Sorry, Dell. Asus and Apple were the most reliable PC vendors in the U.S. during the second quarter this year, according to a survey released this week.

A third-party computer repair firm, Rescuecom, fielded the fewest support calls to repair Asus and Apple PCs on average, said David Milman, the company's CEO.

It sounds obvious, but firms that provide high-quality components tend to rate higher, while bad components and bad support may force PC owners to seek help.

That's when they call third-party repair companies, and while we remain an advocate of small, independent firms, it's obvious you would prefer to never use any.

No one wants their computers to break and require repair, after all.

The companies offered PCs with high-quality components and support, thus reducing the need for consumers to service PCs through Fort Lauderdale computer repair providers.

The ratings were based on 11,560 support calls during the second quarter and adjusted to take into account the market share of each PC manufacturer.

Lenovo, Toshiba and Hewlett-Packard held the third, fourth and fifth spot respectively in the PC reliability survey, which gauges overall user satisfaction.

Apple topped the survey with a score of 85, followed by Dell at 75, and a three-way tie between Hewlett-Packard, HP's Compaq brand, and Acer/Gateway at 74.

Consumers want PCs that require minimal repairs and good network support, so the calls provide a good snapshot of PC reliability, the company said in a statement.

Continue reading this survey synopsis in PC World ...