PC hardware you should avoid. The do not buy list for computer parts.....

[Papusan]

As the thread title say... "PC hardware you should avoid". Please post about your bad experience here. Thanks

[Papusan]

Reserved.

[Mr. Fox]

All turdbooks. EOM.

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Anything made by Alienware. EOM

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Add the Patriot Viper 8200 DDR5 kit to the do not buy list. This memory is trash. @tps3443found the same to be true in his testing. I was hoping to replace my generic A-die with a slightly better product, but it is more than slightly inferior. XMP1 and XMP2 both fail TM5 testing and increasing the voltage does not help. Tested with both the Z690 Dark and the Z790 Apex and the outcome is the same on both platforms.

 

It is ridiculous that the only DDR5 modules that have been good enough to keep are my generic green sticks and the G.SKILL 8000 kit I already own. Everything (literally) I have purchased hoping for something better has been utter trash. I think I am done wasting my time with the endeavor. It's pointless, and shameful how much defective garbage is being offered for sale. Two TeamGroup DDR5 kits (including their so-called Xtreem memory), one G.SKILL 32GB kit and now one Patriot 48GB kit returned as garbage in the past 90 days.

 

These are the trash sticks to steer away from: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1796763-REG/patriot_pvx548g82c38k_viper_xtreme_48gb_8200mt_s.html 

^^^poo-poo-cah-cah^^^

 

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Tested these so you don't have to...

On 11/25/2023 at 7:50 PM, Mr. Fox said:

That TeamGroup Xtreem 8000 C38 memory kit was absolute rubbish. It was worse than the cheaper TeamGroup 7200 Expert garbage I returned. It produced errors in TM5 and TestMemPro no matter what settings I used. The XMP profile performed unusually well compared to others, but I am thinking the kit I got was either a bad sample or the marketing information about binning their memory ICs is just a bunch of nonsense, hooey or deliberately lying. It's on its way back to Amazon and I got my money back. So far nothing I have tested in the 16GB A-die memory kits has performed as well as my generic green sticks from AliExpress. Nothing else overclocks as well or is as stable as those modules are, and they're not even a matched "kit" like the retail trash.

 

After pulling the Xtreme junk modules out and reinstalling my generic sticks, they booted and ran every test error-free using the XMP profile that was unstable with the TG sticks. That is super-disappointing. There should be no silicon lottery when you pay extra from something advertised as being superior. Beyond disappointing, it is an inexcusable and unforgivable lack of QC. If Amazon publishes my review (with memory test error screenshots) they probably won't sell many of these trash sticks.

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These were also pretty lackluster, but somewhat forgivable to the extent they are cheap...

  

On 11/13/2023 at 1:20 AM, Mr. Fox said:

 

Well, not a bad kit. Quality is fine. The advertisement (even on the box) of a "one piece design" on the heatsink is just straight-up false. It is two pieces. The seam is not obvious at a glance and it looks like one piece. Not sure I am going to keep it because it is not remarkably  better than the RAM I took out of the Dark. It runs the same memory overclock as the G.SKILL kit on the Apex. I will think about it for a day or two. Not really gaining anything for the money spent. The 16GB*2 generic green A-die sticks are basically just as good. The only measurable benefit, which may not even matter in the grand scheme of things, is the extra 16GB of memory capacity. The extra capacity is worth something, but I am not sure that is a good enough basis for keeping versus RMA/refund.

 

Here is the XMP default.

Here is the memory overclock matching the Apex.

If I keep it then, of course, it will have the heating blankets removed and the water-cooling kit on the generic A-die sticks will be installed on them. Just a matter of whether or not I decide it is worth the extra money and associated hassle. I'm kind of leaning toward "no" but we will see if I change my mind in a few days. I gained nothing on overclocking capacity, but also didn't lose anything except the slightly tighter timings possible with the 16GB first-generation A-die modules.

On 11/13/2023 at 6:24 AM, Mr. Fox said:

Nah... slept on it and do not need to think longer. No overclocking benefit over what I already have. The looser timings and higher voltage are worth mentioning. I don't need the extra 16GB. Sending it back for a refund makes the most sense. It deserves mention that the T-Create modules have dual XMP profiles; the mediocre 7200 and an even more mediocre 6000.

