If you were going to buy a new laptop this week. What brand would you buy?

@Stereoguy true but even within established brands there are clunkers. I look at user reviews to see if there are common complaints such as recurrent BSODs. Clues me in that there is a problem with that model. I do tend to stick with the established brands but not blindly.

@Stereoguy I picked up an inexpensive Lenovo recently that I like. Not the fastest thing in the world but it never disappointed. If I got motivated, I'd swap in a solid state drive.

@Stereoguy I always wondered how those setups performed.

@Stereoguy worst come to worst you can swap in an SSD if it is not fast enough for your needs.