$500 budget

[brandoneson]

I'm looking for a laptop for school. I have a budget around $500 and looking to shop on amazon. I know i'm not going to get anything amazing with this price, I've been looking but I don't have any idea about processors and all that stuff. Just asking opinions for the best I can get with this, thanks!

1. What is your budget? $500

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15 inches at least.

3. What screen resolution do you want?

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? No

5. How much battery life do you need? Decent life

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)? Low is fine, no intense gaming happening.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Studying compter science, programming, dont think that needs that much power.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 500GB is fine

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. Amazon

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? At least a couple of years, this will be my first laptop.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? DVD is fine.

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.
My friend has a ASUS, seems solid.

13. What country do you live in? US.

 

[brandoneson]

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-1024AMU-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B006M9ZXDW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=ILF71UMPAR281&colid=3FCNRG6ZQVZP7

I know this is a little over the $500 i mentioned, but with the specs and brand, is it worth it?

 

[geekapproved]

Check bensbargains.com, they list all the best deals going.

 

[azathoth]

I believe that this is the perfect laptop for you.
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-X54C-ES91-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B006O7FM0G/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1327966125&sr=1-1

It is an ASUS brand, and uses a Dual core Pentium version of the new Sandy Bridge chips.

It includes HD3000 graphics which is perfect for light gaming/media.

The harddrive is 320Gb, which is short of 500Gb but Imo shouldn't really be a problem.

The Processor is a Dual Core 2.2Ghz.

At $399 with Free Shipping this laptop will leave you satisfied, and with some spare cash in the pocket.

 

[brandoneson]

Best answer selected by brandoneson.