All are great but if gaming is a priority go for Asus, they (from what I've seen anyway) seem to have better selections and more powerful computers for sale...glad to hear you arent looking at an Alienware .

Edit: Forgot to add, I have a friend with an Asus laptop and he loves it in every way, customer service, reliability, etc.  Just realized I forgot to answer the question .

Sony, and Toshiba to a lesser degree, avoid like the plague.  Too much proprietary garbage last time I looked.  Sony in particular absolutely reams their customers on replacement and upgrade costs.

HP...  They're kinda hit or miss.  It really depends on what you're going for.  Just to have a laptop, I'd aim for a thinkpad.  If you want something you can play modern games on, IBM wouldn't be the best place to be looking.  If that list is an actual restriction on your options, definitely go for an Asus.  No real comparison between them, HP is the only one that sane people order from, and they're still half crap.

Thanks all, my price range is between 1000 and 1500, i should have said that in my original post, i am not a gamer per se, but i do like my pc's fast, internet, some photo editing (from digital camera) plus sometimes sitting at the desk gets old, I also do databases in MSAccess, as well as Filemaker Pro, so some tend to get large

I've currently got an ASUS......I highly recommend them. 1300-1500 should buy a nice one.

I've owned several VAIOs, but the high end versions kept frying motherboards so I switched.

Er, wouldn't you generally want to decide *what* you're getting before you decide *when*?

Vas? Someone with logic on the internets?!?!?

Thrawn2787 whips out the ban hammer of the entire INTERNETS

EDIT: I live in Southern New Hampshire and I've never really noticed a difference getting into Boston pending on the Sox (unless a game litterally is starting or ending, even then thats more travelling in the city, not into/out of it). Even then alot of people take the subway home.

Bruins? Could stop you from shopping when you need to?

Gosh-- i love Laval, four five six (just pulled out map, i wasn't sure where i bunk exactly... between Highway 13 & 15 somehow), (and the sixth lucky seventh (that my father yelled for all of his working carreer) is coming within the next two years waaaaayy east to extend Highway 25!) bridges north of Montreal.

Smaller screen? At that price, he can brake the 17" barrier easily.

Ah, I never come in from the South :3

And if that store doesn't end up having a decent laptop, don't just buy a crappy one then and there because you're there. Go order one from Newegg

I bought a sager (compal I90) through xoticpc.com over a year ago from the advice of the nice forum people at notebookreview.com. I highly reccomend asking in notebookreview.com they steered me to the right computer at the right price. And, so far (cross my fingers) the only problem ive run into with my laptop was needing to clear out the vent airway.

if your looking for a gaming machine and don't want to spend the cash for an ASUS the new MSI are looking hot and getting good reviews from those who have bought them. haven't seen any professional reviews yet.I am planning to buy my first laptop soon too, it will probably be the MSI GT627-216US

if just looking for a run of the mill office use I see nothing wrong with the Toshiba have 2 in my family and know a dozen other people who own one. they all love them and have had no problems.

Thanks everyone, I have looked at the Dells, i am such a dope, i didnt know Micro Center carried Dells, oh well,but i appreciate the info you all have given, its good to ask first, especially which ones to stay away from, my last name is murphy so the "Law" applies to me here LOL, there is no question this is the best forums for any type of opinion or advice, i have asked it before, and gotten excellent advice, once again thanx guys and gals,

Azus are nice but spendy. Toshiba, dell and acer are ok.  I would try to find one within your price range that has the Best hardware. For gaming I would try for at the minimum, a 2.0+ ghz Duo core2, tho preferably a Quad or extreme, or comperable AMD chip, 4 gig DDR2 or DDR3, Sata Hdd. Preferably with an ATi or Nividia Mobile graphics chipset. Dont go with Intel or other obscure graphics processors.

I have a sony VAIO AR... 17"Wide Screen with " 2 Gig of ram, 200Gig HDD, Nvida video card with 800Megabites of ram...

And this thing is faster than alot of desktops..... and i have had no prob's at all...

Drivers can sometimes be hard to find...

Came it at about $2,000 but worth every penny.........

So i would go with sony or Dell.....