Most likely due to compatibility or quality control reasons. For some components, we just try to find the best price without venturing into unreliable territory, for others, it’s more complicated. We’ve listed reasons for popular ones below:
ASUS motherboards
The most recent releases from asus have had underwhelming build quality, and on AMD platforms, an issue with their UEFI tanks performance in VMs if you try to tweak certain power management settings. Their inclusion will change if these factors change.
WD/Seagate HDDs
Higher year over year failure rates and price per GB than other brands.
Rebranded/Reseller PSUs
If your PSU isn’t from an ODM you have no way of telling how reputable the designer actually was. We feel that it’s worth the peace of mind to go with ODM brands if it means spending a little more.
AIO Water Coolers
Put simply, the cost and failure risk associated with these devices makes them hard to recommend. Most AIO systems, even ones somewhat more expensive than top end air coolers, perform the same as, or worse than air cooling, while introducing a lot of negatives. Custom water loops offer a real advantage because they typically have much more fluid (and therefore thermal capacity) as well as far more powerful pumps than your typical AIO water system. They also allow you to cool your GPUs more effectively while using them in a single slot configuration. You take away those advantages when you move into the AIO segment of products.
[INSERT CASE MANUFACTURER]
We prioritize airflow and construction quality over adolescent aesthetics and LED lighting when choosing cases for this page. If you need RGB, tempered glass, and restricted airflow because of the first two in your life, feel free to use a different case provided that it clears your chosen cooling solution
