spynoodle
Active Member
Thanks for all the input. I would have definitely chosen the Toshiba (If I didn't find that Gateway laptop), I've asked other people as well and they told me Toshiba (over the HP). I know people say Gateway is crap, but I'm typing this message on a 5 year old Gateway laptop (that has even been dropped once) and it's still running really well.
Well, Gateway hasn't always been bad. They used to be quite good, in fact, and so was HP. 5 years ago, Gateway was probably one of the more reliable brands, HP was starting to go downhill, and Dell was starting on a downward reliability spiral that they are only just recovering from. Now, however, Gateway is crap, HP is selling off their PC sector, Dell is as reliable as ever, and Toshiba is one of the best brands around. Brands fluctuate greatly, which is why I try to build as many of my own computers as possible. One of my cases is actually an old Gateway case from around ten years ago, and it's a really nice case. The computer it came from was nice, too. I probably couldn't say the same for a newer Gateway, though.
Tl;Dr - you can never trust a computer brand from purchases >5 years back. You never know how they'll change.