Both my wife and I have HP Pavilion zv5000s. AMD Athlon 64 processors, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drives, with both CD/DVD player/burners and floppy drives, and they're both set up for wireless, which is how we access the internet. We've had them for over two years now and never had a problem that involved the hardware. They've both proven to be solid and reliable. I don't think this particular model is still available, but similar ones are.

This model might be a bit hefty for packing around a campus. It was a 15.4" screen (great for watching movies on DVD), and it runs about 9 lbs. But HP has other, more portable laptops. Also, and this was a big factor for us, once you pick a basic model, you can customize it. Lots of options.

We bought them on-line, HERE

Good hunting!

Don Firth