For under $300, I don't know if you can beat this laptop. My laptop arrived in near perfect condition; there's a tiny crack on the bottom left corner of the keyboard, but it's just cosmetic and hasn't caused any issues while in use. It's a bit on the heavier side than I was anticipating, but it does have a CD-ROM drive, so it makes sense. The initial set up took less than 15 minutes and it runs incredibly fast (booting up takes about 30 seconds, if that). The battery life is pretty awesome, and the keyboard layout is great and the model I received does have a keyboard back light (which is not a feature I realized I enjoy so much, so that was a nice bonus). I use a newer model of this line for work and although this model is older, it has the same feel to it. To be honest, I'm mildly obsessed with this thing.