Title and meta description - How close is too close?

[PCSceo]

By reading the 100 posts out there on this subject im fairly sure we all agree that having the same meta description site wide is bad. What I'm not clear on is, is it a problem if the title and the meta description are similar? For instance:

title
PC345 56k modem serial port

meta description
PC345 56k modem serial port - comm devices

I have a site that has a lot of pages in the supp index and I suspect this is part of the issue.

Thanks!

[Patrick Taylor]

I can't see anything wrong with your example, or any reason why, in itself, it would be part of a supplemental issue. The title is concise and the description expands on it slightly. I do this all the time.

[Terabytes]

if your title and tags reflect what's actually in your content, there should be no cause for concern unless you're attempting some devious underhanded tactics...

[PCSceo]

There isn’t anything underhanded at all.

When looking at a certain keyboard, for instance my title is:

Title:
Lenovo 31P8950 - 2-USB ULTRANAV KEYBOARD BLACK

Meta Descript is:
Lenovo 31P8950 - 2-USB ULTRANAV KEYBOARD BLACK TOUCHPAD TRACKPOINT W/ HUB

They both represent the product, however the first 1/2 is always the same. When then descriptions are really short (about 1/8th of the time) they both end up being the same.

By the say some people talk on this forum, it seems that similar is bad? Wondering if this is too similar..

Thanks!