amd bad bla.bla.bla if intel is good i go intel if amd is good i go amd, same with GPU's

 

For audio i'm going to stop using most of the "gamer" headsets and try to find some proper ones, as i've been a bit disappointed by most headsets i've had in general.

 

And for music i got myself a pair of Skull Candy Venue, i love them. Insane bass, insane NC, great audio in general and they fit very well around my ears, but i'm not dead set on getting a new pair of skull candy next time i buy new ones.

 

Keyboard i have a razer black widow chroma for the last 7+ years i think, gonna get a corsair when this stops working but still love it to this day

[Moonzy]

CPU: hmm... I own both and leaning more towards Intel

Cooler: bequiet fanboi

Mobo: asus '-' somehow

PSU: corsair, so I can interchange the modular cables between my builds

GPU: Nvidia, radeon is cursed for me, their software stuff never works right

GPU brand: no real preference but Asus sticks out further than the rest

Os: windows, I failed so bad on Mac when I tried to use one

 

Phone: Sony phones have been nice to me so far, tried xiaomi and it's cursed af

 

Laptop: asus or dell

[Ashleyyyy]

1 minute ago, Moonzy said:

I failed so bad on Mac when I tried to use one

i did at first too, you need like a week with one to learn how it works, all the different keyboard shortcuts etc. 

[Jumballi]

My default is whatever’s in stock, even before the shortages.

[AndreiArgeanu]

For my phone I prefer Android, brand doesn't usually matter but I tend to stick to more popular ones like Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus, Google.

For my main desktop I use Windows 10. Outside of Windows I use Linux, but that's on my raspberry pi, for obvious reasons.

For CPU's I don't really care, whatever performs well and has good feature set, currently I use AMD ryzen though.

As for memory and motherboard the brand does not really matter to me.

For GPU's whatever is cheaper, and performs better, currently I have an RX 580, beforehand I had a GTX 770.

For Monitor and TV's I don't really care much either, as long as it looks decent, though I'm a little scared of CRT's, I just have a feeling that at any time they could spontaneously implode, even if they probably will not ever.

 

 

[CommanderAlex]

5 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

CPU: hmm... I own both and leaning more towards Intel

Laptop: asus or dell

I just love how simple Intel's systems are compared to AMD's and they just work. 

 

For ASUS, it left a bad scar on me when I had one of their gaming laptops, it was utter junk and their CS support was useless after experiencing problems on day one. Went through 3 laptops in the return policy of Best Buy until the 3rd one finally worked...until the motherboard went 5 months later. 

 

As a result, I boycott ASUS' products. 

[Moonzy]

3 minutes ago, SpiderMan said:

I just love how simple Intel's systems are compared to AMD's and they just work

Pretty much yea, my 3900x gave me a ton of headache and OC wasn't fun because there's close to no headroom left

 

While I had fun playing with my friend's 9600k

And the user experience is much better as you said, and in my experience as well.

 

4 minutes ago, SpiderMan said:

For ASUS, it left a bad scar on me when I had one of their gaming laptops, it was utter junk and their CS support was useless after experiencing problems on day one. Went through 3 laptops in the return policy of Best Buy until the 3rd one finally worked...until the motherboard went 5 months later. 

My Asus laptop was actually a lemon and I found out only 5-6 years later when I cracked it open

It ran at 80c on idle and 99c under any load, been running that way 24/7 for that long since I afk in mmo back then, surprised it only started to die after 7-8 years

 

But I still don't feel that angry, yet

 

I mainly prefer then for their bios I suppose, I'm more familiar with it

But I'm up to try other brand boards for my next build!

 

12 minutes ago, Ashley xD said:

i did at first too, you need like a week with one to learn how it works, all the different keyboard shortcuts etc. 

You had no idea, I spent like 15 minutes trying to check my email on one, I couldn't even get the browser open I think

It was that bad lmao

[JamesTheFolf]

I feel the same way about tech as Linus does. I don't have any particular brands I always buy. I buy based on performance and if it has all the features that I need.

[igormp]

SO: If talking about personal use, Arch if possible, otherwise Fedora. For server use, I used to use CentOS until the whole version fiasco, so now I just stick with Debian, don't really care about the old packages since Docker everything anyway.

 

Laptop: The most lightweight and with best battery life possible. Usually avoid Apple, Acer and HP.

Phone: smallest one with nice battery life (currently using a S10e, previously had a Redmi 4x).

TV: cheapest one available lol. Currently using a cheap 4k 43" LG one as a monitor.

