I still see people using the
white polymer Apple Macbook's if that's any testament to their longevity. Granted, I'm sure these people took good care of them.
I wouldn't describe myself as an Apple fanboy. I had HP's for years and they were fantastic. With that said, I also had an HP Pavillion where the motherboard stopped working randomly, totally shot, done, dead. Not worth the cost of repair.
Got a Retina Macbook Pro 3 years ago and haven't had a single issue yet. They come at a cost, but you truly do get something of value when you buy one. They aren't made of primarily plastic, the batteries hold up well, and it's dependable.
I know you are in the market for a Windows device, but honestly
do give a Macbook Air and Mackbook Pro the time of day. You might be spending $800-1200 up front now, but you're getting something that could quite honestly last you through medical school and part of residency with the right level of care.
Food for thought
EDIT: My brother has an ASUS and loves it, and that HP that crashed was replaced for cost of shipping by HP after we complained enough
(it was a month out of warranty)
It's funny, because this is always the go-to for getting a Mac: they just work, without issues. And yet, my work and my family have all had TONS of issues with them, from locking up "because the iCloud account marked it stolen" (we were never able to boot the barely-out-of-warranty computer again, it's bricked) to an overheating issue (seen that on friends' too) to, yes, a virus, to simple hardware problems. They're good quality, yes, but they are just computers. They're not magically resistant to glitches and QC problems. And when you
do have an issue, Apple seems to put up a glass wall keeping you from actually
fixing the damn thing, at least in my experience.
As for 'working seamlessly with everything', the other go-to, well...my iPod works seamlessly with my Windows PC because I
don't use Apple's crappy POS iTunes to manage it. Yeah, iTunes is not required for iDevices. Just as my Kindle works seamlessly with my Windows PC because I don't handcuff it to Amazon's crappy Kindle program - I use one that actually
works (and is free). Added bonus: I now no longer have to worry about DRM on my books or my music. What else is there to work with? Everything just plugs in by USB and voila! Unless you mean software, but you have to give Windows the edge for that.
That's not to say that Macs aren't nice - they are. But when you pay in a similar range for a PC, you get something just as nice - actually, imo usually nicer, because you're not paying for the brand as much, and you are paying for whichever expensive PC most closely matches your interests, not just the Apple default. I paid MBP prices for my computer, and I couldn't be happier with my lightweight, SSD tabPC convertible that lets me use a pressure-sensitive active stylus on the touchscreen while keeping the keyboard available.
So, if the Apple default set of options happens to include everything that you care about, then sure, spend the $1200 on it, and it will be the best computer you've ever had. But if your priorities are different, as it sounds like OP's are, you might want to spend that $1200 on something more your style that will also be the best computer you've ever had.
The Mac touchpad can't be beat, though.
