I have been considering getting the Gateway P-6831 FX laptop, but at the moment, I don't feel like I would need that much power, so all the bells and whistles would largely be wasted. Which budget laptops (500-1000) would have the best price performace ratio? BTW, this laptop is for college use and I don't really intend on gaming very much anymore.

You must get:

dual core
2GB - 4GB DDR2 or DDR3 for RAM don't get 1GB of RAM
More RAM the more you can use for the shared video RAM.
Wireless G/N
Wired 10/100/1000 Gig
250GB HDD SATA (7200 RPM) don't get 160GB not enough for the future)

What I've mention so far is less than $600.

AMD X2 (dual core) X64 (64-bit CPU) would be less than a Intel Dual Core
Make sure you get 64-bit CPU don't settle for 32-bit.

Other things like 15-in-1 card readers/writer for SD and etc..
Dual Layer DVDRW Burner
15.4 Widescreen with Ultra Bright (this looks glossy but HD is better)
Web Cam (okay if you think you'll need it)
Wireless remote control
HDTV Tuner

The rest on the list above will add on to the price making it $900 bucks depends on where you get the laptop from. Clubs/warehouse is cheaper than retail. Online prices you have to know what you want to buy. HP laptops are really good. Compaq is HP cost less.

Gateway is not under ACER control so ACER laptops seems to fall apart more. If you want the Gateway make sure it comes with a good protection policy.

Don't forget extra battery 12 or 13 (4 to 6 hrs) cell will last longer than 6 cell (1-2 hrs) Extra power supply and a carrying case.