Originally Posted by BeldDD

If I am at 137 hit rating and I have a helm that has 25 hit rating currently and am evaluating a helm with 30 hit rating, unless the program itself does the calculation (which I don't think rawr does), ignoring the hit cap allows me to compare those two helms together in an absolute manner. Even if its not helm to helm, there are times I will want to compare two items together without regard to the hit cap. If I am deciding whether or not I want to DKP something I want to see if its better in a pure sense than what I have currently, with the understanding that I may need to regem, or replace another piece. If I am evaluating set bonus items, ignoring the set bonus is useful for determining which 4 out of 8 pieces I want to use to get my 4t6 bonus. Using Toskk's calculator, comparing each of the hands, helm, legs, chest and shoulders to their best non set piece items without regard to the 4t6 set bonus let me know which non-set piece was the most minor upgrade. Now I know which of the 5 to use with the 3 new pieces to get 4t6.

There are any number of reasons I would want to make evaluations without regard to caps and bonuses. I'm willing to guess that most people, in fact, have learned how to use these magically complicated gear comparison tools and spreadsheets. They aren't that tough.