Hi everyone, I've been reading every article I can get my eyes on this past week, but I still can't decide which to go with. There's very little information about the Makerbot Replicator 5th Generation. It was the printer I was originally going to purchase, but after doing a bit more research it seems to be priced so much higher than its competition. This will be my first 3D printer, however, I want something that prints with exceptional quality (for the price). The Replicator is a bit pricey for one limited to PLA at 100microns. For $700-800 I could purchase the Robo3D with a larger platform, which also prints at 100microns.
On the other hand, for about the same price, perhaps a couple hundred cheaper, I could go with the Ultimaker 2, which offers a larger platform and 20micron resolution. Of course, the quality of the prints from the Makerbot could be significantly better, I just don't know. I read the article from Make magazine comparing many of the new 3D printers for 2014... there was no mention of the 5th gen, but they did compare the Ultimaker 2 to the Replicator 2, and they gave top mention to the Replicator 2. I'd imagine that with the new Replicators auto-leveling it wold be even better.

I am just utterly and completely indecisive on this whole thing. I'd LOVE to be able to spend only $800 on a 3D printer!! But if quality and ease are going to be much better, I'm willing to spend the $3k.

I'm hoping to get some opinions and insight. Can anyone help me make this tough decision?