<p>I just bought a Lenovo w530 but is a little bit above what you want to pay. My son school is sticking with Windows 7. The Inspiron 15r special edition has some good options and the latitude too. The problem I am finding is battery life x performance. I would try to stay above minimum requirements. Look for the processors and graphic card performance benchmarks before buying. It makes it a lot easier to compare. Also ask for student discount. All makers offer them and they go on top of other discounts. On my son’s Lenovo computer I got a Memorial Day discount + a 20% student discount on that model (still expensive at the end but allowed for good upgrades). Finally pay attention to battery life. Some 6cell batteries only give you a 2-3 hours at low performance. Good luck!</p>