It's odd how different people can have such different results and behaviors from the same detergent. For me, Cascade Complete and Platinum are really the only thing I have trust in. I've never had any issue with pumps laboring or lack of performance. I go back and forth between Complete and Platinum pacs depending on what I have coupons for, but I really don't see much a difference between the two. They both do an excellent job and don't leave any weird residues at all, and the stainless interior always looks sparkling when done. Finish Powerball tabs, on the otherhand, don't cause any sudsing problems, but they do sometimes leave just the slightest chaulky residue on plastics, and can leave a sort of film on the bottom of the tub that's almost like..microscopic suds or something. Quantum pacs are a complete no-go for me; oversudsing to the extreme and no better performance in cleaning than the Powerball tabs.
My granddad, however, doesn't like Cascade pacs, but gets excellent results with Finish tabs in their '08 Kenmore Elite Ultrawash-Voyager. They also live in Tuscumbia where the water is *HORRENDOUSLY* hard, as in he has to have a filter installed between the fill line hookup and the dishwasher because they were having major problems with the inlet screen and valve getting scale buildup. They had to get rid of a perfectly good and BEAUTIFUL Maytag JetClean ReverseRack that had gorgeous solid state controls, simply because the holes on the wash arms were so tiny that even the slightest mineral buildup would render the machine useless. He'd have to take the thing apart to descale it every other month or so.
So that all said, I think performance and behavior of detergent relies heavily on water type, as well as the type of machine. I guess with so many variables it's a good thing we at least have some variety when it comes to detergents on the store shelves.
