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I'm supporting a prison/recovery ministry that is looking for a laptop. I've seen inexpensive laptops for sale in the 300-500 dollar range from HP, Lenovo, etc and I've also looked at refurbished business laptops. So my question is what is the better buy? A refurbished business laptop or a entry level laptop purchased at a place like best buy? Thanks | ||
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quarter MOA visionary |
You have to look at the specifics of each machine. Then compare. Nothing wrong with a properly refurbished machine. | |||
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Member |
I have a Dell Latitude e6420 Business Class laptop that I no longer have a use for that I'd do you a nice deal on given its a ministry you're supporting. The laptop is an older Intel i5 machine with 8gb of RAM (I believe), a 500gb HDD, and an extended battery pack. Short of running higher end graphics applications, it would serve you well for business applications, email, and internet browsing. Let me know if you're interested. Email addy is in my profile. ----------------------------- Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter | |||
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| Member |
I'd prefer new. I find that you get 2 good years out of a laptop, then he battery starts really degrading as well as the cooling fan. You might get 3. I prefer to buy the new hp in the price range you mentioned and just replace whenever they start to act up. | |||
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| bigger government = smaller citizen  |
I could assist with an SSD and get Win10 pro (legit) on the 6420, if need be. “The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.”—H.L. Mencken | |||
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| Member |
Really? My son, a college junior, is still using a refurb'd Dell Latitude e6430 I bought him when he was a high school senior. Its been to Alabama (Auburn University), Florida, Hong Kong, New York, Maine, and Charleston, South Carolina (College of Charleston) over the past four years, and I've not had to replace a single component, including the battery. My personal laptop is a two year old refurb'd Lenovo Thinkpad T450 that to this day has never missed a beat or required anything. My wife has one just like it that has also been flawless. If you buy a business class refurb from the manufacturer, and don't dribble it like a ball, I see no reason why it shouldn't last three/four years at a minimum. By then, anything you bought four years ago is completely outdated tech anyway. ----------------------------- Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter | |||
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| Member |
The laptop has a legal copy of Win10 Pro on it right now that calugo can have with it. I believe it could be re-registered with MS under his name/group (???). I've never done that so I have no idea how it would work. The SSD would surely be a nice addition though. ----------------------------- Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter | |||
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| Member |
Laptop batteries are like cell phone batteries, after 2 years they start degrading and by 3 years they last about 30% as long as new from what I've seen. The cooling fans also start making noise or stop working around the 3 year mark from what I've seen, but I leave mine on most of the time. Sure I could buy a new battery for $100, but just replace the entire laptop for $3/400 as I use it for business and would rather not lose anything I have on it in the event it did crash. And, like everything it's usage, I'm on mine hours everyday, if you use it a few hours a week, it's going to last longer, but he battery will still degrade. | |||
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Shall Not Be Infringed |
Jimmy - Apparently they don't sell 'Yacht-Duty' rated laptops at Best Buy....Either that, or you're REALLY hard on equipment! Business class Laptops such as the Lenovo Thinkpad and Dell Latitude are designed to last WAY longer than 2-3 years, and they do as long as you don't abuse them. That said, it's possible the salt air environment could be having an effect on the cooling fan longevity you're claiming. Regarding battery life, if you're on your laptop 'hours every day', and/or it's always plugged in/powered/charging, that will significantly affect battery life. If this is the case, you're doing it wrong. Just FYI - I do know that Lenovo Thinkpads have a feature that monitors the battery performance and will generate a notification if usage is negatively affecting battery life. In this case it will prompt the user to alter the charging threshold in order to maximize battery performance/life. Just Sayin'  More FYI - My current Laptop (for office/desktop use) is a refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad W530 and the 'In-Service' date of that machine is 3/13/2013. As this Laptop is designed as a 'Workstation', the hardware was the absolute cutting edge at the time it was manufactured. Other than replacing the HDD with a new SSD, and a clean install of Windows, it's all original. It still has the original battery, and it runs like a top!  To the OP - The refurbished 'Business Class' Laptop is definitely the way to go, and that offer from bigdeal (and Veeper) is OUTSTANDING!  ____________________________________________________________ If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !! Trump 2024....Make America Great Again! "May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20 Live Free or Die! | |||
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Hop head  |
my Dell business machine, (6500 something another, i7 etc etc) is 6-7 yrs old, maybe older purchased as a refurb, and for what I do, it works fantastic, dropped it a few months ago and it got a new SS hardrive, , still going bought a refurb Lenova T530 when I had my Dell fixed, had to get the guys to put a new/used keypad on it, since the space bar decided not to work, (that was under warranty) it too runs like a top https://chandlersfirearms.com/chesterfield-armament/ | |||
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| Member |
Shoot, there's my problem. My 5 yr. old Lenovo is still going great. I'm sure I'm shortening it's lifespan with as much World of Warships I play, but so far so good. Also, a couple days prior to reading this thread I did the battery refresh that Lenovo has as an application. Still good to go! | |||
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| Member |
Thanks for the input guys I really appreciate everyone's response. I'm waiting to hear back from the guy that runs the ministry so I verify his requirements before making a purchase. There's a shop locally that I've used for repairs to my home computer and I know he sells refurbished laptops so I'm going to check him out and see what he has in stock. If anyone is interested the ministry is Christian Life Prison and Recovery Ministries. www.clprm.org. thanks | |||
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| Member |
If I were to buy refurbished, I would buy a manufacturer refurbished machine from the likes of Lenovo etc. with a warranty, and not some guy. | |||
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| Member |
Actually he's not just some guy, he owns a legitimate computer repair business and sells refurbished business laptops. I've done business with him in the past and have found him to be trustworthy. With that said buying a refurbished laptop from a manufacturer isn't a bad idea either. | |||
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| Member |
If you buy a refurbished computer make sure that you get insurance like SquareTrade. I bought a Refurbished Mac and it broke down. Thank God I had SquareTrade, they took care of it with no problems. | |||
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| In the yahd, not too fah from the cah  |
My current laptop is a refurbished one because I wanted Windows 7 instead of Windows 10 and refurbished was the only way I could do that. No complaints so far other than the hard drive failing which the store replaced at no cost. But that was more of a fluke than anything else. | |||
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| Member |
I can't believe it. Unless I missed it. A question about a product selection and no mention of buying it from Costco. Truly a rare event. | |||
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Member |
I've bought a few factory refurbs from online before with no issues. Seem that if they don't meed QC standards on the way out the factory. Have to go back through the line for any issue. They are sold as factory seconds/refurbs. At a significant reduction in price. They are basically new at a bargain. Train how you intend to Fight Remember - Training is not sparring. Sparring is not fighting. Fighting is not combat. | |||
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| Member |
Actually for electronics, you cannot beat buying them at Costco for the warranty. Costco doubles the factory warranty on electronics and I believe if you use the Citibank Costco credit card it doubles the warranty again. | |||
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