This question to me is a classic one. It’s not so much which manufacturer to go with, but which series to go with.
Yes, budget is always a factor, but you’ll be paying a whole lot more down the road if you buy a cheapo laptop that won’t last past the first year. I’m not saying to buy the most bleeding edge thing out there. But, I’m saying to think of this as a 3+ year investment that will last hopefully a good 3-5 years or more.
Dell
Don’t think about buying Vostro or Inspiron. Okay, let me take a step back. If you need you Dell for just the Internet or some basic computer task, go for the budget-friendly models. But, if you’re going to be using your laptop for your everyday go-to system, buy a Latitude, XPS, Alienware, or G Series laptop. You can buy the low-end of these models and still wind up with a solid laptop.
Lenovo
ThinkPads, Carbon, Legion, and the P series are the heavy hitters to go for on the Lenovo laptop series. The IdeaPad and Yoga laptops seem to find their way into laptop repair shops often. Yes, those lower end series are targeted towards students, but they ought to be more stable. They’re not.
Apple
Not a lot of choices here. Go with the MacBook Pro, not the MacBook Air. In essence, you’ll got more processing speed for your dollar. For the Air, you’re paying for the thinness of it. Who cares? You won’t a MacBook that is speedy and stable. That’s what you’ll get with the MacBook Pro series. The Air tends to be temperamental, finding itself often in MacBook repair shops eventually.
To wrap this up, it’s best to buy a lower end budget model on the stronger series mentioned versus a high cost model on the series you should stay away from. Another good point to note is that on the Windows manufacturer models, each series typically has a different support level. Obviously, the higher end series laptops will carry along with it a more receptive and professional level of support from the manufacturers.
