Razer Tops PC Tech Support Test, MSI Brings Up the Rear

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Razer earned the top spot among Windows PC makers in Laptop Mag's Tech Support Showdown, the site's annual undercover test that ranks the performance of the companies' support across call centers, web site offerings and social media.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

Razer came in at number two earning 88 out of 100 possible points, just behind Apple (91 out of 100). Razer improved by adding more and better support phone support and making great use of social media, including Reddit.

Among other PC vendors, Dell came in third place (78 points. Laptop Mag combined Dell and Alienware), Asus and Acer grappled for fifth and sixth. MSI came in dead last, with a poor showing at 30 out of 100.

Razer's ascendance is notable. Last year it came in ninth place, due to unresponsive phone support. MSI was in last place in 2018 as well, largely due to the same poor-quality website, inaccurate phone support and non-responsive social media accounts that plagued it in 2019.

You can read more detailed explanations of each company's performance over on Laptop Mag.

Andrew E. Freedman
Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @FreedmanAE
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5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Gam3r01
    Razer did what now
    Reply
  • nobspls
    How do people even properly score and evaluate tech support? Get extra points for being female and winking? Is that it? The only tech support that is worth a darn is the stuff I do myself and getting crap to work. I don't know how Apple gets top score, when their crap breaks, it is broken, no fixing, no real repairs, just bend over and pay for new crap.
    Reply
  • slyverine
    Apple and Razer have the best support because their products break so often that they get the chance to get more experienced in fixing them hahaha I would expect MSI in 3rd place for the same reason, but seems they are that bad that they can't even help repairing their own stuff.
    Reply
  • iMatty
    I would say that EVGA had the best customer support i ever dealt with.
    Reply
  • Tanyac
    IMHO, ASRock have got to be bottom of the list - Completely refusing to honor warranties for faulty products and up to two weeks to respond to tech support tickets, if they respond at all. Fine, they are an Asian manufacturer, but if you are going to sell to English speaking customers, it would be helpful if you had support staff who had some understanding of English. I've found myself having to explain things to them many times.

    MSI would be close to ASRock. Their support website and forums are atrocious, with posting questions and replies a real hit and miss affair. MSI staff are belligerent, unresponsive and quick to blame everything on any one but themselves. Also find it difficult to support English speaking customers.

    But lets not forget ASUS, the over-priced under-featured manufacturer. I've never had/supplied an ASUS product that worked as it should. And woe be you if you look for customer service or technical support. Quick to fob you off, unresponsive, slow to process RMAs and a web site that's as bad as their attitude towards customers. Their promotions sometimes aren't above board either. ASUS love to brag about how good their support experience is - Not even close to true.

    Seagate on the other hand has always been easy to deal with, though their support website can get stuck in loops at times.

    I've not had to test out Razer, I've never had one of their products fail (Mice, laptop and headsets)
    Reply