wilkes

They are all made in China so you get what you get.

Chances are there are duds in every make and model.

Some parts are shipped out of the US to China as well as from other places. The computers are assembled on a production line of under paid employees working long hours.

The computers are then placed in a container and shipped over possibly rough seas, then are shipped over land via truck or train to the eventual store.

So if you get any model and it works well then you did good.

Hp,Toshiba,Acer,and Alienware(Dell) all have an 18.4" laptop.

I used to have a dell. It was junk and cost 1400. Now I have a HP that cost 600 and I love it.

Apple is considered the best, but you pay a small fortune for them, My theory is that you can but 3 Acer or Gateway laptops for the price of one Apple, so buy one now and as technology advances buy another, and then another. This way you can better stay current with technology. Unless your laptop needs are very demanding the cheaper notebooks (laptops) are sufficient for most users. Also, I find the larger ones kind of defeat the purpose of laptops i.e. Portability and Convenience. Those 17" models get mighty heavy after carrying them around for a while. Nothing beats the small Netbooks for convenience except maybe the smartphones and tablet pc's. I guess what is best depends on your needs and budget. If money is no problem then go for the Apple. At least you'll have bragging rights.

Ebay.com, NewEgg.com, TigerDirect,com and each computer maker's website are good places to shop online. Staples, Sams Club, Costco and Best Buy are good places to shop. Apple used to have a Kiosk located at Hanes Mall but I don't know if they still do. Believe it or not, I get some great deals at WalMart.

Hope this helps.

ok well for value price hp is best. on the high end side alienware and mac are best. as for chips if you want to play games then u will want at least dual core amd with at least 5 gigs of ram. for basic usage and not much gaming go with intel.

Brand Name not as important as what you are getting inside the laptop. I suggest Intel processor vs AMD,

Intel I3, I5, or I7 processor (depending on your budget), Windows 7 (64 bit ) operating system because you are limited to 4GB Ram with 32Bit system. As far as brands http://www.laptopmag.com/mo...-2011.aspx

Best prices are online.Go to newegg.com and look.

I prefer Toshiba. I have had several and they have held up well. Locally, Staples usually has them in a variety of sizes and features. You might want to check out the Toshiba web site. My laptop has a large screen but you can always buy a separate large screen if you need it.

Also where the best place to buy one

What brand is the best. I thinking about getting one. Any suggestion. I want at least a 17in. Is 17in the biggest size that a laptop come in.