There were times over the years, when bulbs and grow supplies were hard to come by, when I used MH all the way through and times when I used HPS all the way through.
Never really compared but I can't say I noticed much difference either way. Certainly a difference, just not that much.
I just changed over my 3'x5' veg tent from a 400w MH to an 8 bulb T-5 and I would say the plants are vegging MUCH better under the T-5 than they did the 400w HID MH. It's a different strain so it's not fair to compare but, the main reason I switched was because the coverage of the HID hood in an odd sized (oblong) tent like this was just terrible. The new T-5 goes almost edge to edge and tip to tip of the tent. Really really nice coverage compared to the HID hood. And, the plants look great.
So, I have a 400w HID on the shelf for backup.
Question.... do the T5 bulbs produce more light in the center of the tubes than they do the ends?
Thanks