I have a 12 year old Dell that is still running fine. The case is built much better than other older cases I have opened.
I agree with the suggestion to shop around for other brands to get a feel for the market. From what I have seen Dell is competitive on price with other high quality machines.

I always shop www.newegg.com for anything computer related. They are usually the cheapest. Sometimes they'll have parts that are a lot more than other sites (for no apparent reason), but they're a good starting point. I have built a full system there, and bought countless other parts there.

I bought an Asus laptop through them as well and love it!

i useualy do the newegg thing but i want to try something new this time i enjoy building my own systems but lately work has ben beating my butt and i am looking to just get something that just plugs in and works but time will tell

Don't buy pre-manufactured from newegg, the deals there aren't good for that.

Dell'* have always fallen apart on me. I had a Dell laptop that I set on my desk 24/7 and just closed and opened, and maybe put on my lap once or twice. The monitor on it is wobbly, it scratches easily, and the keys became squishy after a bit of use. This has happened to all my friends that own a Dell, including my room mate whose Dell is practically totaled, now.

On the other hand, my HP dv600t is in mint after almost a year of use. I take it to class 5 days a week, it'* on whenever it'* not in transit, I take it to jobs with me (fixing other computers), and have it on my lap while I'm outside smoking. All of this, and it runs like the day I bought it, and works completely. Best computer purchase I have ever made.

ok cool but i'm not geting a lap top at all

Okay well, lets just say I don't like Dell computers so much I haven't touched one of their desktops after my experiences repairing them.