What are your defaults when it comes to tech?

[Levent]

CPU: Best bang for buck.

Motherboard: I would like to avoid MSI motherboards moving on. I had very good luck with Gigabyte despite Z77-DS3H being an absolute piece of shit.

Graphics: Nvidia just because their drivers are decades ahead of AMD. Board partner: Asus and MSI, I avoid Sapphire, zotac and palit cards at all cost.

OS: Windows on PC and Linux Mint on laptop.

Phone Os: Android. I wouldn't even consider iPhones even if they were cheaper.

Phone manufacturer: OnePlus or Pixel.

PSU: Corsair, I had really good luck with their even shittiest VS450 PSUs.

I usually give no shits about other things, usually get the cheapest that will suit my needs.

[jones177]

For CPUs it has been Intel since 2008. My last AMD was an Opteron back in 2007.  Next time I buy it will be the fastest available at the time.

 

I have only bought EVGA and Gigabyte video cards since the 2000s but EVGA has been easy to deal with when things go wrong so they are my first choice.

 

For motherboards it is either Gigabyte(Aorus) or ASUS depending on reviews. For ASUS it is only high end boards since every time I buy less than a Hero board I get issues. 

 

For power supplies it is either EVGA or Corsair. Sometimes EVGA have crazy sales on them so I check their site first. 

 

For CPU air cooling it is either be quite or Noctua depending on availability.   

 

My mice are Razer and my keyboard is Corsair but I don't use their software.

 

My cases are Cooler Master with 200mm fans. Every time I buy different cases they seem too noisy to me.

 

SSDs are either Samsung or Crucial. None have failed so I buy what is on sale.

 

My monitors are either ASUS, Samsung or LG but all my purchases in the last 3 years have been LG.

 

 All my TVs are LG and they use Yamaha for sound. 

 

 

[flibberdipper]

Might as well just make a list of my current defaults:

• Peripherals - Logitech but Steelseries headsets
• Phones - iPhones all the way
• Laptops - Probably just Dell because XPS17 makes bepis fat
• Monitors - Basically just anything that supports DDC with a good panel. Bonus points for automatic aspect ratio adjustments and input switching
• PC components - ASUS for basically everything, Corsair RAM, Samsung for SSDs, HDDs is just whichever is CMR between Seagate and WD with Seagate being my choice for non-NAS drives regardless of CMR/SMR, no preference on PSU but lean towards Corsair more often than not
• CPU/GPU - Probably just AMD/Nvidia like a true normie

And then the one-off in this list, LG is absolutely the default for TVs.

[NineEyeRon]

Windows, Microsoft, Apple, Android, Google, Intel, Samsung, Sony, Corsair, LG, Panasonic, Logitech and Seagate.

[Ar558a]

Usually I'm a cheap skate so I tend not have as many loyalties as others although if I can I pick the cheapest of the known names if I'm spending more than like £20 on something. In terms of Brands that I do favour, I have almost exclusively had nvidia GPU's (1 ATI/AMD card in 20 years). Google as a Search engine, will always use Android phones. 

[WhitetailAni]

On 1/29/2021 at 7:22 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)

Laptop: I haven't owned a modern laptop in awhile, but I honestly think I'd go MacBook (unless of course I win the laptop giveaway)

Primary OS: Windows

Phone: Never had one, but I will go Android so I can keep my game save data

CPU: AMD
GPU: Nvidia, currently FE but if they make an ugly design I'll choose an AIB

Headphones: I've been using a beat-up Logitech G430 for awhile now (mic and ear cups held on with hot glue and duct tape)

TV: Never owned one, but CRTs are too big and bulky, plus they don't have HDMI.

Main display: Currently 1080p60 16:9, but I have it overclocked to 77 Hz and I like it.

I don't like 16:10, but 4:3/5:4 is tolerable.

 

EDIT:
Motherboard: Asus because I like their RGB software

PSU: Seasonic

Storage: WD for HDDs, Samsung for SSDs

Case: Rosewill GAMING Cruiser

RAM, Monitor(s), CPU coolers, and fans: Never bought one so don't know

Mac OS X version: 10.4

macOS version: 10.15

 

[PlayStation 2]

ASRock motherboards, AMD CPUs and that's about it. 

[ElectroBrocoli]

On 1/29/2021 at 8:22 PM, 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 me my phone would be android with at least 6 core

for PC i'll chose linux spesificly ultimate edition

for tv i would chose LCD one since CRT is to big and need such a big amount of current

i'll so chose non RGB since my room is white

[Padblaze]

On 1/29/2021 at 8:37 AM, SpiderMan said:

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. 

