In the market for a new laptop

[Collector]

I've had a lot of problems with Acer equipment, too.

[DeadPoolX]

Dell actually makes good machines. I don't know why everyone critisizes them so much. Sure, Dell's a more "mainstream" vendor, but I'd choose them before Gateway or HP.

Some people just don't need a high-end gaming machine and others can't afford it. Dell makes some higher-end PCs and they generally won't break the bank (at least when compared to Alienware, Voodoo PC and Falcon-Northwest).

[Maiandra]

I've heard complaints about Dell, but I had the same Dell laptop for a good few years while I did my post grad and I really liked it. It was very reliable and seemed pretty durable. I used it for a number of different things, including gaming.

I currently have a Toshiba laptop for work and it seems to be ok. I don't care for some of the liberties they've taken with the keyboard layout (like shrinking the left shift and enter keys), but other than that it seems not bad (so far). It also has Vista on it and, although some of the changes seem a bit pointless, there are definitely some features in it that are an improvement over XP. I haven't really been using it long enough to comment more than that. Since it's a work computer I haven't tried it with gaming (I have my desktop for that).

Sorry I can't get more technical than that.

By the way, I had another Dell laptop that I borrowed from my dad for about a year before I got my desktop and it tended to get quite hot. That was a particular failing of that specific model and not something that most current models have to the same degree, but I'm sure it didn't help that I was pushing it's limits with games it could barely run. However, you can get these cool (haha!) laptop pads that have extra fans in them and help to keep the laptop cool by circulating air underneath. It worked really well and kept it operational while playing KOTOR.