From the point of view of someone losing, i resign, and only play to checkmate if my opponent has played a nice combination, and i think it deserves to be played out for the aesthetics of it...
As the winner, i find both equally satisfying, as long as they are both deserved wins.
A win by auto tourney timeout is always rather fun, because normally I'm losing these games. It is nice surprise - something for nothing and doesn't have the stress of forcing a mate or resignation. Furthermore as it is an automatic claim win you don't even have that guiltydirty feeling that claiming a win can leave on your conscience.