I thought its the parts that says the quality.But since this is laptop, I got acer and its quite good.Go for any brand that you like but if you want a really fast computer, go for desktop, till now, I havn't found a laptop with quad core cpu in it.And if I find, I don't think the laptop cost will be anywhere lesser then $2000, while quad core intel desktop can be bought for just $400-$500.
The brand that I wanted to recommend is not listed in there. I strongly recommend Compaq for your needs.
whatever you do..do not get a gateway =/ I though they were good but i had to threaten with my lawyer just to get a simple repair that they fucked up