From my limited experience, Thinkpads are the only models with consistently good keyboards. (Though I see now they've started to use "chicklet" keyboards in so

From my limited experience, Thinkpads are the only models with consistently good keyboards. (Though I see now they've started to use "chicklet" keyboards in some models; I'm skeptical.) The other factor is a good screen. Pay attention to the parts you will constantly interact with. Spend your "pretty" dollars on a good suit. P.S. Over the past decade, I've found that discrete graphics support has significantly extended the useful life of several acquaintance's laptops. One is on a decade old Dell; still usable for "normal" work -- it just won't play large videos. I don't recommend going a decade, but it works for them and it accentuates my point. This is also from a time when Dell still had good keyboards, and the screen was a good looking, high resolution upgrade.