Is it better to buy a 2011 High-End used laptop or new 2016 laptop (same budget) ?

The storm

Estimable
Jun 28, 2014
5
0
4,510
I'm confused between old, used (2011 released) workstation Laptop
Dell Precision 6600 --- VGA: Quadro 3000M, Processor:I7 2.8GHz / 8MB, Screen Size: 17.3, HardDisk: 750, RAM:8 GB ,
and new 2015 Laptops like
Lenovo z51-70--- VGA:R9 M375, Processor: I5 5200U 2.2GHz/3MB,Screen:15.6, Hardisk:1 TeraByte,Ram: 8 GB
and :
Dell Inspiron 3542--- VGA:GT 840m, Processor:I7 4510U 2.0 GHz / 4MB, Screen:15.6, Hardisk:500 GB, Ram: 4 GB

All have the same cost approximately 650$,I need the Laptop for programming,web surfing,gaming..
Any advice about the used (refurb) laptop?
 

The storm

Estimable
Jun 28, 2014
5
0
4,510


I understand that it has the best VGA between the three...But Why not the workstation ?
 
The Dell Precision has the most powerful CPU, but the weakest GPU. It is rather heavy and battery life will not be as good as newer laptops with more efficient CPUs. The quad core CPU is good if you are going to be doing a lot of CPU intensive tasks that can make use of more than 2 cores.

The Lenovo Z51 is the most modern of laptops. I would say it has the 2nd most powerful CPU (but not by too much) and the most powerful GPU. It should generally give the best battery life assuming all three laptops has the same capacity battery because Intel has been focusing on power efficiency, but only minor increase in CPU performance.

The Dell Inspiron has the "weakest" CPU, but it is still a good CPU and it's 4MB of cache can come in handy in CPU intensive tasks. The nVidia 840m is close to the performance of the Radeon R9 M375 that is in the Lenovo, but it has half the HDD capacity and half the system RAM.


If you really want a workhorse and do not mind the size, weight and potential lack of a warranty, then get the Dell Precision. However, of the three I would choose the Lenovo Z51.