Budget laptop under $500?

I’ve been staring at laptop specs for hours now, but I’m honestly feeling pretty lost on which one is actually reliable and built to last. It feels like there just isn't much out there offering high quality in a small form factor for this kind of budget, but here we are...

Does anyone have a solid recommendation for a laptop under $1167? I'm looking for something with a screen size up to 14" because I travel quite a bit and need it to be light and portable. My usage is pretty standard—streaming movies, browsing the web, organizing photos, and those kinds of daily tasks.

The main thing is that it needs to feel premium and lightweight, and more importantly, I don't want it to start lagging or slowing down significantly in three years due to underwhelming internals.

darksurfer said:I've been browsing laptops endlessly, but I can't figure out which one is actually reliable and well-built. It seems like there aren't many high-quality options with small screens in this price range, but here we are...

Do you have any recommendations for a laptop under $1167? I need something with a screen up to 14" because I travel a lot and want it to be light and compact. It'll just be for standard tasks—watching movies, browsing, storing photos, etc.

Quality and portability are key, and I don't want it to start lagging due to weak specs in three years.

My ideal would be an affordable 13" model, but all I see is this Apple.
http://www.amazon.com/search.php?tp=0&q=X302LA-FN184D

However, this looks like an absolute steal for just three bucks:
http://www.amazon.com/search.php?tp=0&q=X455LA-WX327T

A 14" with decent Windows features and an i3 Broadwell processor is quite tempting... it looks a bit rugged, but the price is unbeatable.

Check this out:

This review features a model with a beefier CPU and more RAM, but the breakdown on the chassis, build quality, battery life, and overall specs still applies to this one too:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-As....135831.0.html