I have been a fan of Toshiba and Samsung. Samsung is really underrated IMO. I started using them a few years ago for a client site I worked at when the client

I have been a fan of Toshiba and Samsung. Samsung is really underrated IMO. I started using them a few years ago for a client site I worked at when the client wanted to replace a bunch of Dell laptops. In general people don't realize that Samsung is many times a silent vendor behind other laptop brands but they build to spec. They brought out their own laptop line a number of years back and they seem to really be pretty well thought out. And warranty when I had to use it was really painless. I can't say I have dealt with them in the last 2 years, but I'd definitely look at Samsung and Toshiba. In general I would still follow the same advice and freshen Windows from scratch to remove the crap and make it the way I want it. My primary laptops right now are a Macbook Pro and a 4 year old I7 Windows Toshiba. I rarely touch the Tosh now adays, but it is there when I need it.