Headphones: no strong opinions here, currently using an Edifier BT model.

 

As for desktop components:

CPU: don't really care, I usually try to go for the best bang for the buck.

Mobo: The one with the best warranty. I avoid MSI like the plague.

GPU: Used to prefer AMD due to their open source drivers, and Sapphire because good products. However, since I actually need to work, going with Nvidia and the brand that offers the best warranty (currently with a gigabyte one). Again, I avoid MSI like the plague.

RAM: Corsair or kingston, their RMA support is just superb, along with lifetime warranty.

PSU: Corsair or XPG.

Storage: WD, XPG, Kingston or Sandisk.

[CommanderAlex]

3 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

Pretty much yea, my 3900x gave me a ton of headache and OC wasn't fun because there's close to no headroom left

 

While I had fun playing with my friend's 9600k

And the user experience is much better as you said, and in my experience as well.

 

My Asus laptop was actually a lemon and I found out only 5-6 years later when I cracked it open

It ran at 80c on idle and 99c under any load, been running that way 24/7 for that long since I afk in mmo back then, surprised it only started to die after 7-8 years

 

But I still don't feel that angry, yet

 

I mainly prefer then for their bios I suppose, I'm more familiar with it

But I'm up to try other brand boards for my next build!

 

You had no idea, I spent like 15 minutes trying to check my email on one, I couldn't even get the browser open I think

It was that bad lmao

Definitely more fun with an Intel system with OCing and stability. 

 

Pretty shocking to see that laptop was a lemon. MSI's BIOS I'm very comfortable with and I would actually try out EVGA's motherboards but they are a bit pricy imo. 

 

I got a MacBook after the ASUS laptop debacle as Best Buy refunded store credit due to the laptop coming back for the same issue. It was my first and I had trouble navigating it as well. Getting used to the keyboard shortcuts was something that made life easier on a MacBook. I'd consider one but right now, it's pointless as I'm preparing for engineering software which is more mainstreamed on Windows; doesn't make sense to buy into Apple and their switch from Intel x86 to their custom design ARM which leaves it out of the picture. 

[freeagent]

35 minutes ago, Ashley xD said:

i don't just mean brands with this. for example my list:

 

For laptops i always go with MacBooks.

My OS outside of one Mac i have is always Manjaro, at least as primary.

For phones i always use iPhones.

 

when it comes to computers my GPU is always AMD, and my base platform is always something enterprise, like my current build with a server board and Xeon cpu's.

For headphones i always go with Sony.

 

As my TV i always use a CRT.
My main computer display is always 16:10. i really hate 16:9... (part of the reason i use a 2011 MBP as main laptop, even though it does not run macOS. it has a 16:10 screen)

I don't have a laptop, so not sure who I would choose. Maybe Alienware?

I use Windows 10.. its ok.

I prefer iPhones over the other guys.

 

I used to always use Nvidia, not sure who I will go with this time. The last time I used an AMD GPU it made my games look cartoony. Didn't like that..

I usually use Intel CPUs, but not this time.

I don't have a preference to headphones, I don't own a high end pair. I do have a nice pair of KEF's though.  They are a bit choosey on their source..

 

I like LG TV's, but have a Hisense because my SHARP tv died lol. POS. I also have a Panasonic Plasma, I like it. Its got a metal back because she loves her thermals.

 

Outside of that, I like Asus mobos, G.Skill ram, Thermalright coolers and paste, and Panaflo fans. I probably wont buy anything from Crucial again, 2 SSD's from them stopped working. Garbage.

[UpTheDons]

Android for phone, I just don't see any value in most of apples products. In terms of a brand possibly Motorola as I've used their phones for years and never had a problem with them. (I'm currently on the G8 power which I highly recommend)

I run Linux and windows but from my limited experience with mac os I just see it as inferior to windows for pretty much everything apart from editing (music and video) I don't do any hardcore editing so this doesn't really apply to me.

Lenovo laptops have always been really solid and great value for money with me so I have to back them on that front.

 

In terms of PC parts I have no preference. I always do detailed research when buying parts to make sure I'm getting best bang for my buck and quality. Never had a major problem with one brand.

 

Love Samsung and LG Tvs. I have a relatively mid range 60" 4k LG and I love it.

