Desktop died, not sure what to do about computer

[DirtyWilly]

Strictly speaking of laptops, here's a quickie.

Lenovo = Quality = H, Performance = M, Cost = H (outstanding deals on previous generation models)
Sony = Quality = H, Performance = L, Cost = H (good deals on previous generation models)
Asus = Quality = M, Performance = H, Cost = M
Dell = Quality = M, Performance = M, Cost = L
HP = Quality = L, Performance = M, Cost = L

Microsoft/Apple tend to have the highest quality but also with the highest cost. Microsoft Surface had some outstanding black Friday deals, might want to keep an eye out on this.

There's a few others in there Toshiba, Acer, MSI, off-brands. Personally wouldn't go with those unless it was a steal given the above options. The most stable laptops I've worked on are Lenovos by far. Worth the extra price tag in my opinion.