<p>I had a Dell for my four years which worked fine enough given the next-day warranty service but definitely started to die at the end and was ridiculously heavy. I would recommend a Mac if you are interested in design, since a lot of students have them and they are much less prone to viruses. Additionally, you will be able to skip some of the security requirements on a Mac. You also have to make a tradeoff in size between whether you want it to be easy enough to take to classes without breaking your back versus one large enough to watch movies on if you plan to in your free time. A large one was good for the first two years when I spent most of my time on campus but during junior and senior year I began to regret the weight while commuting. </p>
<p>I think ultimately the most important thing is ensuring that whatever computer you buy, it comes with a good warranty to fix the inevitable malfunctions.</p>