A Guide to PC World's Star Ratings

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.