Get something that looks nice. And with a digital readout saying if it's clean or dirty! With that sort of rinsing, probably any reliable machine will work for you. So check things like drying capability (if important to you), energy efficiency, temperature (if sterilization is a concern), if your plates fit, general layout, etc.

RESIST THE URGE TO RINSE! With enzyme detergents, you need dirt on the plates for them to work properly. You will actually etch your plates and glasses if you rinse everything before you wash.

Being somewhat of an old dog, too, I really enjoy my newish Bosch d/w. It's dependable, cleans the dishes (I would never subject my good pots to the d/w) whether I rinse or not (mostly I do, too), drys perfectly due to very hot water, & is ultra quiet. The controls are hidden on mine, but later if I open the door & the lights are on, I know the dishes must be clean; if the lights are out on the door, I must have already emptied the d/w & turned off the lights. When I got this d/w, I couldn't believe what a difference there was between this & my very ancient KA; my dishes now sparkle!

If I could only teach the 6 basset hounds to load their bowls..........
Hester

I am an old dog who is learning to enjoy her new dishwasher! I only hand wash my pans that have that anodized finish or are too big to warrant the rack space. I am also learning to not rinse...I run some water in a small pot or bowl that I've used while preparing dinner & throw utensils in as I go. After the meal, I'll scrape and splash a little water on the plates & bowl & set them in the sink while I have dessert. Then I'll wet the scrubbie, give 'em a swipe without the water running & load 'em in. Throw the pots in & dog bowls. Then hand wash the cast iron or whatever.

I did this with the old dishwasher too. WHY? because it uses way too much water to rinse those dishes and my new dishwasher only uses about 6 gallons. Folks all over the country are having water shortages.

I've never rinsed dishes before putting them in my DW, and I've had 3 or 4 different makes. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have a DW! The dishes come out spotless and, by the way, the heated dry is turned off; just the remaining heat in the DW air dries them. In addition, this month's Consumers has done a report on DWs, and they make a point of the fact that a) prerinsing is not necessary and b) is a tremendous waste of water.

This old dog became a puppy and a dishwasher user once I got my Miele....I wash some stuff still as I prep the meal and perhaps a pot as someone esle is clearing but mostly I now load her up and run through once it's full...so get a quiet one that works and you may develop new tricks!

Pupwhipped, I grew up the same way. Back then the DW was for the heat and detergent (i.e., sanitizing) and if there was any crud on the dishes it would get baked on. That hasn't been true for an awfully long time, but I can't stop myself running water in a dish if I set it in the sink. 'Course the roommate 20 years ago who left cooked on crud when he handwashed pots might have something to do with it :)

You can learn to taper off the rinsing--I don't get every bit of crud off any more--even if you aren't 100% cured. The main reason to do this is to save water, which is quite precious in most parts of the world. That said, you'll probably never need a dishwasher made for people who expect so much more.

Have you looked at the GE Profile? They have a few variations. All should get your dishes clean, and I'm pretty sure all the better, newer dishwashers are pretty quiet. The reason I mention the GE in particular is I think GE give a discount when you buy a whole suite, don't they?

I've been looking at the GE Monogram, which seems to have the features I want and racks I like. It also does either convection dry with a fan or heated dry at operator's choice. The Kitchen Aids have the soft food disposer and pot scrubber which you don't need, but are supposed to be very quiet. I'm sure you've seen the thread talking about their model with the third cutlery rack, which is a nice feature.

European dishwashers are very nice, though don't have heated dry, but they generally cost more, and if your dishes are that clean to begin with it seems a shame to spend on them. They are, generally, conservative with water and energy. I don't know how the American ones stack up against them on that. For instance, Euro ones heat the water, whereas American ones have the heated dry (depending on where your water heater is set). There are lots of variables :)

Since you have mostly GE appliances, go for a GE DW. I just don't think there is that much difference between DW brands. They all clean - without rinsing your dishes (as someone said earlier, if you rinse them clean, the detergent doesn't have anything to work on, so it works on the glass and etches them). I just received my $500 rebate from GE for buying 5 appliances from them. Sweet!

I too used to put spotless rinsed dishes in my DW until I figured out this was why I was having etching problems with my glassware. It was a hard habit to break (I'm a clean freak) but once I got used to doing the scrape and load thing, it's actually kind of fun. I find myself "challenging" my Kitchenaid DW to clean whatever dishes I put in there (baked-on casserole dishes, etc.). Try it; you'll like it and won't waste nearly as much precious water.

I've never prerinsed in 30 years. Dishwashers have greatly improved since the mid 1970s. And enzyme detergents now days even help vintage dishwashers from the 50s & 60s work betterr. How can the dog learn new tricks? Don't even touch the faucet. I scrape and load and sometimes hardly scrape. I have a 6 month old Kenmore Elite that's a cousin of Zoenipp's KithenAid. I love challenging mine and love hearing the food bits being ground up. I'll let bowls used to cook oatmeal in sit for 6 days or more sometimes. I've used only Cascade Complete since it came out, that made an even bigger improvement.