College Laptop for under $500?

[Pluberus]

EDIT:
I ended up going with the Toshiba Satellite L755D-S5162.
- $400
- 1.5GHz A6
- 640GB HDD
- W7 w/ $15 W8
- 5 hrs battery

Thanks for all your help!

---

I already have a decent gaming desktop, a G51vx, and an Asus Eee, but I'm looking for a decent notetaking laptop for my final two years of college (and possibly grad school?). My G51 has monitor, battery, heat, and sound issues, and I don't want to put more money/time into it. My Asus Eee is pretty old, very slow, and its tiny keyboard makes efficient notetaking difficult.

My main concern is battery life (3 hours+ minimum), but other than that I'm not really too picky. I already have the hardware I need for "heavy duty stuff". However, I would like to be eligible for the $15 Windows 8 upgrade.

What is your budget?
$500 (less is more)

What country will you be buying this in?
United States

What size notebook do you prefer?
Netbook (10-inch screen or less) *Small keyboards are an issue for me
Ultraportable (11 - 12-inch screen)
Thin and Light (13 - 14-inch screen)
Mainstream (15 - 16-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Dislike: None

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
Yes

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software
Notetaking/Light programming/Light web development

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places and Will stay on desk

How many hours of battery life do you need?
3+

Will you be buying online or in store?
online

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7, Windows 8

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

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 08/04/2012

How long do you want this laptop to last?
2+ years

How much storage capacity do you need?
160 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe

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


# What I'm currently looking at: #
Acer Aspire AS5560 : $450, ~4 hours, AMD quad, Win8 upgrade
Lenovo G570 : $429, ~4 hours, Intel i3, Win8 upgrade
Lenovo G575 : $350, ~4 hours, AMD dual, Win8 upgrade
Toshiba Satellite C655D : $370, ~6 hours, AMD dual, Wireless N, Win8 Upgrade, Poor reviews?

Can't really decide between 'em. For notes/light coding, I don't really need much (we were using old WinXP Optiplex 380s before).

Thanks for your time!

[Threshold]

Looks like you've got all the bases covered. I'd probably go for the Acer or similar, as the A-series can be undervolted and underclocked with K10Stat for more battery life, or even overclocked for more performance.

I believe the E-series possibly could be as well, but I don't know of anyone who's tried it.

The Acer is also the most powerful of the laptops you've listed, for what it's worth, both in CPU and iGPU.

[Pluberus]

Looks like you've got all the bases covered. I'd probably go for the Acer or similar, as the A-series can be undervolted and underclocked with K10Stat for more battery life, or even overclocked for more performance.

I believe the E-series possibly could be as well, but I don't know of anyone who's tried it.

The Acer is also the most powerful of the laptops you've listed, for what it's worth, both in CPU and iGPU.

Thanks for the feedback. Didn't know about K10Stat, but that's definitely something I'm interested. Totally forgot about UCing/UVing for extra battery life.

[Pluberus]

The Acer got bumped up to $450, so now I'm comparing it with these. Similar specs, but more hdd space and battery life:

ASUS A53Z-AS61 : $430, ~3-5 hours, AMD Quad (1.4GHz), 750gb hdd, Win8 upgrade
ASUS A53E-AS31-RD : $480, ~3-5 hours, Intel i3 (2.3GHz), 750gb, Win8 upgrade
Toshiba Satellite L755D-S5162 : $450, ~5 hours, AMD quad (1.5ghz) 640gb hdd, Win8 upgrade.
Toshiba Satellite L755D-S5150 : $470, ~5 hours, AMD quad (1.9ghz), 640gb hdd, Win8 upgrade

$20 worth the .4ghz?

[User Retired 2]

If want something portable then suggest watch Dell Outlet pricing on their 12" E6220 or 13" E6320. Can also pickup a 12" HP 2560P off ebay occasionally for < $500, often with remainder of it's NBD warranty. The 2560P can be user upgraded to a 45W i7-quad as it's one of the rare ultraportables with a socketted CPU.

[Threshold]

$20 worth the .4ghz?

No, because the 1.9GHZ is an A4 (dual-core). Look where it mentions the iGPU is a 6480G-that means it's an A4.

If you want to save a little money, give Lenovo's Outlet a look for a few days (I recommend Fridays and Saturdays). Generally they have A6/A8 systems under $400, and the coupon code EMAIL10 may still work for 10% off, to offset the tax. They're refurbs, but they do come with a year of warranty. An i5-based system could be an option there as well, though you won't be able to OC/UC/OV/UV it.

If you're already looking at $450+ systems, though, then I can't recommend this Lenovo enough, with the dedicated 6650M. (It would even give your G51vx a run for its money.) Personally, I was lucky enough to save some money by getting mine from Lenovo's Outlet, but you can't always find deals better than Newegg's price on it.

Otherwise, I still see this ASUS and this Acer for $430, though I think the ASUS A6 on Amazon you linked wins by virtue of having a larger hard drive.

[Pluberus]

Thanks for the great post Threshold. Didn't realize that it was a dual core. Also, I'll definitely have to look into the Lenovo Outlet. Looks like there are some amazing deals there.

EDIT:
Do outlet/refurb machines come with the $15 Win8 upgrade? It doesn't look like it, but I could be wrong.

[lovejane]

what's your main aim with this laptop? gaming or study? if for gaming, a laptop under 500 is not a good choice, it only can play light games, I recommend two laptops, Lenovo G570 43349KU and Acer Aspire AS5560-8480, you can see there information click here, Lenovo G570 43349KU features i5 2450M processor + Intel HD 3000 Graphics, it is good for study and office work, Acer Aspire AS5560-8480 has a better graphic card, Radeon HD 6620G with 512MB of dedicated system memory + AMD Quad Core A8 Processor, it is better for gaming.

[Pluberus]

what's your main aim with this laptop? gaming or study? if for gaming, a laptop under 500 is not a good choice, it only can play light games, I recommend two laptops, Lenovo G570 43349KU and Acer Aspire AS5560-8480, you can see there information click here, Lenovo G570 43349KU features i5 2450M processor + Intel HD 3000 Graphics, it is good for study and office work, Acer Aspire AS5560-8480 has a better graphic card, Radeon HD 6620G with 512MB of dedicated system memory + AMD Quad Core A8 Processor, it is better for gaming.

I won't really be gaming on this laptop. I already built a desktop for gaming/video editing. I'm just looking for something with good battery life for notes and programming mostly. Thanks for that link!

EDIT:
@Threshold - I just found a laptop similar to that Lenovo you linked for $440 at Amazon. For notes/programming, do you think the price difference is worth it?

[CheddarTrek]

Thinkpad x130e might fit you nicely.