I always buy Dell. I use 2 pc's concurrently - both Dell - often running 5 or 8 programs at once on each.
About 4 years ago I had to call support. I got a new HD replaced without question & done quickly. That's it. Every day these machines serve me like angels.
I have to say that I know other people with problems with their Dells but the root cause is the way they use their machines - letting teenagers loose on them is a sure disaster.
My personal golden rules for trouble free computing:
1. Turn PC off every night - or if downloading movies overnight - reboot in the morning.
2. Run anti-virus that updates daily & doesn't have any problems being told to leave . I use AVG
3. Same with Firewall. I use Zonealarm.(Disable the windows firewall)
4. Never visit crack or porn sites.
5. Use non- MS software where-ever possible. I like clean & efficiently designed, secure software. There's plenty around & lots for free. I happily pay for good professional software like Adobe, Grisoft, Forte, etc
6. Use a good cleaner that will eraze garbage from the registry & run it about weekly. I use CCleaner. Free & simple.
Having said all this my PC will probably crash tonight & the HD burn to a cinder

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. – Leonardo da Vinci