[ppls1000]

I am going to college in the fall and am interested in getting a laptop. When it comes to desktops I know whats fast and whats decent and that but when it comes to laptops I don't have a clue about whats good or bad. I was wondering if you guys could direct me to some laptops that are good enough for a college student. (word processing, wireless internet, powerpoint or stuff like that) No gaming though. I will not do any gaming on this so I don't need a super awsome video card or anything like that. All I want is something with good speed and a good price. $500 would be nice, give or take $150 or so.

In short: College student in fall, want a laptop, good price, no gaming on it.

[kiwiguy]

The compromise will be between price and weight, once you satisfy the needs of Wireless etc. Get the lightest you can afford....

Ideally the Centrino chipset is best, but for basic "business use", which is what you really need, a Celeron-M is OK. I use one for similar (but Business) and its a good compromise.
Look at the low-end Toshiba range for reliability.

The Toshiba M50 range would be a starting point, (Celeron-M 1.5 GHz) somewhat above your budget perhaps, but Google will tell you what its worth in your area.

Mine has both Wireless and DVD burner, with an additional 256 MB RAM (512 total, which I recommend as minimum) and cost the US equivalent of US$780 before local taxes as an example.

I learnt my lesson on heavier laptops. You get annoyed with the bulk in a very short time.

[InfernoReaper]

i know Alienware is known for gaming but i recommend their Sentia m3200

http://www.alienware.com/product_det...de=SKU-DEFAULT

take a look

[StumpedTechy]

I just got this one for my sister in law -

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...5WLCi_Notebook

Its thin and sleek and very well rounded. Plus when you pack on the extras that are already included with this to the alienware link you'll be adding another 200$'s to the purchase price.

Note this one does have the erebate though so you will have to wait on the rebate to go through to get the $ back.