For laptops/desktops, windows 4 life but it could be good to see other os initiative as there are not a lot of them right now

For phones, samsung for me too

 

For CPUs, most likely Intel but I can go for AMD if there is a big performance boost

For RAM, corair or gskill

For motherboards, Asus ROG/TUF are the best imo

For GPUs, I will always go for the Strix Edition

For monitors, Rog strix/tuf too

For psu, same thing as u so corsair and evga as they are really reliable brand

For storage, i dont really have preference

For fans and coolers, deepcool and corsair 

For case, corsair or lian li not only for its o11 version but also lancool ii and mesh

[Padblaze]

On 1/29/2021 at 12:43 PM, Analog said:

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

I use Logitech for all my peripherals, I have the G Pro, G513 (upgrading to the g915tkl in a few days), and the G635

[Arika]

the ONLY "allegiance" i have when it comes to hardware is GPU and i always go for NVidia and it's purely because of GameStream. A lot of my setup revolves around the use of Moonlight. no other "streaming" software has given me better quality or latency.

[Loki0111]

When it comes to PC hardware I have no brand loyalty to anyone. I do avoid Apple for a range of personal reasons, I also avoid other specific brands due to bad experiences with them.

 

But I've used Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, Sony you name it. Whatever has the best performance for the dollar with good reliability usually wins.

[lieutent]

7zip

[Kisai]

On 1/29/2021 at 5:22 AM, Ashley xD said:

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

 

For laptops i always go with MacBooks.

A good choice if you don't need windows.

 

On 1/29/2021 at 5:22 AM, Ashley xD said:

For phones i always use iPhones.

Another good choice.

 

On 1/29/2021 at 5:22 AM, Ashley xD said:

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.

I always had the AMD gpu's up to the HD 7xxx and then switched to nVidia parts. All the current computer NN stuff requires nvidia parts.

 

On 1/29/2021 at 5:22 AM, Ashley xD said:

For headphones i always go with Sony.

 

Sony is a good choice, but the problem is most of the stuff you get isn't that high quality unless you're paying more than $50, and even then high end headphones that cover your ears are better than earbuds.

 

On 1/29/2021 at 5:22 AM, Ashley xD said:

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'm not terribly fond of the 16:9 screen ratio but it's a fair compromise between 4:3 and 2.39:1. I'm also not fond of "curved" screens because those are not work screens, those are flight-sim/gaming screens.

 

Work and Art screens need to be 16:10, and they just rarely show up.

 

 

[camieabz]

Dell monitors (prefer 16:10 aspect ratio). The rest is up for negotiation, depending on benchmarks, price, warranty and reviews. Tend only to buy lots of tech when building a new rig, so I don't really stick to any one company for any one type of kit. I might even go back to Intel, if the AMD prices keep rising.

[ToastinJam]

Usually whatever will be the best for the use case. The best bang for buck and has what features I need. I generally avoid Apple products as I no longer have any other Apple devices so their ecosystem doesn't really work for me.

But I have used Intel, AMD, Asrock, Asus, Gigabyte, Lenovo, Dell among others. It depends on prices, performance, features and availability.

[Ashleyyyy]

6 hours ago, Kisai said:

Sony is a good choice, but the problem is most of the stuff you get isn't that high quality unless you're paying more than $50, and even then high end headphones that cover your ears are better than earbuds.

i've got an OG 1000X and a WH-1000X M3

[Pc6777]

I avoid apple like the plague, because I don't like closed systems or there monopolistic drm ridden platform, androids not much better tbh just dislike it less so I use it. My last phone and current phone have been the t-mobile house brand revvel 2 plus and now I have they revvel 5g, they are a good value for what you get, but they aren't unlocked which I dont like but whatever. for computer I use windows, I would probably run Linux if my games and programs were compatible. for gpu and cpu brands, I don't really have a favorite, I get whatever is a good value and or on sale and preforms well, although I might go all amd in the future because its very annoying to have to make an ONLINE account for GeForce experience, and amd has more backwards compatibility with motherboards and you can overclock on non premium boards, but right now im using an intel nvidia setup and have used amd in the past. Im not all that picky at all when it comes to what company "makes" the gpu, although I do kinda like gigabyte because there branding is cool and the "ultra durable" logo advertising works on me I guess, but if there was a different brand gpu for 10 or 20 less im getting that instead. I actually like my pixio monitor a lot(px 275h, 95 hz 1440p) and next time i buy a monitor if they have good options I might stick with them. 4 out of my 5 good pairs of headphones are audiotechnica. I never pay attention to ram brand, as long as its a name brand or is a good up and coming brand that has good reviews then I dont care.