 

[Twolf]

I hate anything from Apple in general (macs, iphones, etc)... just dislike how they function in most cases and not a fan of their business practices in general (like when at one point all the peripherals were proprietary so could only buy stuff from them as a company, no such thing as a generic... headphones and such) so turned me off from them to where I just won't ever use their stuff if I don't have to. Plus being a gamer, I don't want to rely on an emulator to play my games (since most games are not designed to run in MacOS anymore). So my past 4 phones have been Samsung (with at least 2 of those being flip-phones tho). Plus android os interfaces better with windows when I want to link my phone to my computer. There's other factors too but those are nit-picky personal things.

 

Motherboards: ASUS, Processors: been sticking with AMD ever since they broke the 1GHz thresh-hold, only way I'd go back to Intel is if AMD was just horrid and overpriced that and generally can upgrade their processors without having to upgrade the motherboard as often as do with Intel (while I personally use AMD I do build PC's for friends from time to time with some opting for Intel is only reason I speak to the point of how have to replace boards more often with Intel chips over AMD when doing upgrades), Graphics: EVGA Nvidia cards most times honestly been using Nvidia chipsets ever since they bought 3dfx, PSU: Usually EVGA though I'm going with Seasonic on my current build just because I got tired of sitting in EVGA's queue and the Seasonic one was available (that and 12 year warranty instead of only 10 plus the reviews for it were solid), Monitors and TV's: Generally LG though occasionally Samsung for TV just depends on what happened to be on sale when I was looking. Harddrives: Western Digital was my go to for a long time with Seagate as my 2nd choice though I recently bought a Samsung M2 drive for the PC I'm currently building (one using now just has sata drives in it). RAM: back and forth between GSKill and Corsair over the years, mostly came down to "who's on sale" at time of purchase. As for Laptops, I've only owned 2, one was a Dell the other HP... they ran what I needed them to run at the time and were inexpensive, was only deciding factor, honestly with laptops that's really the only factor for me: will it do what I need it to do, not die within a year, and how much is it?... everything else like headsets, mice, keyboards, etc it just depends on what's on sale, and isn't cheaply made (since my cat loves knocking things down or running across my keyboard).

For the most part it just comes down to that I been using most those brands for years and they last. I have an ASUS board that's close to 20 years old (with one of the 1st gen 1ghz processors from AMD on it) and it is still fully functional, no dead usb ports or anything (even though I never put it in an actual case lol, it was in a cardboard box case setup... long story short: i was poor, the mobo and chip were a gift, harddrives and stuff were taken from old computer prior, and that board wouldn't fit in the case of my previous pc, but used it that way for years before I got the funds to build a new rig). Every board I've had since then has been from ASUS and they all are still functional, even after years of use (and abuse). Same goes for EVGA for graphics and PSU's, they performed and they lasted and if for whatever reason something did go wrong (that I couldn't fix myself at least which isn't often), their customer service was usually on point.

 

With some of the newer hardware that's out (like M2 drives, VR headsets, etc) I been looking at companies that were able to make a quality product for it, reading reviews, message boards, etc (message boards, like this one, are good so can get regular every day users thoughts/issues versus just tech junkies like Linus ).

[Ashleyyyy]

34 minutes ago, AndreiArgeanu said:

though I'm a little scared of CRT's, I just have a feeling that at any time they could spontaneously implode, even if they probably will not ever.

well, lilke all electronics they have fuses in them. yes, they are high voltage electronics and can be dangerous if you open one up without knowing what you're doing, but if you just have one as a tv it's about as unsafe as any old electronics are.

[1982 Original]

3 hours ago, Ashley xD said:

i don't just mean brands with this. for example my list:

 

For laptops i always go with MacBooks.

My OS outside of one Mac i have is always Manjaro, at least as primary.

For phones i always use iPhones.

 

when it comes to computers my GPU is always AMD, and my base platform is always something enterprise, like my current build with a server board and Xeon cpu's.

For headphones i always go with Sony.

 

As my TV i always use a CRT.
My main computer display is always 16:10. i really hate 16:9... (part of the reason i use a 2011 MBP as main laptop, even though it does not run macOS. it has a 16:10 screen)

I really have zero brand loyalty. I go wherever the deal is. Brands I do lean towards if they have something in my price range are:

 

Be Quiet fans, power supplies

NZXT Cases

Seasonic power supplies

EVGA graphics cards

Sapphire graphics cards

Logitech mice

Noctua... everything

Asrock Motherboards

Dell Monitors and Laptops

 

Every company has wins and misses. I just think these ones have consistently more wins than misses. 

