That's like asking what do you prefer, apples or oranges, when the correct answer is steak. In other words, it's what the other guys are saying. Building it is the best solution for getting the best price : performance. However if you want to know what my favorite laptop brand is, it's Lenovo, followed by ASUS, followed by Sony. For desktops, eh. I don't have a preference. There's no "best", they all try to take your money in less subtle ways than the best laptop manufacturers. I suppose iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC are decent as far as pre-builds go.