You can’t go wrong and I personally recommend Dell! There are hidden long-run costs that one does not initially see when you purchase a Notebook PC other than Dell, HP or IBM and later encounter difficulties or attempt buying replacement parts like a battery, or say a keyboard etc.

Also if you’re buying for college then I do NOT recommend a Notebook PC bigger than 15.4" bec we have 3 DELLs incl a larger 17" Notebook PC and the larger ones are nice but much too heavy to lug around campus as well as too big for lecture hall desks in college…

I mentioned we own 3 Dell Notebook PCs and why I recommend DELL, HP or IBM for those living in the United States is that those 3 particular PC Notebook manufacturers literally supply all the business Notebook PCs to the major corporations and Government so replacement parts are readily available esp on EBAY at even a more reasonable price than the manufacturer website. Thus in the long run, being able to get the exact replacement part extends the life on your investment.

FYI my 1st Notebook PC was Gateway bec I couldn’t afford Dell at the time and what a mistake is was when I needed to purchase a new Notebook battery <= costly bec not readily available like Dells… and FYI I also ran into a similar problem when attempting to upgrade the memory.

Note if you are looking for DELL bargains, then visit their DELL OUTLET site…

http://www.dell.com/outlet

Hope Above Info Helps!
References :

Good price. Hope everything works on that refurbish laptop.
References :
Computer Analyst / Microsoft Certified