Apple and IBM/Lenovo lead a list of the most reliable computer brands, according to fresh US research.

Adjusted by market share, Rescue.com's latest findings are based on the number of calls the troubleshooting company receives for each make of computer.

Results were based on 20,000 calls.

"When people purchase computers they want to know about reliability," said David Milman, founder and CEO of Rescue.com. "We're constantly asked our opinion about the best computers to buy. The Computer Reliability Report helps address this question and can be used as a helpful tool for those in the market for a new computer."

The report shows that  :

Apple with a score of 201 points.

HP/Compaq, 12 points

Dell, 4 points

Gateway with minus 12 points

"others" with minus 16 points. Large numbers are better.

"Whether it's due to hardware quality or vendor customer support, clearly Apple and IBM/Lenovo are well ahead of their rivals when it comes to reliability," Milman says.

"We're pleased to be able to offer this insight to help computer users make informed choices when deciding which computer they should buy," he added.

Reliability Scores are based on a comparison of RESCUECOM's Q2 2006 call center data with computer vendor market share data for the U.S. from the last four years (data taken from Gartner second quarter U.S. computer vendor market share data from 2003 to 2006).

"Whether it's due to hardware quality or vendor customer support, clearly IBM/Lenovo and Apple are well ahead of their rivals when it comes to reliability," added Milman. "We're pleased to be able to offer this insight to help RESCUECOM customers and all computer users make informed choices when deciding which computer they should buy."

The data also suggest that consumers should:

• Stick with the names you know -- The Reliability Score for less popular vendor's computers (in the "other "category") was much lower than that of the top computer vendors, likely indicating lower reliability based on quality and or service.
• 
  
• Realize that the reliability
  of HP/Compaq, Dell and Gateway are solid, though potentially less so than Lenovo/IBM
  and Apple - While Reliability Scores for HP/Compact and Dell indicated they
  were generally "reliable" and calls about them to the RESCUECOM call center
  were less likely to have been placed than their market share would indicate,
  their Reliability Score's were significantly below that of rivals Lenovo/IBM
  and Apple.