Have had experience with 4 brands so far: Sony, Dell, Acer, Asus. The Sony looked great, but way overpriced. Pretty average laptop overall. The Dell was pretty good overall, nothing really stood out, but it worked (until a cup of water sealed its fate). The Acer was pretty much horrid. Crap build quality, overheated, screen crapped out. Would not buy Acer again. Asus was/is pretty much a step above Dell in my experience. Good quality and also priced very fair. Currently running 2 Asus laptops happily (knocks on wood). So my vote here goes to Asus.