Cheaper .. is better?

[Bridget]

Why does cheaper always seem to be better? Compare:

My Razer Deathadder was $70.00 - It lasted a year.
My Logitech G5 was $65.00 - It lasted four months.
My Saitek Keyboard was $45.00 - It lasted three months.
My Razer Xactmat was $30.00 - It wore down and destroyed my mouse in a year.
My SteelSeries mousepad was $9.99 OEM - Despite dirt, it's still in use.
In 98, my optical cost $9.99 - It lasted eight years, and can still be used.
In 98, my keyboard cost $5.00 - It's still in use considering every other keyboard has failed me.

I can go on and on. My Logitech G5 is starting to die after four months of fair use. I am so raged. So, why is cheaper almost always better? This seems to transcend to other products as well. As a teen, my $50 skateboard lasted three years, while my $250+ skateboard only lasted three weeks. You can buy Ben and Jerry's at $6.00 for a tiny container or $3.00 for a giant family sized store-brand tub. You can spend $30.00 on brand name medicine made with x, y, and z, or you can buy generic at $3.00 made with x, y, and z.

It's not that I demand more from the more expensive products or that I use them more ruggedly. I'm actually *more gentle* with the expensive products because I'm afraid they'll brick. With cheaper products, I use and abuse, and they always — maybe it's luck — seem to work just fine the next day.

What about you? ):

[Skanky Butterpuss]

longer lasting =/= better. i would compare this to sex, but i dont think youll understand the reference, so ill stick with electronics. windows optical mice last quite a while, but the G5 outperforms it with more options for adjustability and customizability (oh yeah, and more buttons). all of this extra stuff = more circuitry, more circuitry with the potential to fail, potentially rendering the rest of the mouse useless. thems be the facts.

i dunno, ive had my G5 for 7 months and it still works just fine, and before that i had a G7 that worked just fine for 2 years (and still does, i replaced it with the g5 because of the latency when trying to play ps3 games with the mouse). ive had my Saitek keyboard for 7 months and it still works the same as it did when i got it. maybe you just have bad luck and should stick to your long-lasting cheap stuff?

[Bridget]

I don't mean better in performance, obviously, for the electronics. I'd rather have a shitty-performance mouse that can actually stay active for a few years than a high-performance mouse that disconnects/reconnects randomly in the middle of activities before ultimately dying a few weeks later. :/

[KubeDawg]

I've used my eMachines keyboard since I bought my first computer, which is what, 7 years now? Some of the keys are fucked up cause I dropped a hard drive on em, but it's still functioning quite perfectly.


That's what my first PC looked like. Only thing I don't like is that the crap gets in between the keys over the years. I turned it upside down because I started hearing a funny noise coming from my N key, and there was a fucking mountain goat in it!

As far as mice go, My old optical Microsoft Intellipoint mouse lasted for about 5 years then died. I bought the same exact model for $5 new on eBay. But, I was feeling like I needed more functionality, and sure enough, this MX518 is now my favorite mouse of choice. Had it for over a year now, and it's fantastic. Only cost $45.

[Ihmhi]

Originally Posted by Bridget

I don't mean better in performance, obviously, for the electronics. I'd rather have a shitty-performance mouse that can actually stay active for a few years than a high-performance mouse that disconnects/reconnects randomly in the middle of activities before ultimately dying a few weeks later. :/

My Compaq three button mouse (two buttons, scroll wheel, scroll wheel button) has faithfully served me since 2001 and still does.

My emachines keyboard is going on 9 years. The keys stick a bit from just wearing down the springiness of it, but generally it works fine.

I had a Gateway2000 19" CRT monitor that I got used in 1999. It had already had six months of use. It lasted me 9 Years.During the last 6 months, the screen would change into the shape of an hourglass. I'd have to smack it on the top to get it to right itself. Eventually it wouldn't return to normal and I got one of my spare monitors from the Dreaded Computer Closet of Doom (TM) and replaced it.

I'd posit that cheaper is sometimes better for one or more of the following reasons:

• Cheape cost means fewer parts, fewer parts mean less stuff goes wrong
• Better engineered to be cost-effective
• Less parts, so they focus on having, say, 100 quality parts rather thna 500 so-so parts

[MightyLotu]

i'm on a laptop now but my old compaq computer, monitor n keyboard never failed me and is still in use now.. it's around 8 yrs old
got a 22inch lcd and new speakers for it though

during that time it probably went through the worst kind of abuse a computer can go through.. hell it's been dropped off a desk 2 times

[mervaka]

my G5 still works fine.

[Innoc]

I typically buy inexpensive Microsoft mice and keyboards. They seems to serve me well. If they fail...they're cheap to replace.

[Hammock]

I've owned my logitech MX500 for like 7 years now and it still works fantastically. It cost around $60-$70 at the time of purchase. The bottom is soo worn out I could barely read anything on the bottom to find out what model it was, and there are two very polished black ovals on top where my fingers lay on it. It's lasted through quite a bit, I mean I've spilled tons of shit on it over the years and it keeps on ticking.

[zSilver_Fox]

I bought my Razer Diamondback six months after it was released. I'm still using it. My Saitek Executive I bought probably three or four years ago, I'm typing on it right now.

[Mooga]

I've had my G5 for over a year now, runs like a cham.
The best keyboards I've ever used (but sadly have lost them) are the Model M Keyboards. Seriously nothing like them.

[MonoXideAtWork]

amen to model Ms.

Also, I am using a g5 now, but my previous mouse was a mx518.

Microsoft mice have a livetime warranty, which is good, because the cord always seemed to go out.

[Bridget]

Originally Posted by MonoXideAtWork

amen to model Ms.

Also, I am using a g5 now, but my previous mouse was a mx518.

Microsoft mice have a livetime warranty, which is good, because the cord always seemed to go out.

Yes, that's the problem with my G5. I'm trying to get the support team to stop asking me useless questions and instructing me on things I've already done and to commence the replacement process. It's a great mouse, just.. Four months and it's gone?

[SmellyCat]

I've been using this fiver 'Trust' keyboard and an Intellimouse 3 for so long now that if they did eventually break I'd have to rebuy the same model again because I wouldn't know how to use anything else.. So, guess I must agree?

[Mooga]

Originally Posted by Bridget

It's a great mouse, just.. Four months and it's gone?

What exactly is wrong with it? I don't understand how you can brake a mouse unless you abuse it. Hell, I had a mouse which a book shelve fell on. A few min of work and it worked fine enough to use.

[Skanky Butterpuss]

yeah it really seems you are the only one having trouble with keeping mice alive, bridget. either you got the 1 mouse that snuck by the QA team, or youve been doing dirty things to that mouse that make it want to end its life prematurely. poor little mousey

[Bridget]

It's a cord problem. I haven't abused the mouse either; I've been pretty gentle with it considering its price tag.

[Skanky Butterpuss]

stop chewing on your cord!

[Credge]

I have cord problems with headsets. It doesn't matter what brand, how much they are, or anything, they get assed up in about 4-6 months. I've made sure to gently lay them down after I'm done using them, ensure they don't get tangled, etc.

They ass out on me.

The main reason is that cords are shit. I'd pay an extra $20 for a headset to get one with a thick cord.

[Etzell]

I've had two Logitech 350 headsets over the last 8 or so years. The first one lasted about 4, and then when I was taking it off the way I always do (grab one earpiece and pull), it fell apart in my hands. Got another one, it's lasted me since, and I treat it like complete crap.
$20 a pop, 4 years of abuse? Not bad.

Interestingly, it's the only piece of equipment I treat poorly, and it's the one I worry about the least.