If you HAD to buy a PC laptop...

[Michael]

I buy new Dell Inspiron 15" 5000 series laptops. New so that my credit card will double the warranty, although I've never had one go south before the extended warranty expired. They're always going on sale so they'll fit in your price range. I plan on replacing them every 3-4 years and I'm happy when they last longer than that.

[MrNoBody]

Two caveats regarding SlickDeals:

1. Many of the "deals" are paid promotions as are the TU's posted for them.
   
2. Like other anonymous forums, there is a lot of fallacious info posted.
   
   For product reviews, I now have the habit of checking several e-tailers' sites and
   hardware review forums too.