Need help looking for a laptop under $500

Hello everyone. I have had a terrible time trying to figure out which laptop I should buy. Just to give you a little bit a of a background, I have had a terrible time with a god awful Sony Vaio laptop. Now I'm looking for a replacement for when my refund comes in. I would like a laptop for school primarily. Now if it can run a few low-end games like MMO's on low settings that is ok, BUT I am not looking for a machine based only on if it has gaming parts. I want a strong, durable machine. I know that laptops aren't damage resistant, to some extent, but I want one that could take a good beating.
I am unsure of which brands I should trust and what series I should buy.
I am willing to purchase from BestBuy, Amazon, Newegg, and Costco.
Here is the computers I have been interested in so far, but I am open to more suggestions.
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/15-6-laptop-6gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive/4233078.p?id=1219097377157&skuId=4233078&st=asus%20laptop&cp=1&lp=4
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/17-3-laptop-6gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive/3680503.p?id=1219092663715&skuId=3680503&st=asus%20laptop&cp=1&lp=7#tab=overview
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/probook-15-6-laptop-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive-metallic-gray/1305808285.p?id=mp1305808285&skuId=1305808285&st=hp%20probook&cp=1&lp=1#tab=buyingOptionshttp/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-312-829
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-312-829

I like that the probook has an easy to remove back cover and allows you easy access to everything inside of it. I like Asus computers in general and their brand has received high marks for a great while. The Lenovo interests me, but like I said I want a machine that'll take a good beating.
I couldn't care less if I got a machine for the same price as the Lenovo and it only had an i3, if that machine was great.
Mostly I'll be using this machine to surf the web, type papers for school, watch tv, and maybe play some very basic games.
I really, really like the probook so far, but I'm concerned with how HP is doing as a company. My family has been buying Hp since the beginning of time. Right now we have 4 Hp computers in the house and only 1 doesn't work. Hell right now I am typing this on an Hp slimline desktop. My concern is if HP's fail rate is really bad or not. I don't want to buy the machine if it's company has a 56% fail rate like I read on another site.

I would also like to state that I do not care how heavy the computer is, as long as it runs well.
I would rather have a computer that is heavier than a stack of bricks, but works well, than a computer that is light as a feather and doesn't even turn on.

My idea for the probook if I were to purchase it was to remove the dvd drive and use the caddy to install a second hard drive or possibly a solid state drive if I have the money. Also to max out my ram. Having full access to everything under the hood of the laptop would be great because if a problem arises in the future I'll be able to deal with it much easier than a typical computer.

I would like as much feedback as possible and I thank you for taking the time to review this very long thread.