<p>wow this thread is hilarious…someone brought up the fact that a Mac ran OSX and Vista faster than a PC and I almost fell out of my chair…somebody doesn’t realize exactly how customizable a PC really is haha. Yes, if you put crap parts in your PC, it will run slower than a Mac with the same specs. Though I despise the silly infatuation people have with Macs as well as the overglorified OSX, I won’t deny that part of the reason Apple charges more is because they put decent stuff in their computers. Anyone who might have taken the trouble to open up a PC desktop from a mainstream manufacturer like HP or Dell will realize exactly how bad the crap inside it really is (which is why I don’t buy prebuilt computers anymore). Some people don’t realize that a computer’s performance depends on more than just number of processing cores, the speed of each core, ram size, and hard drive size…there’s so much more to each component and there’s a reason why Dell can offer you a computer with seemingly good specs for so much less than the next guy. Ultimately, you pay for what you get and it would be best to never forget that. On a side note, since the OP is looking for a laptop and not a desktop, the only option is to purchase one direct from the manufacturer. Here are the criterion for making such a decision:</p>
<p>1) Want it to look good, be easy to use (easy in the sense that you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing when it comes to computers and just want that “right out of the box” satisfaction), and cost a lot? Go with a MacBook. </p>
<p>2) Looking for a true entertainment powerhouse? Something that will just devour anything you throw at it? Go with a Toshiba Qosmio, an Alienware, or (gasp!) a Dell XPS. </p>
<p>3) Looking for something functional, relatively powerful, and a more-than-viable solution for businessmen and collegers alike? Go with the Thinkpad (someone else also recommended this I think) or an Aspire. </p>
<p>Oh, whatever you choose to do, please try to get Windows XP or just use Ubuntu. You will not like Vista…at all.</p>