How much is this laptop worth, and where is the best place to try and sell?

[Pyrrhus]

I'm thinking of selling my laptop to help buy this one, (unless anyone knows of a better one for around the same price), and would like to know the approximate value/range I could ask for or get for it--I've never done it and can't judge the parts for myself. If there is anywhere that could guide me if nobody can tell themselves, point me in that direction! Here are the specs--it's in perfect working condition with very minor physical blemishes:

• 
  17" Dell XPS
  1600x900 Display
  i7 2670QM @ 2.20Ghz
  GeForce GT 550M
  8GB RAM
  2 500GB HDDs
  Windows 7 64 bit

Also a subwoofer/loud speakers, backlit keyboard, HDMI, 2 USB, 2 SSUSB, SD Slot, disc drive.

 

[Icaraeus]

You could probably sell your current laptop for around $500-600 Ebay or Amazon. If you are willing to build a desktop PC, you can get more value for your money as apposed to buying the ASUS laptop but as a laptop the ASUS is a good value.

 

[thor220]

That's a pretty good laptop. Sells for $850 new so I would expect $550-$700 used. Make sure you clean the hard drive before you sell it.

 

[Pyrrhus]

You could probably sell your current laptop for around $500-600 Ebay or Amazon. If you are willing to build a desktop PC, you can get more value for your money as apposed to buying the ASUS laptop but as a laptop the ASUS is a good value.

Appreciate the help! I did briefly consider building a PC, but determined that a laptop is just much more convenient for me. Ebay and/or Amazon are the way to go? I've never sold anything on Ebay, so am a little cautious, but I'm sure it's likely the best method if I'm careful.

 

[Pyrrhus]

That's a pretty good laptop. Sells for $850 new so I would expect $550-$700 used. Make sure you clean the hard drive before you sell it.

It has done me well, but I review games for a living and it's starting to fall behind in terms of running newer games at high settings. That's another thing--what's the best way to be sure I'm wiping my storage? I haven't decided for sure that I want to sell, but if I do I want to get everything off of it. Reformat, a specific tool to download? Thanks!

 

[thor220]

The quickest way would be to use the recovery partition built into the laptop to restore factory default windows. Once that's done, run CCleaner(it's free) and check the "wipe free space" check box.

The hard way is to use DBan. It's a boot tool that will make sure the data is unrecoverable. You're probably better off with the faster method unless you're selling to someone who has access to some serious Data recovery knowledge(and equipment).

 

[Pyrrhus]

The quickest way would be to use the recovery partition built into the laptop to restore factory default windows. Once that's done, run CCleaner(it's free) and check the "wipe free space" check box.

The hard way is to use DBan. It's a boot tool that will make sure the data is unrecoverable. You're probably better off with the faster method unless you're selling to someone who has access to some serious Data recovery knowledge(and equipment).

That sounds simple enough, I'm familiar with CCleaner. I'm honestly not sure there's much serious information on here, anyway, so I don't think I need to go to extreme lengths. Hopefully I can sell for around the prices stated, if I decide to sell. Despite the fact that this has no issues, the new laptop looks a good deal and keeps calling my name.

 

[thor220]

The quickest way would be to use the recovery partition built into the laptop to restore factory default windows. Once that's done, run CCleaner(it's free) and check the "wipe free space" check box.

The hard way is to use DBan. It's a boot tool that will make sure the data is unrecoverable. You're probably better off with the faster method unless you're selling to someone who has access to some serious Data recovery knowledge(and equipment).

That sounds simple enough, I'm familiar with CCleaner. I'm honestly not sure there's much serious information on here, anyway, so I don't think I need to go to extreme lengths. Hopefully I can sell for around the prices stated, if I decide to sell. Despite the fact that this has no issues, the new laptop looks a good deal and keeps calling my name.

You will definitely be fine. The most I can imagine is some cookie txt files containing account information, log in times, ect. It would be a hassle just to recover that after cc cleaner was done overwriting it. Most personal use data recovery software would not be able to obtain anything after it's been zero'd.

 

[Pyrrhus]

The quickest way would be to use the recovery partition built into the laptop to restore factory default windows. Once that's done, run CCleaner(it's free) and check the "wipe free space" check box.

