In the world of portable computing there are truly a broad range of brands, options, configurations and choices to make. The PC world is filled with competing companies who all offer the same basic thing – a compact computer in a portable format. What people want from their computers and what they get are often not the same thing; this is particularly true in relation to pre-configured systems with limited customization options. But, for those companies that offer fully customized catalogues, the differences from portable to portable become harder to discern. Two of the largest manufacturers of portable computers are Dell and Compaq. Each offers a large line of systems that are slightly different from one to the next in terms of processor, hard drive, memory, ports, optical drives and physical configurations. As both companies make Windows portable PC’s, the actual functional differences between the two in terms of capability are negligible. What decisions come down to when deciding between the two companies are based upon service, quality of manufacturing and product, price and longevity of product. There are other features to the computing experience as well, but they are universal to all forms of computers and not just laptops. It is the purpose of this paper to present a comparison between the portable computer offerings of Dell and of Compaq.