I would say neither HP or Dell. The best laptops are made by Toshiba. I got mine I think 3 years ago and it runs as good as new. The only reason why I need a new computer is because this thing wasn't made to play games on.
You may say 3 years isn't very long and you'd be some what correct but get this. My Dad had a Toshiba that was so old he bought it back in like 1993 or something and only just trashed it because the battery died and he couldn't find a new one. While he hadn't used it since 1999 it would still turn on in may 2007 when I was playing with it. So I would strongly recommend Toshiba for a laptop.