 

[Etern4l]

Corsair "Force Series" MP510 2TB SSD

Turned out the Force wasn't with that one unfortunately: clunky software, failed after a few years of very light use.  

 

Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1 Laptop

While Alienwares are not ideal, this thing was something else. First the webcam failed, then the mobo - with even lighter use.

[Mr. Fox]

1 hour ago, Etern4l said:

Corsair "Force Series" MP510 2TB SSD

Yikes. I hope my 1TB version of that doesn't meet the same fate. It's a couple of years old.

1 hour ago, Etern4l said:

Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1 Laptop

This one doesn't surprise me. Lenovo's consumer-focused (non-business class) garbage took the bottom feeder's crown in the turdbook cesspool.

[Etern4l]

46 minutes ago, Mr. Fox said:

Yikes. I hope my 1TB version of that doesn't meet the same fate. It's a couple of years old.

 

Hope the 1 TB version is more robust. I switched to Seagate - class-leading TBW and much better software, also available on Linux. So far so good: 56TB, and "Life: 99%" showing in SeaTools :) I don't remember exactly, but the failed Corsair probably had no more than 10 TB on the clock. 

[ryan]

avoid the MSI gs63vr I had two fans go on it in two months. msi refused a refund. utter garbage, and the reason I avoid MSI even if they do have the odd good product

[Eban]

Question

Seagate HDD. Are they still considered overpriced crud? A few years back they were crashing and loosing data like it was on purpose.

I have only ever used Westerndigital since then for good old fashion HDD.

[6730b]

^^^ Using several Seagate 2.5", alive and well after many years.

[Eban]

On 12/29/2023 at 12:53 AM, 6730b said:

^^^ Using several Seagate 2.5", alive and well after many years.

 

Luck of the draw perhaps....seems if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any at all 

 

Just on a side note about HDD's...Toshiba has hit big trouble and their HDD's were always good to me.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/20/end-of-era-as-toshiba-delists-from-tokyo-stock-exchange-after-74-years

[Papusan]

SSD's and flash prices increasing, but this is just dumb. Offer less for more is the modern trend I don't like. This one from Samsung is to be avoided.  

 

 

Samsung launches the 990 Evo SSDs – slower and more expensive than the 990 Pro

The company's follow-up to the best-selling 970 Evo makes the leap to PCI Express 4.0, but offers rather subdued transfer speeds and confusing pricing.

 

With scaled-down performance, the devices should move in a lower price range, but here something seems to have gone wrong in Samsung's marketing department. The recommended prices for the 990 Evo land at SEK 1,599 for the 1 TB model and SEK 2,599 for the 2 TB model, i.e. higher price tags "than the top models in the 990 Pro series". Whether Samsung chooses to lower the price in the future remains to be seen.

 

 

[6730b]

Looking back at the SSD history, "OCZ's listed MSRP of $499 for the 32GB drive and $1,099 for the 64GB" (+40% in today's money).
Better speed than HD's but no immense revolution, and surely questionable reliability\lifespan.
Early adopters > "You can always tell who the pioneers are because they have arrows in their back and are lying face down in the dirt" :O)

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/03/ssds-in-2008-fast-speeds-200mbsec-over-price-cuts/

[Reciever]

On 12/31/2023 at 7:57 PM, Eban said:

 

Luck of the draw perhaps....seems if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any at all 

 

Just on a side note about HDD's...Toshiba has hit big trouble and their HDD's were always good to me.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/20/end-of-era-as-toshiba-delists-from-tokyo-stock-exchange-after-74-years

I use a number of seagate drives and so far the only drive to fail me is a Samsung 850 SATA M.2. That being said I did have pretty much all of my "FreeAgent Xtreme" drives fail on me but that was 15-17 years ago.

[kojack]

On 3/11/2024 at 10:50 PM, Reciever said:

I use a number of seagate drives and so far the only drive to fail me is a Samsung 850 SATA M.2. That being said I did have pretty much all of my "FreeAgent Xtreme" drives fail on me but that was 15-17 years ago.

I have had the same experience with Seagate.  The only Seagate drive to fail on me was a SSHD which was a terrible drive anyways.  The failure rate on them were over 60 percent.  Other than that, I have not had any issues.  I have had WD and Toshiba deathstars fail on me regularly.