PC Pro Excellence Awards 2019

Thanks to the nearly 8,000 participants in this year’s survey, we can reveal the very best brands across 13 different categories – before announcing our products of the year

Best PC Brand PC Specialist
HIGHLY COMMENDED CYBERPOWER, CHILLBLAST

PC Specialist has leapt over last year’s winner Chillblast to take home our coveted Best PC Brand title – and it’s done so with aplomb, with a swath of 90%-plus scores across all categories.

Readers consistently praised PC Specialist’s attention to detail, with 96% saying they would buy from the company again. “Great selection of components. Felt very informed throughout the process as I always knew what stage of the build it was at,” wrote Danielle Forrister. Robert

Galloway was similarly impressed: “The service from first contact to delivery was exceptional. The company kept me informed at every stage of the process.”

Second-place Cyberpower actually beat PC Specialist in the customer support category and Sarah Farrell’s comment may give an indication why: “I had a small issue. I looked to Cyberpower for support via their Discord at midnight on a weekend… and I got the support I needed. That was just amazing. Highly recommend!”

Best Laptop Brand Apple
HIGHLY COMMENDED ASUS, MICROSOFT

The race for the 2018 Best Laptop Brand was a close run thing, with a mere three percentage points separating the top six.

This year, the result is more clear-cut with Apple storming ahead on customer support, reliability, battery life and performance. And it’s still gathering new customers: “I was a reluctant convert from Windows, but I’m glad I made the move,” explained Michael Shields.

However, as with the iPads (right), the word that came up time and again with Apple was “expensive”. “The price of the MacBook Pro has steadily risen to ridiculous heights (this is my third one),” wrote Paul Maddy.