Corsair Popularity

[bobcat2000]

Many of my friends buy nothing but Corsair.
My other friends also brad about how much they can make off Corsair's IPO.

Why Corsair is getting popular?

[Haenk]

Why Corsair is getting popular?

Advertising. And offering a broad range of stuff, which adds to the visibility even more.
IMHO they offer average stuff, with an slightly above average pricing - so in general their products are "OK-ish" to buy. If you want the best, buy something else, though

[wraper]

My other friends also brad about how much they can make off Corsair's IPO.

I would never buy Corsair shares. They are in shitty low margin, low innovation markets primarily, and their financial data is nothing to brag about. Binning and soldering RAM onto PCB by outsourcing, or slapping their label on PSU made by another OEM just as anyone else is not something breakthrough. They got some sales increase due to COVID but that's about it, and won't last. Also they are big enough that there are not that much space to grow in their current segments, unless they explore different markets. Even if you will get some profit from their shares, most likely it will be be mediocre at best.

[floobydust]

Many of my friends buy nothing but Corsair.
My other friends also brad about how much they can make off Corsair's IPO.

Why Corsair is getting popular?

Hey obvious shill, Corsair was good 15 years ago when they were building up the brand, but now they are crap. I've had their power supplies, USB sticks- all fail.
PSU teardowns showing CapXon and Samxon capacitors

Thanks Corsair for saving $0.25 on your cheap power supplies. My old Corsair PSU was all Nichicon.

[wraper]

Many of my friends buy nothing but Corsair.
My other friends also brad about how much they can make off Corsair's IPO.

Why Corsair is getting popular?

Hey obvious shill, Corsair was good 15 years ago when they were building up the brand, but now they are crap. I've had their power supplies, USB sticks- all fail.
PSU teardowns showing CapXon and Samxon capacitors

Thanks Corsair for saving $0.25 on your cheap power supplies. My old Corsair PSU was all Nichicon.

Samxon is fine, Capxon is OK these days too, capacitor plague is long gone. At least they were not using some really dodgy stuff you can find in other PSUs. Teardown is from 8 years ago so might be not representative of now. On the other hand, this PSU is far from the cheapest. At this price you could get 100% Japanese capacitors.

[james_s]

They have (or had) a reputation of selling decent stuff, it's like any brand where some people become loyal to the brand after a good experience or due to good marketing. I would not invest in such a company though, I don't see them suddenly expanding any time soon. PC sales had been in a decline for years until the Covid pandemic gave them a big boost but they will go into another decline for the same reason as before, everyone who needs a PC now has one and there has been little compelling reason to upgrade in the last 5+ years.

During the PC boom the technology was improving by leaps and bounds, and every year if you could afford it you could buy a system that was around twice as powerful as the year before. A PC that was just a few years old couldn't even run a lot of new software at all. Now that hasn't been true for a long time, things have plateaued and even a 10 year old Core i5 or i7 is still adequate for all but the most demanding users. There is almost no reason to replace a PC anymore unless it breaks. 

[floobydust]

[...] Samxon is fine, Capxon is OK these days too, capacitor plague is long gone. At least they were not using some really dodgy stuff you can find in other PSUs. Teardown is from 8 years ago so might be not representative of now. On the other hand, this PSU is far from the cheapest. At this price you could get 100% Japanese capacitors.

I'll never be a fan of CapXon, proven garbage that I replace on sight. The capacitor plague is long over but there still are shitty electrolytics out there, TBH as well as cheap designs that abuse the parts.

Strange Corsair ditched CapXon and is using Teapo, Elite in the cheaper spots:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx650f-rgb-power-supply-review  Quite a bit of bad soldering, laugh at the SOIC job. Tom's Hardware didn't notice it.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx650-power-supply-review

So far the stock seems to be a pump'n'dump.

[wraper]

Strange Corsair ditched CapXon and is using Teapo, Elite in the cheaper spots

I'd take Elite over Capxon and Teapo any day. Never seen them failing. People for some reason call them crap, yet there are barely any mentions of them actually failing.

Quite a bit of bad soldering, laugh at the SOIC job. Tom's Hardware didn't notice it.

Don't see anything wrong here, usual wave soldering.

[bobcat2000]

This is getting even confusing.  So, we agree that the products from Corsair are average the best but they cost more.  But they are very popular.  This means the other companies are much worse, are they not?