[Letgomyleghoe]

I always go for ubuntu just because I'm more familiar with their terminal, but my machine is mainly windows so I can run games without porting. 
for laptops I'll go lenovo
for phones I go Iphone 

--for my cpu I always go for what's best, I don't care what brand it is, whatever is desktop x86 and has the best price/perf for my workload, this is including the cost of the motherboard,  if I have an am4 motherboard already but an intel cpu is just a tad cheaper, I'll still go amd to save money. 
--I'll always go AMD gpu's and I don't really know why,  I have and will continue to recommend NVIDIA gpus, I'm not really a fanboy per say, but I'll always stick to amd gpus. 
--ram is always corsair, I've always like their vengeance line, and the vengeance DDR4 was absolutely amazing imo. 
--motherboard has recently been gigabyte, but back in the ye old am2 days it was msi.
--power supply, cpu cooler, and case, I could not give a fuck.

--monitor has recently been viotek, just because they're usually cheaper and I don't need a color accurate monitor.
--mouse has been logitech as of recent
--keyboard currently is a keychron k6, but I'm probably going to put together a custom one soon. 

[WaggishOhio383]

Laptop: Anything Windows 10 that has good build quality. If it's made of plastic, I won't be buying it.

Phone: Until recently Samsung was my go-to, but now that they're starting to become more like Apple I'm looking into other options. I'm probably going to need a new phone soon, but I'm unsure what it will be. A headphone jack is a must-have for me, and I prefer to have expandable storage.

Headphones: I always go with Anker. I'm not an audiophile so I don't care about having anything super high-end. Anker offers great sound quality and performance for a very reasonable price.

 

CPU: AMD. They have a much better upgrade platform. I don't want to have to swap my motherboard every time I need to upgrade my CPU.

GPU: I typically prefer AMD, but I don't have an aversion to Nvidia. It just boils down to what offers better performance for the price.

Case: I absolutely love Phanteks cases

 

Outside of that I don't really have any strong preferences or brand loyalties. I just get what performs well and has good reviews within my budget.

[Avus]

My default was/is the best "price/performance" + reliable

up until now...

I mostly had

Nvidia GPU

Intel CPU, switched all desktops/laptop to Ryzen for the pass couple years

WD HDD, but stopped buying HDD for computers

Samsung SSD

Thermaltake or Cooler Master Case and Power supply. Now start to use Seasonic power supply more.

Logitech keyboard, mouse & steering wheel

Asus motherboard, recently ASRock and Gigabyte

Viewsonic CRT LONG ago, LG LCD monitors for now

Yamaha A/V receiver

Sony CRT TV, no fix brand for LCD TV.

 

[Analog]

Laptops - DELL, used to work for them for years, I still have lots of contacts there who will assist in case something goes wrong and I need it taken care of asap or I need a something that is currently out of stock. 

 

Monitors - DELL, for the above-mentioned reasons and LG. Had dealings with LG customer support before, had to RMA a very expensive and unique monitor that was very close to the end of its warranty, there was absolutely no issues and was taken care of very fast.

 

Phones - Xiaomi. Have been using their phones since the Mi4 days and not only me, pretty much I converted my entire family from whatever other brand of Android phones they were using before. Great phones for a fair price. 

 

Mouse - Logitech, always

 

Keyboard - Needs to have a genuine Cherry MX Browns and a white backlight, that's pretty much it. 

 

When it comes to PC hardware I am not really a brand loyalist and do tend to buy in accordance to price to performance. Yet I do have specific requirements for certain components, which I am not going to compromise with regardless of who the brand is. Due to this sometimes my components choice is narrowed down automatically to only a few brands that offer what I am looking for. 

 

- GPUs - need to be able to open them an replace the TIM with whatever fancies me. This pretty much leaves me with EVGA. 

- PSUs - need to be black, fully modular and 80+ Gold certified.

- RAM - needs to be cheap and must use a bare pcb, which is black so that I can put on my fancy OCZ heatsinks

- Motherboard - needs to have lots of fan headers and the entire package of overclocking features: safe boot button, QCode reader, BIOS flashback, etc. Usually go for the top tier Asus board. 

- Cooling - ekwb

[RAS_3885]

The only hard-and-fast rule I've developed for tech is any TV I get has to be OLED (or whatever may be equivalent down the road).

 

Everything else I evaluate options when I'm ready to buy. I try not to fanboy any one brand because that tends to mean other good options get overlooked.

 

Hell, I've always been a Windows user, but those new M1 chips from Apply are VERY tempting in a laptop.