College Laptop

[shattered space]

OK. So I start college this fall and I'm in the midst of searching for a laptop that fits my needs. I need help.
1. Budgest: $250-$450
2. The size doesn't really matter to me, maybe a mid sized one.
3. The screen resolution I want to be at least 720p
4. Portable, I already have a high-end PC.
5. Not a huge amount of battery life, but would be nice to have a few hours.
6. The only games I'll be playing on the laptop are Minecraft and a few very small ones.
7. The classes I'm taking are English Comp, Accounting, Programming Logic and Design and CompTia A+ so I will need the laptop to be able to accomodate for those. I also like to program in my free time as well as learning new things all the time, so I may need it for 3-D animation and modeling as well.
8. I would like at least 300GB.
9. I don't really care about the sites for laptops, never bought one so I don't know what ones are good.
10. I will want to keep the laptop for around 4 years.
11. DVD-ROM/Writer
12. I don't really like Dell, but if it's the right price I can be swayed.
13. U.S.A.
14. I don't want Vista on it, I would prefer 802.11n/b/g, easy to get into to repair.

 

[dudewitbow]

Budgeted laptop if you prefer a slight emphasis on graphics because its an apu

cant get a dedicated card really, because that doesnt happen till you hit the 500$ mark

was trying to look for a laptop thats not refurb with an i5 cpu for emphasis on processing, but its decently hard.

 

[noreaster]

Okay, lets start with ideal specs:
-Intel Core iX for better processing vs APU for better graphics
-14.1" for portability and battery life vs 15.6" for larger display and possible num-pad
those seem like the major factors in your decision, so...

This would be my recommendation: it has HD6520G graphics which is better than standard, USB 3.0 makes it more future proof, HDMI and VGA output for easy connection to TV or monitor, simple design won't go out of style, ASUS makes great hardware.

Just my $0.02 (keep the change ), hope it helped.

 

[shattered space]

Well tomorrow I'm going into the college registration building to see how much of my scholarship money I have to spend on a laptop. But thanks.