[floobydust]

Where do you get the "they are very popular"? They just have advertising, marketing dollars.
It's the usual strategy - build up a brand with high quality, then cut quality and jack up prices once you have established a name.
My experience with Corsair is they are over-hyped and the price high for the quality. My money went to Seasonic for PC PSU's.

[bobcat2000]

"And within the S-1 filing, we can finally see just how big a company Corsair has actually become. The company says it pulled in a billion dollars in revenue last year, and now commands over 18 percent of the US market share in gaming peripherals and nearly 42 percent of gaming PC components. (The company doesn’t say how big it is worldwide.)"

Those are big numbers.

[james_s]

They own a big slice out of a relatively niche market. They have great marketing, they used to sell some pretty good stuff, it sounds like it isn't what it used to be but they have the name recognition. They'll probably be around for a while but I wouldn't expect the market to grow much.

[ebastler]

So, we agree that the products from Corsair are average  [...]
This means the other companies are much worse, are they not?

I sense a mathematical contradiction there.

[Haenk]

This is getting even confusing.  So, we agree that the products from Corsair are average the best but they cost more.  But they are very popular.  This means the other companies are much worse, are they not?

There are far worse (and much cheaper) products out there, and there are better products (priced the same or higher) out there.
You can get a wireless optical mouse for about 2 USD (or 2.50 when using a better sensor and CE tested wireless transmitter), when buying larger quantities. A keyboard is about the same. So add 2 more USD for some blinkenlights stuff and fancy gamer design - and there is your 50 USD gamer keyboard or mouse. Pretty nice profit. (OK, you won't get a mechanical keyboard for 5 USD, but still, the profit is nice - when marketing does its job...)

[bobcat2000]

I sense a mathematical contradiction there.

A little bit.  Just like what they teach in one of my Philosophy classes about frying a donut.  They ask you to fry a donut. At the same time, they ask why you make a hole.  No one asks you to make a hole in a donut.

[floobydust]

Razer is similar - lots of marketing, pretty packaging, inflated reviews and hype, but overpriced junky products and buggy software.
I took the Razer gaming mouse apart and it looked like something from the bowels of guangdong. Replaced capacitors and it lasted a few more months then the image sensor died. No warranty coverage, PCB looked very low end and top price $100, what a ripoff.
It's all about the product box being pretty, RGB LEDS everywhere, influencer reviews, gamer hype- all the while making the stuff as cheap as possible.

I haven't looked at Corsair keyboards, mice, headsets etc. they seem to not really be a manufacturer, they just contract it out.

[AntiProtonBoy]

Yeah, Razers are trash.

[bobcat2000]

I haven't looked at Corsair keyboards, mice, headsets etc. they seem to not really be a manufacturer, they just contract it out.

You mean they know what you want and they know where to get it?

[Halcyon]

Corsair was much better in the 1990's and early 2000's. Now, it's not too dissimilar to the rest of the crap made in China. Granted, it's not bargain basement quality.

[bobcat2000]

Corsair stock keeps going up.  Does this mean they are getting even more popular even though their products are just Chinese low cost products?  One plus 1 is not equal 2 here.  I don't get this.  Is their sale people that good?  As good as the tobacco sale people?  People keep buying Corsair products.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/12/01/why-corsair-gaming-stock-soared-on-tuesday/

[wraper]

Corsair stock keeps going up.  Does this mean they are getting even more popular even though their products are just Chinese low cost products? 

It actually lost one third of its value in last week. Also they became public only 2 months ago, so it's lame to make any of such assumptions.

[bobcat2000]

This is getting even confusing now.  Corsair is losing money but people are still buying their products.

This can only mean products from Corsair are very good.  That's why they are popular.

[wraper]

This is getting even confusing now. Corsair is losing money but people are still buying their products.

These statements are not related. People who buy their products do not care if Corsair gains or loses money.

This can only mean products from Corsair are very good.  That's why they are popular.

It does not mean anything like that.

[james_s]

This is getting even confusing now.  Corsair is losing money but people are still buying their products.

This can only mean products from Corsair are very good.  That's why they are popular.

I'm starting to think it means that you're a shill for Corsair and this whole thread is nothing more than part of a pump & dump scheme. If that's the case then you're in the wrong place and you are not helping Corsair's reputation.

[bobcat2000]

Many of my friends were buying products from Corsair during the holiday; like keyboards, mice, and gaming stuffs.  Some of my other friends who are not computer person were asking me about PC from Corsair.

I am confuse why they are asking me about Corsair.  So, I start reading the news.  It turns out Corsair is very popular.  I am wondering why.

