I've had both HP and Acer brand laptops.
I don't know of any current deals, Newegg would be good for PC/related items and if you sign up for their emails you get daily deals and promos etc, but I can comment on the brands themselves.
My wife had an HP up until about 5 years ago. Seems she had it for a year, maybe more then that, when the HDD conked out and we lost a lot of important items along with it.
A little ways down the road I got an Acer on sale from Wal-Mart.
That laptop has been great. Had it for almost 4 years and had no troubles from it. The only big issue is the battery started acting up 6 months or so back, but hey up until then it had lasted quite a while. Great for general use and the one I have came with MS Office (which makes me think it would have been good for work related issues).
Too long d/r version - HP we had didn't last long, wouldn't recommend, Acer brand I have, no major hiccups would definitely buy another.
Edit: I would get this Acer Aspire if I was in the market for a new laptop -
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-aspire-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive-midnight-black/8274088.p?id=1219321335266
Good specs at a nice price. I hope that this helps my fellow CAG.
