New Dell, or Sony notebook with XP?

[pcrobot]

I'm going to be pricing out a laptop for my Dad this week, and I'd love to get a laptop with XP, not Vista.

To me, the Dell website is not the easiest to navigate, so if you know of, or find any, new laptops from Dell, or Sony with XP on them, please post the link.

I'm going with Dell and Sony because I've heard the best reports about them, and my experience with HP notebooks was awful.

Thanks!

[stev]

I've had the same aweful experience wit the Dell Lattitude (attitude) notebooks here at work for a few years. I would go HP (actually Compaq Presario instead). The Sony has too much proprietary stuff into it to be of any value along with the higher price. However, the Sony boxs do have a good run life.

Your best bet is to hunt down a handful or more of un-biased reviews for certain machines that will fit your needs. Just like car companies make a few lemons, so do computer makers, regardsless of the name brand.

As for getting XP and not Vista, that would narrow your selection down further.

If you knew the machines that ran XP that are now running Vista, you would stand a better chance going XP. If a machine was "designed for Vista" chances are, XP may have a problem.

Dell, HP, and other manufactures have close-out or refurbished machines that are still loaded with XP. Poke around to find them.