Considered the
Dell Studio 15?
Are you sure you want a 17 inch? I believe there is a 17 inch equivalent. I own a Dell machine. The support has been brilliant at times and amazingly awful at times. I guess that happens with almost all brands.
traxor seems to support the Sony Vaio. I've always had a feeling that the Vaios were more of flashyness than performance. I never liked the build quality. My brother, a casual user finds it nice with all the gloss.. as a hardcore user, I dislike the way the machine is built. Might just be me.
Then again, considering your grandparents want it, their users are different from ours
/ 
