Need help in making a final decsion on purchasing this 2nd hand laptop or buying a brand new one.

[chrisbek]

Ok so I am looking for some help on making a decision for a purchase.

I came onto Toms here a few days ago and made a post in regards to purchasing a 2nd hand Asus G75-VX laptop from a local seller on Kijiji:

http/www.kijiji.ca/v-laptops/kingston-on/asus-g75vx-premium-gamer-i7-120gb-sdd-750gb-hdd-16-gb-ram/1113868998?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

I got a ton of help and I am looking to make a final decision on whether I should buy the ASUS G75VX for $800.00 or if it would more worthwhile to invest that $800.00 into a brand new $1000.00 to $1200.00 laptop.

My main concerns are that I don't know much about laptops as I primarily use desktop systems only and whether the 2nd laptop is a good deal and will suit my needs or if I would be better off looking at purchasing something new.

The 2nd hand laptop is in good shape cosmetically and comes loaded with Windows 10 pro, full office 2015 and 1 year anti-virus. The added travelling case is also a nice bonus. The laptop also includes a nice 120 SSD which is clearly an addition as the laptop only came with 7200 rpm HDD.

However my concerns are the laptop is clearly 2 or maybe 3 years old at best and any warranty remaining is gone. Although the seller said they would give me a 30 day warranty what that entails was not discussed.


If I was to buy something new I primarily would like to buy from www.canadacomputers.com as they are local and in town and I am hoping I could get some suggestions on something that could suit my needs or convince me if the 2nd hand ASUS G75VX would be better.


I would like to use the laptop mostly at work I would like the ability to use the laptop for surfing the internet, watching movies, working on office programs, programming C/C++/Visual Basic.

I do intend to install Linux and wish to have the laptop be able to dual boot Windows and Linux.

When not at work I would like to consider using the laptop for gaming if possible. The types of games I play are normally STEAM games such as cs:go, farcry 3, payday 2, sniper elite 3 or any first person shooter.


Any help that could be given is much appreciated.

1. What is your budget? $1000.00 to $1200.00 CANADIAN

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? Minimum 15 Inch or higher

3. What screen resolution do you want? Decent screen resolution for work.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Portable - Plan to use it at work

5. How much battery life do you need? 4 to 6 hours

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?


The types of games I do play on my desktop are steam games. Games like farcry 3, cs:go, sniper elite 3, team fortress 2, payday 2, etc.


Additional things I would like to do:

Surfing the internet
Connect to wireless networks
Watching streaming videos/movies
Email
Office programs
Using the laptop to install and learn about Linux Operating System
Using the laptop to install and learn about Windows 7 Professional Edition 64 bit edition
Using the laptop to install and learn Windows XP Professional
The ability to connect to Windows 2003/2008 server environments


7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop?

I want a laptop that I can create a dual boot system using Linux Redhat, Windows XP and Windows 7
Laptop must have wireless connectivity to internet
Decent sound and graphics
Surfing the internet
Watching streaming videos/movies
Email
Office Programs (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Access)
Programming Using C++/Visual Basic.Net


8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

I don't as I don't store or use many files that are huge. 250GB to 1TB is ideal if possible

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

www.canadacomputers.com
www.ncix.com
www.tigerdirect.com


10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

2 to 5 years tops

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

I do need a dvd burner to write files to.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

Not too concerned on brands as long as it works for my intended needs.

13. What country do you live in?

Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

Laptop must be easy to take apart if I need to upgrade or replace components such as RAM or the Harddrive.

 

[Chirality]

I can tell you right now, between buying something new and used at your price point, it is much better to buy new. Computing changes so drastically most of us "future proof" our machines by getting good components. A three year old laptop that is 200 dollars cheaper is a waste of money. Save a bit more and get yourself a laptop with a Skylake processor and a decent 950 or 960M graphics card. You won't regret it and you'll have a real warranty to boot. You can get more bang for your buck with a Sager over an Asus as well. Asus in my experience has terrible support.

Just my two cents.

 

[chrisbek]

I can tell you right now, between buying something new and used at your price point, it is much better to buy new. Computing changes so drastically most of us "future proof" our machines by getting good components. A three year old laptop that is 200 dollars cheaper is a waste of money. Save a bit more and get yourself a laptop with a Skylake processor and a decent 950 or 960M graphics card. You won't regret it and you'll have a real warranty to boot. You can get more bang for your buck with a Sager over an Asus as well. Asus in my experience has terrible support.

Just my two cents.

Yeah I agree with alot you have said here.

Can you or anyone suggest a computer laptop that i could purchase from www.canadacomputers.com

I am still thinking getting the g75vx 2nd hand. Even though it is 2nd hand used I still thinking that for 800.00 its still a good deal.

The plus sides about the g75vx is that it is:

1) an i7 process (3gen tho) - most laptops i seen with i7's are always $1000.00 if not more
2) 670mx card is overclockable
3) The owner will fresh install my choice of os (Windows 7/8/10 pro or ultimate edition)
4) Comes loaded with microsoft office full 2015 with norton antivirus
5) Comes complete with carrying/travel bag which is nice
6) Laptop was used only for light gaming with a different keyboard and gaming mouse and cosmetically looks brand new G
7) The Asus G75VX has alot of awesome reviews and very few people seem disappointed in it.
8) The laptop also includes a ssd which was clearly added later as it did not orginally come with one so this to me seems like a nice plus.

The downsides of it are:

1) I don't know if $800.00 is a fair price. The laptop brand new normally was selling for $1400.00 CAD
2) The laptop was released around 2012 so it could be anywhere from 1 to 3 years old depending on when it was purchased.
3) The laptop has no warranty as far as I know but the seller does like I said provide a 30 day warranty. What it entails was not discussed.
4) I have no idea if the laptop would suit my current needs.
5) I have no idea if I should just buy a new laptop and if I do which one.
6) If after 30 days anything goes wrong I am kinda SOL.