Best Laptops for under $500

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the best laptops were for under $500. I would like to be able to use wireless internet with it and Wi-Fi since I would use it when I stayed in a hotel(which isn't often)or just using it at my house where we have wireless internet. I would like the screen size to be around 15" and be able to upload pics and watch videos form youtube and other websites. Thanks for any help or best places to buy a laptop. =)

Oh I want it to have a battery life of a couple hours at least.

For under $500 your choices will be limited but if you go to Dells website, you can order a laptop and make payments on it. I bought one a while back and the payments were only $25 per month. I paid it off much quicker but it was nice to be able to make the payments on it.

I really like my Acer, I'm pretty sure it was less than $500...

Have you considered one of those mini-notebooks? Those often run pretty cheap.

Okay. Self-proclaimed closet computer nerd here. Here's my input.

1. The number one laptop company that I would recommend is HP. One-hundred percent. Excellent product for excellent prices with excellent customer service. I suggest staying away from Dell. The product is decent, but the CS sucks.

2. If all you're looking for is basic computing and internet, I would look into a netbook (mini laptop). Look at the HP Mini's. Small and compact. Come stock with wireless card and webcam/mic. Perfect for business, traveling and school. Only downside is netbooks do not have opitical drives (CD drives) due to their size.

3. If you are looking for more everyday computing or a larger screen (you said 15" or so?) I would look at something like the Presario or any of the G-series laptops (I recommend the G62m). The computer I recommended is great. It has an optical drive and integrated mic. I don't believe it comes stock with a webcam, but if you want one, when you add the computer to your cart, you can choose the option to add one. They are inexpensive. It has a good amount of RAM memory to keep your computer moving quickly on the internet and a decent amount of hard drive space for all your files (this, too can be upgraded).

If you have any questions or anything feel free to PM me. Like I said, self-proclaimed computer nerd. :) I love this stuff.

ETA: HP also has a great buy now, pay later program.

I was actaully looking at the HP G62 online today. It has really good reviews and I think it would work well for me.

I used to have one. I loved it. I had the webcam and and upgrade on the harddrive because I was planning on using it for school and home stuff so I just decided to play it safe and get more memory. The only reason I got rid of it is because I got into gaming and wanted a high performance laptop. But, I digress. Lol

Highly recommend it. You could always look into the slightly more expensive G-series laptops that are still under $500. The only difference will be an increase in RAM and harddrive memory.

HP Laptop w/ Pentium Dual-Core T4500 & Windows 7 Home, G62-219WM - Walmart.com

That's the laptop I was looking at. Probably won't be able to get it...as I need a dressage saddle first but maybe I'll get lucky lol.

Those are nice ones! That would be a higher end G-series laptop. If you go on the HP website, I'm pretty sure they come in different colors. Not sure if you can pick a color through Walmart. The one at Walmart also doesn't have a webcam. Very nice computer. :)

I know how that is though. I was back and forth between getting my $800 laptop and a new saddle and ended up buying a refurbished laptop that was exactly the same for $400 and also buying a new saddle.