What brands are you loyal to? (Inspired by Gadget Gears and Phones)

[zCypher]

Brand loyalty? No thanks. I'll do my best to figure out what is the best value and that's what I'll buy. Why would I knowingly buy something of worse value? Obviously if a lower priced item cannot be confirmed to have equal or greater quality, then I forget about it. There's no sense in losing time and money trying to save a little bit. There's usually a sweet spot.

If an AMD CPU suits my needs for a certain budget, I'll buy that. If the budget allows an Intel CPU, I'll buy that instead. I bought myself the EVGA 460 cause it was the best deal at the time. When I bought my brother's MSI 470, same thing. Granted I was already reasonably confident in EVGA and MSI from past experience and research.

It would be nonsensical for me to select something ONLY based on the brand name, especially given that in so many cases, many parts are actually the same across different brands. I have to give myself a tangible reason to select one item over another, to a certain point.

 

[thraashman]

Hmmm...
I used to be loyal to AMD, but my most recent upgrade I went with Intel.
I used to be loyal to Nintendo, but my only current gen game system is Xbox 360.
I used to be loyal to LG for phones, but my smartphone is HTC.
I used to be loyal to Maker's Mark, but my main drink now is Jim Beam Red Stag
I guess I don't do loyalty very well.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Well I've had 3 AMD PCs, 2 Intel PCs. The most recent is Intel (i7), but I had 3 PCs in a row that were AMD. K6-2, Athlon, Athlon 64/Opteron. That was 11 years of my life of AMD. But I go with whatever's faster. I believe I'm now pure Intel because my 2 laptops are also Intel, and my NAS build will probably be an i3 (once the SB issue gets fixed)

Anyway, for phones, I've jumped around. I had a period of SE love, but I jumped to Nokia after that and after swearing never to return to Moto, I did. Might consider the Atrix.

I do have a love for Apple devices. I had an iPod before, and I had a iPod Touch 1G. I have a Macbook Pro and a new iPod Touch 4G. I will consider the iPhone 5, and if I do get one, I might just sell my iPod Touch. But then again I'll wait and see if the Atrix lives up to its hype. Definitely not a fanboy though. I just use what's good. I wouldn't have a MacBook if I didn't have a powerhouse PC to fall back onto.

Snow gear? Ah. I love 686 for clothing. They rock, but when it comes to my board, bindings, boots, I'm all Burton. It's a lot of money, but their gear is definitely top notch. Clothing? While their clothing is good, the same $200 I spend can get me better waterproofing through 686 or other brands.

Clothes? I do buy a lot of H&M, Banana Republic, Gap, Express, some A&F and Hollister, and occasionally American Eagle.

Photo gear? Ok I have 5 Canon cameras. G3, SD600, Rebel T1i, 7D, S95. Not enough motivating me to switch to Nikon despite half my friends shooting Nikon. But then again they are the more newb friends, while my more pro friends are Canon-ites.

HDs. At the moment Western Digital. Seagate went on a reliability failboat after the 7200.8 series. The 7200.11 was a fail too, and WD's reliability shot up tremendously after getting over that 120gb hoax of theirs.

I hate Sony and everything they stand for, except their TVs. I love my Bravia XBR. Their cameras are a joke and I love destroying my friend's Sony P&S photos with my S95.

 

[NitrouseXpress60]

Wiley-X
Serengeti
Leatherman
Citizen Watch
Amazon

I'd say Lenovo since I've owned three Thinkpads, but to be honest, I don't see myself going back with them.

 

[ponyo]

Not brand loyal but store loyal. I'm loyal to Costco.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'm not really brand loyal, I have 'go to' brands that I'll consider first though.

White goods---------Bosch
Monitors-------------Dell
Lots of electronics----Panasonic

I don't have many I wont consider apart from Apple but that's mainly because I cant stand using their software for more than about 15mins so it would be a bit pointless (although thier hardware is pretty good)

 

[Check]

Intel
nVidia
Etnies
Trojan
Logitech Mice
Trident Gum (More of an addiction than anything)
Seagate

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

BMW for cars
Apple for computers, phones, and MP3 players
Gibson for guitars
Spyderco for knives
Campagnolo for bike components
Omega for watches
Wild Turkey for whisky

 

[IronWing]

A man told me he didn't care for Pringles. He cared for dying even less.

 

[cKGunslinger]

A man told me he didn't care for Pringles. He cared for dying even less.

Damn, that's cold.

