Looking for a Decent laptop

I will be buying a laptop soon since i will be going to college soon. I don't want a top of the line computer since i may not even been able to afford all i would want is a durable decent computer, that might be able to run some games even at low settings i wouldnt mind.

1. What is your budget?
my budget is is between 500-600

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Something average-sized, about 14"-16" ?

3. What screen resolution do you want?
doesnt really mater

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
both

5. How much battery life do you need?
At least 2 hours.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
I'm not a big gamer,. Low game quality in games doesnt really matter to me but i would want the ability to play.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
HD video playback is big for me, having multiple windows open in the background plus a few programs.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
I could literally be with 120 gig storage and i would be okay, i mostly use pandora for music or netflix for streaming so i dont need much space. Other than installing programs

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Nothing in particular... I will be buying a laptop in about 2 months, if so should i wait until then or i can start looking for right now?

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Well the last laptop i had i ran it to the ground, as long as it works i will use it =]

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? dvd/rom writer, bluray might be a nice addition but i dont really care.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I have had good experiences and bad ones too with HP, but things are made differently i will trust you guys to actually know if a laptop is durable or not since i am not sure which brands are the good ones.

13. What country do you live in?
The United States.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
LED screen i would really really like to have. Thank you in advance for the help.