I have a personal distrust towards HP products. Their customer service has always been good to me, but I've owned 3 separate HP laptops (from before and after the Compaq merger) and all three have essentially fallen apart after the first 12 - 18 months. Same goes for Toshiba (2 laptops). In comparison, every thinkpad I've owned (3) has always outlasted my need for them due to outdated specs over time.