Laptop brands and specs - recommendations?

I'm looking for a new laptop. I want a hybrid tablet running on Windows 8. While I primarily want it for browsing and such, I'm a multi-tasker so I don't want anything slow.

Processor?
RAM? (Is 4 GB enough, or should I pay extra for 6 or 8 GB?)

And what is the difference between the brands: Dell, Sony, VAIO, Acer, etc? Pros and cons of those?

One other wrinkle -- my son wants to play games like Minecraft and video record them. I may give him this laptop in a year. What laptop graphics capabilities and memory are needed to do that well if I wanted to spend the extra money and pass this on to him?

There's no pros and cons of brands

Best brands:
HP
Toshiba
LG
Acer
Sony

Good specs for what you need:
RAM 4 GB +
2.2 GHz + processor (dual core or more)
Graphics card 256 MB +
Large screen with high resolution for good graphics quality