[8tg]

For phones I’ve always preferred iPhones, same for music players, as I’ve been using an iPhone 4S and iPod touch 2nd gen for years now. Every so often I swing into a newer iPhone like my SE, 5C or 7, but I keep going back to the 4S.

 

For laptops, always Thinkpad. And never modern ones. For a very long time I daily used a Thinkpad T42, Pentium M era hardware with windows XP straight into 2018. I only as of recently moved to a Z61t and now a thinkpad X220 but I every newer one I’ve used sucks.

 

For desktops, I like weird hardware. I hate using current gen mainstream parts because I’m hipster trash when it comes to these types of things. I currently use an Athlon 5350 and Tesla C2050 in my main PC. I also have dozens of other systems in various states of togetherness ranging from a Pentium E6500k, a Q9650, Athlon II X3, Xeon x3440, Pentium G3260, i5 4570, i7 7700T ES, etc

As for brands in this sphere, gainward makes the best video card coolers and has the best software. Gigabyte for motherboards always, Crucial for memory and storage, and I tend to buy weird power supplies from Aigo and Segotep and the likes but if I had to pick a mainstream brand, Rosewill on the high end is very well priced and I find myself using a lot of their units.

 

For headphones, Dekoni Blues/Fostex T50RP mk3’s. Right at that point before you’re spending $2600 on headphones and an amp the size of a VCR, because to be honest the points between 260 and 2600 dollars spent on audio equipment are not worth mentioning. If you can afford 600$ headphones you can afford 2600$ headphones, just get the fancy ones.

For iems, moondrop starfields are 500$ sound at 110$ prices.

 

Keyboards and mice, always Logitech. Nuff said.

 

Sound cards, ooooh, we get into the weird shit. General recommendation is to have a dedicated windows XP or 2000 installation and get yourself an Audigy of any variety. Soundblaster Audigy cards are godly for their price and for 99% of users from the casual to the home audiophile they’re fantastic. However there are niche cards and steps up. For old video games, the soundblaster live is a must, compatibility and all. But for music, just straight music, voyetra turtle beach Santa Cruz. There is no better sound card for pure music in the sub 50$ range than the Santa Cruz. I own 19 of them, because they’re so great, and they’re fun to mod.

On the high end you’re buying an onkyo wavio, higher end like the 300 for several hundred dollars before you end up in studio quality stuff or in a situation where a dedicated external hardware setup is just much more worthwhile.

 

Last one, computer cases. Never buy an expensive case. Rosewill. Buy a 20$ micro atx case and hot glue a dozen fans inside of it and be pleased knowing that wow, this thing works just as well as the 200$ cases because you’re not running any hardware that actually needs proper airflow, and you don’t have more than 1 drive anyway. Every time I see a “budget” build with like a 1060 equivalent and a used Ryzen 5 all I can see is their dumb choice to buy a 50-80$ case because it has a window. My man, buy a cheap case, tuck it under your desk, ignore it.

 

[wall03]

CPU: Best bang for buck.

Motherboard: Avoid MSI. I don't rly have a preference, tho

Graphics: AMD, but if NVIDIA has better value, then NVIDIA

OS: Windows 10.

Phone Os: iOS

PSU: Corsair.

[Kisai]

10 hours ago, Pc6777 said:

I avoid apple like the plague, because I don't like closed systems or there monopolistic drm ridden platform, androids not much better tbh just dislike it less so I use it. 

A political stance is often a poor purchasing choice. Yes you can opt out of one vendors hardware or software, until you can't. Then are you end up being one of those senior citizens who go "darn kids and their fancy new thing, back in my day, we didn't have that thing, if we wanted to talk to someone on the other side of the planet we sent lettermail."

 

The best option is typically to not commit to an ecosystem that only one vendor has bought into. Apple's ecosystem is more secure and stable than Android. That's all there is to it. If I wanted an open-source phone, there is no hardware that supports that configuration, and you'll be sadly disappointed when banking apps won't work because your device isn't secure enough for them. This is the end-game scenario for Android devices going obsolete quick, if you're not running the latest Android OS, you'll find the apps will not get updated, and the certificates will expire for communicating with sites (thanks to the push for https on sites that didn't need it.)

