...while i would actually recommend Dell. the only problem i've had with them in 6+ years of ordering computers (okay, so i've done it like 3 times, but still) is that they take forever to ship. other than that, you can pretty much get what you want and pay what you want, within reason.

if you'd like to look at my laptop sometime, just let me know. it's an Inspiron 1100 and pretty reasonable for what it's got.