While I did look at several brands. ASUS was my first choice when I was browsing laptops for my daughter. I chose this one over a DELL and an ACER, and she loves it. And I have full confidence it will last for as long as she is in college. ASUS is a really solid company as far as laptops in my experience. I bought my first one in 2009. Then I upgraded to my current one in 2016. I have seen reviews about how horrible their customer service can be. However, I cannot speak to that since in all the years I have been an ASUS user. I have never needed to contact them. So when it comes time to upgrade my laptop again, ASUS will be my first choice.