Would it be foolish to buy a Dell Precision M4500 i7 4GB for $500 with a 90 warranty?

esburmeister

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Jan 18, 2012
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Sorry if this isn't the correct forum for this. I found a Dell Precision M4500 from a local retailer and it comes with a 90 day warranty. It seems like it's in good shape and based on what little I know, it seems like something that could last a long time. Batteries are cheap and it can be upgraded to have more RAM than I need, and it could even become my BluRay player. Does anyone know enough about these to say it's a bad purchase? It's obviously a lot more appealing than most new $500 laptops on the surface.
 
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there hasnt been much of a move forward as far as cpu architecture goes so its perfectly decent. @retail they still go for 1200-1400 depending on which cpu gpu combo it has, so 500 is a bargain even second hand your looking at 750.
to be honest it seems a little to...

HEXiT

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for that money its a bit of a bargain. if your in need of a business solution on the go. if your thinking gaming then you would be better looking at something else. its not the cpu thats poor but the gfx is quadro base which means while powerful for gfx image quality, its not so good for sheer grunt for gaming.
 

esburmeister

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yes, there seems to be several RAM option on Crucial's website. I believe that, since it has 4 cores it can go up to 16gb
 

esburmeister

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Yeah, I'm not much of a gamer, so that's helpful, thanks. I was just wondering if it would be wrong to spend that kind of money on a 2011ish computer
 

HEXiT

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there hasnt been much of a move forward as far as cpu architecture goes so its perfectly decent. @retail they still go for 1200-1400 depending on which cpu gpu combo it has, so 500 is a bargain even second hand your looking at 750.
to be honest it seems a little to good to be true, either its had a major repair or the guy thats selling it doesn't know what he is selling.

so before you put any cash down have a good look at it for dings on the case, and check the screws for scratches as that will tell you if its been opened for repair also check for dust in the vents. if it passes cursory inspection ask to see it working. listen for any high pich squeals, dust being ejected from the vents, vibration and if you can listen for sound distortion from the speakers(if it has them).
check the keyboard for sticky keys and key registering. (open notepad and hit every key) lastly if he allows it test the max temps. if he's a decent second hand dealer he may allow it and asking to test it out shouldnt be an issue unless he's trying to pull a fast 1... 500 is still a fair whack of cash so dont be to eager.

 
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esburmeister

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This is all pretty much what I was looking to hear. I'll be sure to make a list from your answer when I check it out this weekend. It's a self-proclaimed computer outlet dealer so I'm not sure what to expect. Thanks so much for the tips. I thought the price sounded too good also, so we'll see
 

kc_guy

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You can buy these by the dozen from Dell's outlet store on EBay.
I just bought one for $378.
They have auctions for several m4500's per day..going price is 370-450.
They are refurb'd and sold by Dell.
The one I got has the I7 Q840 if I remember right... 8 Gb of Ram and a 250 Gb HDD.

If you want something like it...there's no better place to get it, and a good price as well.




 

esburmeister

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I chose not to get it due to not having a keypad. Not the best reason, but I'm kinda picky. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep looking on eBay