 

[Pc6777]

1 hour ago, Kisai said:

A political stance is often a poor purchasing choice. Yes you can opt out of one vendors hardware or software, until you can't. Then are you end up being one of those senior citizens who go "darn kids and their fancy new thing, back in my day, we didn't have that thing, if we wanted to talk to someone on the other side of the planet we sent lettermail."

 

The best option is typically to not commit to an ecosystem that only one vendor has bought into. Apple's ecosystem is more secure and stable than Android. That's all there is to it. If I wanted an open-source phone, there is no hardware that supports that configuration, and you'll be sadly disappointed when banking apps won't work because your device isn't secure enough for them. This is the end-game scenario for Android devices going obsolete quick, if you're not running the latest Android OS, you'll find the apps will not get updated, and the certificates will expire for communicating with sites (thanks to the push for https on sites that didn't need it.)

 

I don't like android either tbh I have always just disliked it less, never thought about security maybe you have a good point, idk if I got he latest iphone for free I would probably use it because they are high end devices despite my distain for the company they use good hardware and they are well optimized, but I would never use mac os or Chromebook os under any circumstance, I like freedom and options and installing new hardware, dont get me wrong windows is starting to go down a path I dont like and hiding options to make local accounts, but windows isnt nearly as closed or restricted, as much as Microsoft would like to make windows more restricted and closed they know if they do they will alienate a sizable potion of their customer base so they are forced to keep windows open and free for the most part. Like I really dislike how you cant change out the hardware on a lot of macs or build your own and they use proprietary parts, whats the point of having a high end mac if you cant fix it yourself, one thing breaks and its rendered useless or you have to take it to apple to fix it, phones are a bit different tho because nobody really fixes phones no matter the os or brand.

[8tg]

1 hour ago, Kisai said:

A political stance is often a poor purchasing choice. Yes you can opt out of one vendors hardware or software, until you can't. Then are you end up being one of those senior citizens who go "darn kids and their fancy new thing, back in my day, we didn't have that thing, if we wanted to talk to someone on the other side of the planet we sent lettermail."

This, there’s a point where you have to put aside software ethics and views and just use a better product.

I am currently posting this from a librooted thinkpad running a non mainstream Linux distro using pale moon as a web browser, I have every tracker I can possibly find disabled, I haven’t seen a cookie in a year.

And I use an iPhone because it’s simply a better product, it’s more reliable and stable than any android product I’ve owned from a variety of companies and variety of price points.

[Intergalacticbits]

CPU is always intel.

GPU is always Nvidia though I have had a couple red team cards in the past just to try them. Nvidia has always just looked more crisp to my eye personally and that matters a lot to me.

For sound Sony though I refuse to pay these high prices for ear buds and headphones that are happening these days.

I've always had HP computers but after all this crazy is over I would like to build a couple of machines. When I do finally get there my choice for Motherboard would be Asus or Gigabyte.

For storage I like WD and Samsung.

For TV's I've always leaned hard to Samsung.

 

This is embarrassing but my phone has been a flip phone forever lol. I've never owned a smart phone. I just don't talk or text that much and with the data caps they advertise on smart phones. I just don't want to pay $40 or more a month for a phone that I won't hardly use except occasionally for the map app. I'm just all about the entertainment. If I could watch movies and shows on it all the time without paying extra or having a slow down. Then I would make jump but for me personally the way things are done right now it just doesn't make sense.

 

Plus on top of all that I live in a rural place and my home is a cell dead zone black hole. 

 

 

[Giganthrax]

For phones, always Android.

 

For laptops/computers, always Windows 10. 

 

Aspect ratio is always 16:9 simply because that's what everything uses, but I actually have some 16:10 monitors.

 

Peripherals, it's Logitech every day all the way for me, although I do have an ASUS wireless headset that I'm extremely happy with. 

 

Coolers, fans, it's all Noctua forever. 

 

GPUs, I always buy Nvidia. However, I don't have any problem with buying AMD as well if it offers more bang for buck.

 

CPUs, I've been an AMD boy for a long time now. I really love Ryzen. I'll switch to Intel at a moment's notice if they offer better value in the future, of course. 

 

SSDs for personal rigs, always Samsung. Kingston when I need a reliable, budget-friendly option.

 

PSUs, I go with Seasonic or Corsair whenever possible.

 

Speakers, I find Microlab to bring the best bang for buck.

 

I hadn't bought a HDD in a long time, but I'd definitely go with Western Digital.

 

Controllers, Xbox1 is the best so far for everything except fighting games (the dpad breaks after awhile). The new PS5 controller may take its place in my heart for just this reason.