Review Me!

May 5, 2007 10:43 AM

Where can I find good reviews for electronics that can be trusted?

I am looking to buy an external hard drive. I have found a few models that seem good, based on reviews at cnet.com. But I don't know if I can trust these reviews! I sometimes use wize.com, but they often don't have a review for the product I am looking at. Where can I find reviews for electronics, particularly hard drives?

posted by LoopyG to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

newegg.com has user reviews, which i usually go by. usually the best prices, too
posted by white light at 10:56 AM on May 5, 2007

Best answer: seconding newegg; I usually look for a device that has the most reviews and weigh its rating more strongly than a device with fewer. Then, I read negative-to-positive, and I find that many (if not most) negative reviews refer to a user's configuration or disappointment with the capacity drive (e.g. 500 shows up as only 465!).
posted by zachxman at 10:59 AM on May 5, 2007

Best answer: The Tech Report
Dan's Data
    (Daniel Rutter is a MeFi member, by the way)
Ars Technica
Tom's Hardware
AnandTech
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:31 AM on May 5, 2007

CNet is pretty reliable, albeit not too specific sometimes. But I still love 'em.

SCDB has a pretty thorough list. However, you may also want to look at forums/communities that focus on the type of product you're buying. For example, if you're buying an iPod, iLounge is great. Or for cameras, dpreview.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 12:02 PM on May 5, 2007

NewEgg is my favorite computer store too, but they delete most actually negative reviews.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 12:44 PM on May 5, 2007

When I am ready to buy something I go to Amazon and look at the user reviews. If you sort by "rated most helpful" you will nearly always find some comprehensive and even handed reviews.
posted by LarryC at 3:24 PM on May 5, 2007

Seconding Dan's Data... He's pretty good at giving an honest opinion (pretty hopeless MeFi member tho, he needs to post more! :) )
posted by ranglin at 3:25 PM on May 5, 2007

Worth checkikng into: Google's Hard drive information in their data centers via engadget
posted by filmgeek at 4:19 PM on May 5, 2007

Seconding theiconoclast31's reviews.cnet.com suggestion. I've always found their reviews accurate, thorough, and trustworthy.
posted by richardhay at 6:01 PM on May 5, 2007

Steven's list is great; those are the same sites I tend to use. The main reason I prefer sites like Ars and Tom's Hardware over a site like cnet is because they aren't afraid to call a company out when the product is a POS. I want hard criticism from people who actually use the type of product I'm reviewing, not cushy reviews from a site that's overly-concerned with alienating their advertisers. (And TheOnlyCoolTim is right; newegg removes negative user reviews, so I wouldn't exactly call them trustworthy).

That said, check out Storage Review.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 8:46 PM on May 8, 2007

If you already have a hard drive available, I personally recommend a hard drive enclosure as an alternative. I have two Mad Dog enclosures (available at mdmm.com) and they are easy stuff. Easy to install hard drive, easy to use...
posted by silasjones at 12:16 AM on May 9, 2007