My experience, go with a name brand for a couple reasons:
1: Availabilty- Parts are easily found if needed
2: Longevity: not talking about the welder itself, but the company. If company goes away, which happens alot in the off name brand world, so does parts and supplies
3: Customer support and materials are top notch. I've used Lincoln And Hobart, never had any issues and I'd buy one again in a heartbeat
FYI, check out Lowes, I got my 240 volt, 180 Amp Lincoln Mig Welder, cart, wire and bottle for a combined 680 bucks.
