Who makes the most dependable laptops and desktops?

Apple and Lenovo laptops received the highest marks for reliability in a readership survey conducted by PC World magazine. Apple led the pack in the desktop category, too.

The survey published in the January edition of the magazine, also looked at the reliability of printers, cameras, and routers. Sixty thousand readers got in their two cents' worth of praise and complaint.

For laptops and desktops, the magazine asked readers to issue a grade based on five measures: Problems on arrival, any significant problems with hardware or software, problems with core components such as CPUs and motherboards, faulty core components that were replaced, and overall satisfaction with reliability. Apple and Lenovo laptops were the only brands that earned a "Better" rating for overall satisfaction. Compaq was the only brand rated as "Worse," with all other brands coming in at "Average."

Among desktops, PC World readers gave the only "Better" to Apple for overall satisfaction. Compaq and HP-brand desktops were the only products rated as "Worse." Perhaps not surprisingly, both brands are made by HP, otherwise known as Hewlett-Packard, which overtook Dell in 2007 as the worldwide leader in PC sales, according to the research firm IDC. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned about quantity versus quality.

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