Harry_the_Spider
I did say "personally, I..."
I've tried a lot of them in shops and owned some (Sony, IBM, Lenovo, Dell). The first thing to put me off a laptop is the keyboard, then the screen, then the general feel/build/etc.
If you're looking for the best spec for the cheapest price, then those brands often come up. But with £400 to spend for general use (i.e. not games or video production, etc), then I personally would put the money into the contact points and the general build, etc.
One idea would be to go to PC world/john lewis and get a general feel for what you like the feel of, then look online to get it under your budget.
Another brand whose laptops I've never got on with is Compaq.