[Cory]

I would disagree with the Dell and HP bashing.

We have a 4 year old HP Desktop, and have owned 5 Dell PC's (2 laptop, 3 desktop) over the last 9 years or so.

We have 3-5 HP laptops between team members, and all of them are mostly happy with them (I'd say the only ones that arent are because of Vista)

Who of the mainstream brands does anyone think is better than Dell? (Apple not withstanding). Every brand has it's pros and cons. For the most part, none of these companies are making their own laptops anyways. Theyre all coming from third party companies, and then being rebranded by the mainstream brands.

I know a good deal about computers, and I've had nothing but good experiences with Dell. Yes, they occasionally sell lemons, but anyone doing such a volume of business is bound to. They have, in my experience, exceptional customer service. We received one machine that was DOA. Within 48 hours, we had a brand new machine on our doorstep. We had a problem with the graphics card of one machine, and had a tech and a brand new, upgraded card at our house the next day. Any problems have been taken care of swiftly and professionally.

I hate when people make blanket statements like "So and so company is terrible. Never buy from them". If this was the case, they wouldn't still be in business. For every person who has had a bad experience with Dell or HP, another has had a fantastic experience. However, if only the bad experiences are voiced, there is no perspective. If you do your research (beyond asking a bunch of probably biased people on CD [myself included]), you should be able to make a good, informed decision.