Can anyone help me find a laptop or computer under 500 dollars with these requirements?

Take advantage of the after new year inventory clearance sales events. Just remember these: The 1st thing you should look for on the computer surface is A LOGO STICKER FOR NVIDIA OR ATI MOBILITY RADEON just below the keyboard. This SHOWS that the laptop has A DEDICATED GRAPHICS CARD (for AutoCAD & Adobe Photoshop).

Diablo III, the game I would love most to play is said to run on 3D graphics & is rumored to need at least 1GB GRAPHICS MEMORY (a lower graphics memory = CHEAPER laptop price), so always check the system requirement specs of the game's packaging (ex. SIMS 3; see if your laptop meets all the requirements). Next important aspect is the RAM (memory).

If you're in designing & you need to ran applications like AutoCAD 2007 or softwares used for editing photos and videos, you have to make sure that the laptop has AT LEAST 2GB DDR2 memory modules in it (the more, the better; DDR3 the fastest and newest type of memory modules that came out last October). But what makes a computer really run fast? It is it's processor!

So if you really want your processor to have computing prowess & for you to be able to run different applications simultaneously, make sure it's AS EFFICIENT AS an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (Centrino 2 is a Core 2 Duo that features power saving capabilities; Quad Core is for gaming fanatics). A Core 2 Duo is like having 2 motors running the computer each independent of the other w/c means for a Quad Core, it's like 4 motors are running the machine (that means it will run faster & more efficient even if its frequency is lower to that of a Core 2 Duo). Intel: Core 2 Duo, Centrino 2, Quad Core & Core i-7 (Core i-5 for desktops only as of now) are all very much faster and better than an Intel: DUAL CORE, PENTIUM, CELERON, ATOM (and their more affordable AMD counterparts).

Just make sure that you have AT LEAST 2GHz of speed on your processor. For my computer, I chose an Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB; newest type just came out this Nov) w/c is just the right stuff for the applications I use & games I play. The average laptop LCD screen size is 15.4".

If you want something smaller than that w/ these 3 features I just shed some light on, expect the price to go higher (ex. For 13.3" & 14.1" LCD screens). The HDD (Hard Disc Drive) should have at least 320GB {I would have loved it if my HP came w/ 2 HDD bays like a Toshiba Satellite A505-S6979: 1st one for a 128GB SSD (Solid State Drive) & a 500GB (72000rpm) 2nd HDD}.

If you've thought of a SMALL, PORTABLE and affordable laptop, the new Sony CW13FX/B Jet Black glossy notebook went on sale @ Fry's about 3 weeks ago (for only $699.99). I checked out the price they had in other stores & Fry's was cheaper by about $200 {go to Fry's Electronics (www. Fry's.com) then type in this # 6029078 (or 6029138 for white & 6029108 for pink) in the search box under Notebooks/Tablets before you click on GO}.

Now, after the sale, the price went up by $100, so we are waiting for it to go on sale again after Thanksgiving. Let's say you are on 9th grade.. when buying a computer, you have to consider if you will still be able to use the one you bought for college? For this particular Sony model, I would assure you, you can still use it for college as long as you take good care of it & not break it (for the technology installed on this computer will not be outdated & still be good in 10 years to come, but this is just an example).

There's a lot of good brand of computers out there Toshiba, Dell, HP and ACER (w/c owns Asus & Gateway; has affordable computers w/ the newest technology installed), you just need to look for the ones on sale (try display computers on Clearance Sale inside stores like Micro Center, Best Buy and Office Depot). Try http://www.newegg.com look for Pavilion dv6-1362nr (sale @ $649.99). MICROSOFT OFFICE IS AN OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE (so you would need to buy the retail version after the 60-day Free Trial Version that comes with all brand new computers expires, to be able to use the Word, Excel and Power Point applications).

Retail version is about $159, but you can get a discounted price of $99 w/ a configured Dell laptop (www.dell.com). MacBooks, that is on a totally different aspect for Apple has their own OS (Operating System) unlike the common Windows OS (XP, Vista and THE NEWEST WINDOWS 7) that most computers come with. For the best prices, go to Fry's, CostCo, MicroCenter & BestBuy's web sites for updates & comparison.

There are a lot of options & different combinations you can try in customizing your own laptop, just STICK TO THE BARE ESSENTIALS first (www.HP.com). This 15.6" HP laptop I customized & had configured w/ the Intel® Core™ i-7 came to a total amount of $1,455.80 ($136 tax + other sur-charges already included). I chose to pay more to have the newest technology installed so that I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT GETTING OUTDATED WITHIN THE NEXT 11 YRS.

Depem. Nds on what you want it for really! My mom for christmas got mine at furture shop for 369.99....i love it......it wondows 7...its a acer and its a 15.6 screen......and I enjoy it alot!

Good for what I use it for!

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.