New College Student - Budget $700 or less

[cedouglas]

1) What is your budget?
$700 or less

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
Any, preferably bigger ones around 17"

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Which ever is best

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
No

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Homework, browsing the internet. Minecraft? Light games?

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
Taking it to school and back

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
Really light gaming, if possible

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
As much as possible

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
Yes

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Windows 7

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?
Full HD

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?
Don't care

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
No

15) When are you buying this laptop?
ASAP

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
As long as possible

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
500GB if possible

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD Burner, Blu-ray Reader or Blu-Ray Burner?
Yes, at least a DVD burner or drive.

Other Comments:

I will be buying this laptop as soon as possible, so anything is appreciated. I am also looking for something with a 9 cell battery

[pepper_john]

Carry an 17" to school? You might to want reconsider that unless you drive everyday.

In any case, if you want a durable notebook I would suggest a business grade one such as thinkpad E430/E530 or a refurnished Dell latitude as they tend to be better build than the consumer ones.

[cedouglas]

Well, the 15 inchers do have more battery life it seems, so I do agree. I have a nice backpack for it though.

What do you think about these:
Toshiba Satellite P755-S5174 PSAY1U-0CJ027 Notebook PC - 2nd generation Intel Core i5-2450M 2.5GHz, 6GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6 Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit at TigerDirect.com

Acer Aspire AS7750G-6854 LX.RU302.039 Notebook PC - 2nd generation Intel Core i5-2450M 2.5GHz, 4G DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6650M, 17.3 Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Black at TigerDirect.com