College Bound Laptop for Daughter

[govtdog]

What is your budget?
$600

What country will you be buying this in?
USA

What size notebook do you prefer?
Thin and Light (13 - 14-inch screen)
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Like: HP
Dislike: Lenovo

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
Yes

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software, Listening to Music, Photo Editing, Video Chat and Conference, Casual Gaming

College Student Stuff

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places

How many hours of battery life do you need?
4-8

Will you be buying online or in store?
online or in store

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Standard Resolution (1366 x 768)
High Resolution (1600 x 900)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
No

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 05/29/2012

How long do you want this laptop to last?
3 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
640 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
No

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
DVD Burner

[ZaZ]

The Dell Outlet is tough to beat for value. Something like e6320 or e6420 can probably be had in the Dell Outlet near your budget. They're both well built with three year warranties. Dell also offers coupons for the outlet with some reglularity. If you can wait for those you may do better price wise. There's a thread in the Deals forum dedicated to Dell Outlet coupons. You may wish to check it out.