> I think it's a little scummy that they go out of their way to hide it and make the more expensive options the default

Eh, I wouldn't call that hiding it so much as making the current market default the one they default to. If you're looking for the lowest end droplet, then yeah, it makes sense you would want the lower end Intel without SSD, but if you're buying something more expensive at all, there's more of a choice to be made.

Also, I'm not going to fault them for putting forth the option that allows them to more easily decommission what are probably older hardware and disks for newer offerings, especially when the "hiding" is just a radio button above the droplets. It's not that hidden. I suspect eventually the newer gen Intel/AMD offerings will lower in price and replace the current default.

> I'd love to know what they burn on marketing, because their video ads on YouTube are crazy.

That's interesting. I remember seeing some like 6-12 months ago on youtube for the first time, but I haven't seen any for a long while. I must have just been flagged as not part of their target audience (or Google has determined I already use them).

A while ago I noticed they set the default droplet to a more expensive one and moved the $5 option off the screen to the left so you have to scroll to see it, but it all lines up so it looks like there’s no more options. Minor change but a sneaky one.