I to have had bad experiences with Gateway and wouldnt recommend them to my worst enemies. Dell and I have a relationship that is nothing more than "Meh".

however HP; I have had some pretty good experiences. The laptop I got my dad is an HP, aside from having to get Vista, I've yet to have any complaints about it.

My absolute best advice if you have to have a laptop would be to go with a Sony vaio if at all possible. Great laptop, I've got 2 myself; one that has been working great since 2004 and still goes through regular use every day and another I just bought early this year for my fiance. The best part about Sony is they have a wonderful technical service system, some people arent a fan of 'em but I really am. When my first laptop had issues, they paid for all the shipping and the bug was under the warranty, it was fixed and back in my hands in about 2 weeks.