Table of Contents
Updated: October 28, 2023
Price Doesn’t Affect Our Scores:
We want you to know that the price of a product doesn’t influence how we rate it.
What’s a Test Bench?
A test bench is a set of tests we put products through. To decide which tests make the cut, we follow a strict process that considers various factors. The big question is whether a test can reveal the product’s true abilities, if it answers what most people care about, and how well it measures a specific feature.
Ratings: What They Are:
Test benches include performance indicators called Ratings. These Ratings estimate how well a product performs in a specific scenario. To create a Rating, we pick the tests that matter for that particular use, and we give each test a weight based on our experience. The numerical Rating is a simple weighted average.
We Keep Things Current:
We update our test benches, ratings, and individual tests when needed. Once we update a test bench, the tests and scores stay the same until the next update. We aim to keep up with technology changes and new methods for more accurate measurements.
Understanding the Scores:
8 to 10: This product excels in this use or test. You’ll be happy with it. We use words like good, very good, great, impressive, excellent, remarkable, outstanding, superb, amazing, and more for products in this range.
6.5 to 7.9: It’s good for most people, but if you care about this use or test, you might find it lacking. We describe products in this range as mediocre, middling, passable, adequate, not bad, unremarkable, decent, okay, alright, acceptable, satisfactory, reasonable, fair, ordinary, and sometimes sub-par or sub-standard for lower scores.
5.0 to 6.4: It’s not good to buy this product. So we don’t include scan tools that have an overall score in this range.
0.0 to 4.9: This product falls below average in this use or test. It might be a problem even if you’re not very particular about it. We don’t include products that have an overall score in this range.
Extra Info:
- You can hover over usage ratings in a review or recommendation page to see the components.
- Any score changes due to firmware updates are marked with a yellow banner at the top of a review.
- We’ll list any changes to overall weightings or scoring below the review.
- You can find the test bench version each product was tested in listed next to the ratings.
