Quantcast

A Guide to PC World's Star Ratings

Our star ratings give readers a quick assessment of a product's overall quality, value, and performance.

Tracey Capen

  • 0 Yes
  • 0 No

PC World launched its Star Rating system with the September 2001 issue. It's designed to give our readers an easy-to-find, quick-to-interpret assessment of a product's overall quality and performance. We purposely exclude price in our star-rating assessments; products that represent a particularly good value are awarded our Best Buy. For all of our top-products rankings, we consider design, ease-of-use, performance, features, and vendor support policies. We also give points for products that are especially innovative.

You'll find star ratings in nearly all our reviews: Top 100 product rankings, featured product roundups, New Products write-ups, and PC World online reviews.

What the Stars Mean

  • 5 stars: Perfect--we can't think of any way to improve it. It's innovative, easy to use, and highly useful, especially when compared with its competition.

  • 4.5 stars: Nearly Perfect--only a few minor flaws keep it from a five-star rating; generally stands above its competitors.

  • 4 stars: Outstanding--among the best of breed; it is well-designed, has superior performance, and is likely to be near the top of any buyer's list.

  • 3.5 stars: Above Average--works well for what it's designed to do, but it's not particularly innovative, nor does it have notable features, compared with the competition.

  • 3 stars: Mediocre--it will do the job and has no major flaws, but it doesn't stand out in a unique way.

  • 2.5 stars: Below Average--has some significant flaws. We'd buy it only if we had a pressing need and no alternative product existed.

  • 2 stars: Not Recommended--it's flawed in a fundamental way.

  • 1 star: Walk away from this one.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

Featured APC Accessories For Your System
10% Off Entire Cart at Online Store

  • APC Back-UPS ES Safeguards your equipment from damaging surges and spikes that travel along your utility & data lines.
  • APC SurgeArrest Performance Highest level of protection for your professional computers, electronics and connected devices, as well as provides surge protection.

Deal Breakers

Special Offers for PC World Users

People who read this also read:

Sponsored Links