Refurbished Laptops?

[bbouzos]

I'm currently between laptops and am trying to buy an interim computer; nothing permanent, just something that will work between now and when I finally save up enough to get a decent laptop. So I was considering buying a refurbished computer since they seem to be pretty cheap. Something like one of these:

http/www.unixsurplus.com/products/laptops?pagesize=40

Have you ever bought a refurbished computer/server/anything for that matter? Has it worked out for you, or does it tend to be a hassle?

Thanks

 

[Supermuncher85]

I've never bought any thing refurbished but when looking at their selection it is pretty much stuff that I literally sent to the trash (hello ye old T40/41). For $400 you can get a pretty good new computer, so spending $200 for a 7 year old pc seems...excessive? I wouldn't pay more than $50 for them.

But really comes down to your budget. If you can't afford anything better then I guess so? But for $400 you can get something with a current generation CPU, battery that works and ample harddrive space.

 

[bbouzos]

Yeah perhaps you are correct. My only reply would be that, like I mentioned, this is strictly meant to be a temporary computer. While you do have a point about the 7 year old PC, I feel like spending more than $200 on a computer I don't plan on using for an extended period of time isn't something I think I would want to do. Perhaps I am too stingy? haha

I think my main concern would be whether buying refurbished is something people have had a bad experience with (e.g. they received a defective computer and it turned into a huge hassle). In any case I appreciate your perspective on the situation, maybe I can find some middle ground in terms of specs and cost. Thank you!

 

[Supermuncher85]

Well as I was saying, for $400 you get a machine you can use for more than just a few months.

Also keep in mind that sometimes these refurbs come with the original batteries, many of which hold a charge maybe for 30minutes at most. Buying a new battery is a significant additional expensive if you need mobility, almost closing the gap to the new laptop. But read through the small text on the refurb sites. Some actually ship them with new batteries, others don't.

 

[bbouzos]

I will make sure to look into that, thanks again for the help.