Our Rating System
When I review something (which isn’t very often, because reviews are time consuming, and most people skip to the end), I rate it on a scale of 4 possible results (plus a special one).
Why? Because reviewers do that anyway. Of the standard 1-10 grading scale, most things receive between a 6 and a 9, with a few 10’s. And really, how much does a score below 6 matter? Are you any more likely to buy a 4 than a 1?
So we rank things with our own custom grading scale, which works as follows:
DNR: Did not work, or would not install, or contains evil DRM that makes in not work properly.
Fail: Products that fail should not even be considered. They could be something that does a terrible job and is horribly overpriced. They could actually damage other components, corrupt data, or cause physical injury to the user.
Pass with Reservations: Generally the con’s outweigh the pro’s, but there are some redeeming traits. Could be useful in specific cases. It might also work well, but be or difficult to set up.
Pass: Products that pass are solid, work well, and do what their supposed to. We have no problem recommending these products to one of our friends. This is a good rating, and the pro’s definitely outweigh any con’s.
Recommended: These products not only do what their supposed to do, but do it at an excellent price/performance, are very easy to set up and configure, and have no problems whatsoever in their usage. Note that games with any form of DRM aside from CD key and CD check are disqualified from this rating.