I've had bad experiences with HP previously and should have known to stay away. But guess what? I fell for their modestly competitive prices and shiny offering once again! Beware, people, of HP's marketing tactics as they will entice you to spend your hard earned money on their company. Yes, they are huge and global, but they got there in a deceitful manner which I will not support anymore.
I purchased a $1,600 laptop in July of 2009 and it started to give me trouble around May of 2010. It got to the point where I had to re-install Windows and had similar problems again just a few days ago! I called HP tech support and they advised that my warranty had run out in July and even to speak to them about any problem I had to pay them $49.95 and if it's something that can't be remedied over the phone, then I'd have to pay to ship it to them, pay for labor, pay for parts, and pay for return shipping. It was already getting into several hundred dollars. This is almost the exact experience I had previously. Their computers are like everyone else's, as ALL computer companies buy from third parties and slap it together. So I don't fault their product, I fault their service. After I explained how I was screwed once before regarding product failure just after the warranty period, I received the typical, "I"m sorry for your loss, but there's nothing I can do" routine. Oh, but they did offer to extend my warranty another year for $100, but that only included phone support! Wow, the nerve of HP!
Go with ASUS, Lenovo (IBM), or Gateway, in that order. Most companies have similar policies, but the flexibility and loyalty to customers vary drastically.
In all, I've discovered my hard drive is lame, which is a Seagate. I called them and they told me they sold ALL of the rights to the hard drive to HP and they can't help me... these corporations I tell ya... MEH is right!