When it comes to picking out the best gaming laptop, you might find yourself factoring in the brand just as much as the specs and price. Maybe you've been burned by a particular manufacturer, or have had an exceptionally positive experience with another. Or maybe you don't factor in the brand at all. Should you?
That's a loaded a question, but either way, our friends at LaptopMag ranked the best and worst laptop brands of 2019. The ranking is based on five weighted categories, those being:
- Reviews (40 points max)
- Design (15 points max)
- Support and Warranty (20 points max)
- Innovation (10 points max)
- Value and Selection (15 points max)
For the past two years, Lenovo sat at the top with the highest overall score, but has slipped all the way to 5th place this time around. In its place is HP, with a score of 86 out of 100.
"Over the course of our testing period, the company has earned nine Editor's Choice awards for industry-leading systems like the 13-inch HP Spectre x360, HP Envy 13t, and the HP Chromebook x2. The company wasn't afraid to innovate, launching the leather-clad HP Spectre Folio," LaptopMag explains.
Even though it took the top spot, it only scored 13 out of 20 in the Support and Warranty category, whereas it was only docked a single point in the Value and Selection category.
According to these rankings, there is a correlation between how much is spent and what level of support is. For example, Razer and Apple scored the highest marks in the Support and Warranty category at 18 out of 20, but had the two worst Value and Selection scores at 8 (Razer) and 7 (Apple) out of 15.
Here's how the overall ranking played out:
- HP—86 points
- Asus—83 points
- Dell—81 points
- Alienware—80 points
- Lenovo—76 points
- Razer—75 points
- Acer—75 points
- Microsoft—72 points
- Huawei—70 points
- Apple—69 points
- MSI—66 points
- Samsung—64 points
Alienware gets its own separate ranking from Dell, even though Dell owns the former standalone boutique. Samsung, meanwhile, retained its last place position.
"Samsung has not only landed itself at the bottom of our rankings (yet again), but the company even dropped three points lower than last year, which isn’t much of a surprise. The brand doesn’t go far enough to innovate its laptops and ensure that they have the top-notch quality that consumers and businesses demand," LaptopMag said.
Each brand has its own individual scorecard with more details, in case you're curious about any of the rankings.
Bearing in mind that Support and Warranty is just one of five categories (and the second highest weighted, behind Reviews), what are your thoughts on how these brands are ranked? Do you favor one brand over another, or go with the best band for buck? Let us know in the comments section.
