IBM's are ranked as some of the most sturdy, long lifed laptops. They cost... alot... and if it ever breaks, good luck finding parts. I used to have an old IBM notebook, I forget the name, was about 6 years old. I just needed an LCD, because I was a dummy and let someone borrow it. I was SOL on that, was no longer stocked.
Is that IBM's fault? Not in the least... point being is that no matter what you buy, after 4-6 years, the parts will be so outdated that even if you wanted to just upgrade the system, it wouldn't be cost effective. Just purchaseing another for 3 years.
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As dogs have a human-to-dog year span... I think it's 7 dog years to every human year in comparison, computers do too. Technology right now is still being ramped UP compared to 10 years ago. So, to compare... a computer that is 3 human years old, is about 30 in technology years. It's outdated, it might still work, but the newer programs, games, so on so worth won't run well if at all.
My advice, purchase something with a good warranty, a nice 4 year warranty that way if it DOES break, it'll be fixed. Dell 4 year Complete Care with Next Day Onsite might cost a bit (About 400 USD on average) but I promise you this much... if you say the magic words "I accidently" then cause of damage... it's fixed, period, even if you run over it, accidently, with a semi-truck, new system, period. Also, even if you just crack the plastic on the chassis, just tell them how it happened... OST (onsite tech) will be dispatched within 2-4 days and it'll be fixed for free.
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In the end, personal perferance will win out on features, support, so on so forth, but try Cnet.com for an unbias review. I work for Dell as a tech, I'm not a salesperson, but I've purchased Dell laptops since my first Latitude CPXJ 5 years ago, and it's STILL running great.
Your Friendly Government Dell Tech,
J.E.
DellTech Rep ID - 172946