Hi, I am thinking about upgrading to a better 3d printer and m looking for some recommendations. I currently have a Creality Ender 5 S-1. I am considering a Prusa i3 MK3, a Prusa MK4, and a Bambu X1 Carbon. Any thoughts of other recommendations would be appreciated.
-Wayne
A couple of questions first. What’s your budget? What do you plan to make with the new printer? What materials do you plan to use (e.g., PLA, TPU, PETG, ASA, PC, …)?
If you don’t need an enclosure, you might want to look at Bambu’s P1P, a less expensive version of the X1.
Cheers
To add to excellent Alan’s points:
I have a Ender 5 S1 and a Bambu A1. The A1 has been recalled due to a heat bed issue. I am waiting for the replacement for repairing it. I was quite disappointed in the recall, but I think Bambu handled it pretty well. They reacted quickly and provided good options plus refund and credits to offset the inconvenience of the recall.
I have wanted to buy a Prusa for years, but the price was too steep for my hobby budget. The A1 is more comparable to the MK4. It is an open frame bedslinger with similar speed claims. I have been really pleased with the performance. I use the standard settings that use 10000 mms accleration and 200/300 mm/s velocity and get perfect benchys.
On the software side, the slicer, Bambu Studio, and its fork Orcaslicer, are excellent and work really well. They have built in features for calibration prints. I use Orcaslicer for both printers. The only small issue i have is that the printing time estimates for the Ender 5 are off by a lot, usually too optimistic.
Hope this helps.
I got a Bambu P1S, and it has been great. I’ve had virtually no problems with it, and certainly nothing major (have printed so much I’ve had to wash the build plate a few times 
)
I’d highly recommend the P1S if you don’t have the budget for the Carbon.
There are many choices.
I have an Ender 3 V3 SE. about $180, it is working well for me. It does not have WIFI so you either use the SD card or add a raspberry PI with Octoprint which is what I do. Since I bought the printer a couple of newer models became available:
Ender 3 V3 KE, about $250. This is faster and costs less than adding the Raspberry Pi so you get the WiFi and better performance for not much more.
Ender 3 V3, $370. This one is also newer and has more speed.
The above printers are bed slinger configuration with open frame
They all have automatic bed leveling.
Then there are the higher end enclosed core xy printers in the $500 or more.
Look at the specs and price to see what is suitable for your needs and budget.
Best of luck
I bought a preassembled new Prusa i3 MK3+ and will NEVER EVER buy a Prusa again.
It went back for repairs under warranty and it came back still not working properly. It was clogged too when it arrived back by their filament. They did fix issues without being honest about it as well, but I still could not print well at all, although it was better than when I bought it. Thanks to the help on here, and using workarounds I came up with too, I was printing better, but the 2 problems still weren’t fixed and became worse again after about 50 prints. One rod is not that straight, so no prints over 18-20 cm high. My nozzle still loosens itself. They “tightened” it instead of replacing it.
This time, no help, despite that it’s still under warranty, and don’t even start on how their helpdesk treated me for asking politely, by saying I would pay for everything if they even found a scratch on my nozzle if I send it back. They themselves tightened it, remember? I never touched my nozzle. I currently can only print tiny miniatures and have a 25% success rate in doing so, so I barely print. So, now I am waiting till my warranty passes this summer, then I will buy a better part myself, from another brand called Revo, to fix this mess once and for all. But, if I want to print taller than 18-20 cm, I would have to replace the rod.