Laptop brand for Programmer: Visual C++, C++, Java, dot Net ...?

I need some advice about laptop for programmer, my brother go to college next year, and his major will be Software Engineer and this laptop is a anniversary gift. I choose top 3 laptop brands Lenovo, Sony, HP and ASUS but don't know what is the best for programmer? please help!

I can't say that a particular brand is the best choice for any purpose. Compiling and linking is CPU and disc I/O demanding and since disc I/O is a bottleneck I would prefer a laptop with a SSD drive instead of one with a high spec CPU/RAM speed. If you don't find a reasonable priced laptop with a SSD drive go for one with a lot of RAM since that will at least serve as a large disc cache.

@S_M_A: my budget is around $500-600, it's a gift, a first laptop for him so the price is not a big deal :D (but not too much)

any advice about ASUS K55A-DS51? I found that this laptop is the best budget (source: http://thebestlaptopbrands.com/best-laptops-2013/) BUT I'M NOT SURE, LOL :blush:

Well it looks like an ok laptop. Personally I prefer a stationary since it's more bang for the buck but at work we always get latptops... :(