 

[roguerower]

Like:

Asus - Every PC I have built has had a Asus mobo and they've always worked
ATI - Every dedicated video card I've bought has been ATI
Intel - Same goes for intel processors
Concept 2 - I've used a Concept2 Ergometer since sophomore year of high school.
Triumph - After next week I think I'll be a big supporter
Microsoft - Liked all MS OS's and my Zune HD
Valve - Great games
Seinheisser - 3 year old earbuds that refuse to die
Head & Shoulders

Don't Like:

Bose - overpriced
Apple - overpriced and I hate the way they do business

 

[SparkyJJO]

Generally speaking, I lean towards
AMD for CPUs/video cards
MSI/Asus/Gigabyte for motherboards (in no particular order)
Corsair/Antec for PSUs
Logitech for keyboards/mice
APC for power protection
GM for vehicles, in general
Canon cameras

I avoid:
Anything apple - can't stand the company or most of their fan base either
ECS for motherboards - ECS = Extremely Crappy Systems in my experience
Western Digital for laptop hard drives - seriously I replace more of those in laptops at work than any other for drive failures
Most Belkin stuff - jack of all trades, master of none, rather cheaply made generally


Even though I prefer AMD for CPUs and video cards, generally speaking, and am a fan, I am not a fanboy. I don't have a problem using an intel CPU or an nvidia graphics card.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Loyal to:

Samsung for monitors
Asus for laptops and graphics cards and motherboards, and sound cards
EVGA for graphics
Bose
Acura
Hyundai
VW
BMW
Audi
Intel
Nvidia

Avoid:

AMD
ATi
Apple

 

[Imp]

Dell
Microsoft
Antec
Paradigm
Western Digital
Banana Republic
Gap
J.Crew
Ikea

 

[Brigandier]

Brands I am loyal to:

Turn 10
Polyphony Digital
Nintendo
Bioware
Lian Li
NCAA College Football
Valve

Brands I won't buy:
Gigabyte(bad experiences)
Apple(overpriced for what it does)
American Eagle
Old Navy
Nike
Reebok(except one classic shoe they make, I can't remember the name)
Mad Catz
Logisys

 

[jlee]

It used to be Toyota until they went downhill...so my list is subject to change if something starts to suck.

As of now:

Shell gasoline
Shell Rotella T6 5w40 oil
Mobil1 10w30 oil
Logitech mice/keyboards
ATI video cards
Intel CPU's for fast stuff
AMD CPU's for cheap stuff
Gigabyte/Asus boards
5.11 Tactical gear
Underarmor (if you know of better/cheaper stuff that competes with ColdGear, I'm listening)

Avoid:
Apple
Irving gasoline (91 = fail)
Cheap tires
No-name car audio

Loyal to:
Acura

Someone needs to visit Audio/Video & Home Theater.

 

[Ichinisan]

Prefer:
Logitech (Keyboards, mouses, audio, remotes, game controllers...)
Nintendo
Intel
NVIDIA
Microsoft
Sony
Dell (displays)
Corsair
Asus
Gigabyte
PC Power & Cooling
Cooler Master
Antec

Avoid:
MSI

Love/Hate:
Apple

 

[ed21x]

1. Logitech
2. sennheiser
3. asus
4. visio
5. htc
6. nikon/canon
7. garmin
8. honda
9. nintendo
10. seiko

no brand loyalties to anything fashion/accessories related. All the above brands have never let me down, and none charge a price premium for its consistently good quality,

 

[TechAZ]

Loyal to:
1. AMD
2. Nvidia
3. Newegg
4. Ford
5. Microsoft

Refuse to buy:
1. HP
2. Apple
3. Chevrolet

 

[TallBill]

Altoids

That's about it...

 

[npoe1]

My loyalty and in no particular order goes to:
Dell
Microsoft
Asrock
Samsung
HTC
Ford
Newegg

 

[Zebo]

Mercury outboards
Ford cars
ASICS Nimbus Gel running shoes... Bought about 50 pair.
Asolo powermatic boots
NEC IPS monitors
Glenmorangie Scotch
Sig Sauer Handguns
iPhones
Seasonic PSU
SouthWest Air
Benelli Shotguns
Lundberg Organic Short Grain Brown Rice
Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard with White Wine (I will actually go apeshit if any other mustard is substituted in fridge. My wife says "Oh this is just as good I got at German delicatessen"... Bullshit and I toss it in the garbage and go get real mustard, Grey Poupon - she's only tried that trick like a dozen times and it's getting old)
Tony Chachere's More Spice Creole Seasoning


What I don't care about is
Clothes cheaper the better buy most at bass pro or walmart
Fishing poles cheaper the better since I break and lose them $4 is average
Anything in the house such as appliances, furniture etc but wife takes care of that

 

[Bateluer]

Loyal to:
Brooks shoes, Asus hardware

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Ford is really the only thing I can think of.

I'm really not anti-Apple, I own an iPod and would buy any Apple product based on its merit, but I must admit the fanboiness turns me off a bit.

I love the fact they just recalled 280,000 Ford F-150 pickup trucks because of door handles. A science well above and beyond what Furd is capable of. :thumbsdown:

 

[Zebo]

I love the fact they just recalled 280,000 Ford F-150 pickup trucks because of door handles. A science well above and beyond what Furd is capable of. :thumbsdown:

A broken door handle won't slam you into a mountain like a Toyota. :\Get real cars are recalled every day every make Ford's problem is minor.

I stick with fords because my value judgments make it so I damn near have to total them before they quit. My 01 town car had over 200K before I sold it, actually cash for clunkers for wifes Taurus/F-500. My F350 has over 180K and only replaced springs and driveline because I eat cars. Toy I was not so lucky with. 4runner lasted my 21000 miles with 3 broken a-arms while owning and burnt xmission towing my Scout out of the woods.