The hard way is to use DBan. It's a boot tool that will make sure the data is unrecoverable. You're probably better off with the faster method unless you're selling to someone who has access to some serious Data recovery knowledge(and equipment).

That sounds simple enough, I'm familiar with CCleaner. I'm honestly not sure there's much serious information on here, anyway, so I don't think I need to go to extreme lengths. Hopefully I can sell for around the prices stated, if I decide to sell. Despite the fact that this has no issues, the new laptop looks a good deal and keeps calling my name.

You will definitely be fine. The most I can imagine is some cookie txt files containing account information, log in times, ect. It would be a hassle just to recover that after cc cleaner was done overwriting it. Most personal use data recovery software would not be able to obtain anything after it's been zero'd.

Even better, sounds good to me. Thanks for the helpful and quick support, I appreciate it! The coming days will increasingly test my resolve to resist ordering the new one, I think.

 

[thor220]

The quickest way would be to use the recovery partition built into the laptop to restore factory default windows. Once that's done, run CCleaner(it's free) and check the "wipe free space" check box.

The hard way is to use DBan. It's a boot tool that will make sure the data is unrecoverable. You're probably better off with the faster method unless you're selling to someone who has access to some serious Data recovery knowledge(and equipment).

That sounds simple enough, I'm familiar with CCleaner. I'm honestly not sure there's much serious information on here, anyway, so I don't think I need to go to extreme lengths. Hopefully I can sell for around the prices stated, if I decide to sell. Despite the fact that this has no issues, the new laptop looks a good deal and keeps calling my name.

You will definitely be fine. The most I can imagine is some cookie txt files containing account information, log in times, ect. It would be a hassle just to recover that after cc cleaner was done overwriting it. Most personal use data recovery software would not be able to obtain anything after it's been zero'd.

Even better, sounds good to me. Thanks for the helpful and quick support, I appreciate it! The coming days will increasingly test my resolve to resist ordering the new one, I think.

New games testing your resolve?

 

[Pyrrhus]

New games testing your resolve?

No new game in particular has me frustrated, but a general creep of needing to lower some settings to high or even medium to get a better framerate is far from ideal, especially as I need to review some games on PC!

 

[thor220]

Yeah that would frustrate me. I don't like it when some games can't be smooth even when you throw the best hardware in the market at it. Heck, farcry 3 is still choppy at points.

I don't know if this tip will help you much but turning off cpu intensive settings greatly helps laptop performance. SAO (screen ambient occlusion) and shadows are huge cpu hogs that don't add much to the scene. Most people cannot even tell the difference between high and low shadows so it's a nice trade-off to turn them to a lower setting.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Yeah that would frustrate me. I don't like it when some games can't be smooth even when you throw the best hardware in the market at it. Heck, farcry 3 is still choppy at points.

I don't know if this tip will help you much but turning off cpu intensive settings greatly helps laptop performance. SAO (screen ambient occlusion) and shadows are huge cpu hogs that don't add much to the scene. Most people cannot even tell the difference between high and low shadows so it's a nice trade-off to turn them to a lower setting.

Those are always the first things I go for, because as you said they really strain the hardware and the changes are barely noticeable. Shadows can make a graphical difference, but lowering them can do wonders. The thing about this laptop, even though the hardware is a bit dated, is that the non-1080p resolution makes it a little easier to run games at higher settings--I think that helped increase the longevity of this configuration.

 

[velo3100]

I would say around £600 would be the price of your laptop.

 

[thor220]

Yeah that would frustrate me. I don't like it when some games can't be smooth even when you throw the best hardware in the market at it. Heck, farcry 3 is still choppy at points.

I don't know if this tip will help you much but turning off cpu intensive settings greatly helps laptop performance. SAO (screen ambient occlusion) and shadows are huge cpu hogs that don't add much to the scene. Most people cannot even tell the difference between high and low shadows so it's a nice trade-off to turn them to a lower setting.

Those are always the first things I go for, because as you said they really strain the hardware and the changes are barely noticeable. Shadows can make a graphical difference, but lowering them can do wonders. The thing about this laptop, even though the hardware is a bit dated, is that the non-1080p resolution makes it a little easier to run games at higher settings--I think that helped increase the longevity of this configuration.

Lower resolutions will definitely help. I usually just lower the res a notch or two when I'm recording. I like a smooth 60 doing videos.