I myself have never bought any product from Corsair.  I buy products mostly from Kingston, Western Digital, Microsoft, and Logitech.

Ok.  After reading all your comments, I can conclude that their sale people are doing a great job.  Therefore, Corsair is very popular.

[james_s]

You have to remember who the target market is, gamer kids. These are mostly fairly non-technical people, the marketing works on them because they lack the knowledge to objectively evaluate the products. These people are impressed by pointless bling like RGB LEDs and cases with big windows in the side. They're the same sort who put a big spoiler, fake hood scoop and Type R badges on their slushbox equipped base model Civic.

[thm_w]

Razer is similar - lots of marketing, pretty packaging, inflated reviews and hype, but overpriced junky products and buggy software.
I took the Razer gaming mouse apart and it looked like something from the bowels of guangdong. Replaced capacitors and it lasted a few more months then the image sensor died. No warranty coverage, PCB looked very low end and top price $100, what a ripoff.
It's all about the product box being pretty, RGB LEDS everywhere, influencer reviews, gamer hype- all the while making the stuff as cheap as possible.

I haven't looked at Corsair keyboards, mice, headsets etc. they seem to not really be a manufacturer, they just contract it out.

Who pays $100 for a razer mouse, they are ~$40: https://www.amazon.ca/Razer-Viper-Ultralight-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B084RPZD6T/
If you bought one of the high end RGB/ultra dpi/wireless/whatever models with a greater markup that was your own decision.

Good luck finding anything comparable for $40 with optical switches.

[wraper]

Who pays $100 for a razer mouse, they are ~$40: https://www.amazon.ca/Razer-Viper-Ultralight-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B084RPZD6T/
If you bought one of the high end RGB/ultra dpi/wireless/whatever models with a greater markup that was your own decision.

Good luck finding anything comparable for $40 with optical switches.

Dunno about that mouse but anything I ever bought from Razer turned out to be overpriced junk and complete disappointment which does not last.

[thm_w]

Dunno about that mouse but anything I ever bought from Razer turned out to be overpriced junk and complete disappointment which does not last.

They have a two year warranty, so it must have lasted at least that long.
The three I've had last about 2.5 years then the left/right click switch fails (online postings say the same), which can be replaced easily. The newer model using optical switch that theoretically should no longer fail.

[floobydust]

Razer has several mice over CAD $100, I got it strictly for the ergonomics doing CADD, it was not fancy. I got just past warranty with it, USB dropouts and moving sideways etc then I took it apart the super cheap pcb gave away the fact it's all hype. Replaced it with a counterfeit version for $20 which locks up with any static discharge nearby. Oh well.
Corsair mice are $50-$130 and pretty ugly looking.

Corsair stock is overpriced and the selloff continues. Therefore, Corsair is very popular. The pandemic has made sales for this stuff soar across the board. Logitech stock has over doubled. Therefore, Corsair is very dubious.

[james_s]

A big crash will come as the market saturates again and then the pandemic ends and people start spending their time doing other activities and the market will be oversaturated. Sales will fall through the floor and companies will be completely surprised and have no idea it was coming I'm sure. The same thing happened with TVs when flat panel sets became affordable. Everybody replaced their bulky CRT with a flat panel and TVs were selling like crazy, then the market saturated and TV manufactures were dumbfounded and started trying all sorts of gimmicks like 3D and curved displays trying to recreate the boom. Why it wasn't obvious what happened I really don't know, any idiot should have seen it coming and realized that new feature was going to entice everyone to go out and buy a new TV again. People bought flat TVs like crazy because wives everywhere were thrilled to get the big ugly box out of their livingroom, the improved picture quality offered by HD was just icing on the cake for most people.

[nightfire]

Some years ago we built some custom PC at work for out software developers with some special needs, and I also build some low-end servers for mostly Virtualized testing stuff.
The DDR3 RAMs were ok, solid build, and stilll all are going well after 6 years now. The nice thing about Corsair RAM is, that it is quite common and easy to get (I am in germany), AND that most quality Mainboard manufacturers have them tested on their QVL list- that saves some hassle when choosing which RAM to buy...

But yes, lots of that other stuff they do as they expanded their business into gaming kids is not innovative- lots of blingbling trends that the customer pays their money for. And most of that stuff is r ebranded- at least some of their PSU series were made by quality OEMs, although I don't know what they changed to maybe chop off some of the original price.
(I nearly exclusively use Seasonic now as PSU manufacturer for about I think 7 years now...)