If you buy a laptop you are pretty much guaranteed to have make a set of recovery discs as your first task (before cleaning off all the trialware and then trying to find a way to get rid of the hidden partition). Last time I did it the recovery discs weren't even a full windows install as such.
I always buy PCs that are pre-built from components and usually get an OEM disc of windows thrown in, but I gather if you buy a branded PC from a shop you are in the same boat as the laptops.
Not bundling a recovery disc with a laptop is a major disservice to customers. Especially when the program to produce the recovery discs requires two blank DVDs, runs into errors on the second disc, and makes you start the whole process from the beginning (instead of letting you only burn the second disc). That was my experience with a laptop I acquired a few months ago. I needlessly burned two or three copies of the first disc while trying to get the second disc to burn correctly.
Most manufacturers now rely on a hidden recovery partition on the HD instead of a recovery disc, though there is generally an option to burn one in the start menu.
I always buy PCs that are pre-built from components and usually get an OEM disc of windows thrown in, but I gather if you buy a branded PC from a shop you are in the same boat as the laptops.