"Refurbished" (?) Laptops

I have a refurbished and in two years it has been perfect and it looked brand new when I got it. Jim.

I have purchased 2 refurbs.One is used for a very specific purpose and is still going strong 10 years later. The other was a Christmas present for my stepson. It was 2 years old and I was able to get him a better machine than I could have afforded by going new.

An old laptop with an SSD will run almost everything faster than a new one with twice the computing power.

It can mean a lot of things, from "returned with no defects" to "pulled out of service after several years and checked out/cleaned up." So much depends on who is selling it as refurbished.

Worry less about the processor speed and more about installed memory. Just get what you can afford, you'll be fine. It'll last you that much longer because it'll handle any new software or software upgrades better.

I've noticed "quad core" advertised with 1.5 GHz processor. I don't do multi-tasking, or want "peripherals" like a printer and I believe a simple 2.2 GHz dual-core would do fine. 500 GB storage would last me 100-years. But a Social Security income rules my life.

As to the age of a refurb computer, whether this matters at all depends on what you are wanting it to do. If you want to run exotic new software that requires a lot of power, you may not be happy with a refurb. Most people, however, will never know the difference with the suite of software normally used in the home. I’m writing this on a 2008 computer running Windows XP. It still runs great, otherwise I might replace it.

Compare the system requirements for the software you want to run to the specs of the computer you are considering. I don’t like to cut the requirements too close, because I do a lot of multitasking, and I buy a little more computer than the minimum needed to run my software. Also, software gets bloated over time due to updates, which will slow the computer down eventually. Buying a little extra capacity is good insurance against having to replace the machine too soon due to software bloat.

Besides, when you buy a new computer, you will have to buy most of your software again. I am persuaded that Microsoft bloats its software over time so that we will need to buy a new computer or suffer intolerably slow processing. That lets them sell us a new copy of Windows, plus MS Office, etc. They have planned obsolescence down to a science.

As an aside, I will note that Microsoft is still updating Windows XP. I actually purchased a copy of Windows 7 shortly before support supposedly stopped for XP. I decided against installing it when I was putting together an upgrade plan and realized how much custom configuration I would have to do again on this machine if I installed a new OS. So far, no problems.

The home user is likely to first notice a problem with an outdated OS when he or she buys new peripheral hardware (printer, etc.), and is unable to find the driver software to work with the old OS. In my experience, that doesn’t happen too soon, as hardware manufacturers will provide drivers for unsupported OS in order not to lose a sale. Again, check the system requirements for new peripherals.

Wayne

I have bought several refurbished products all but one has been very good. A Porter Cable pancake compressor that leaked down about 20 lbs. in about 2 days. Someone that got it for nail gun work or such wouldn't even of cared. I wanted one that would hold air while on a trip. Bought a new HF compressor and it filled the bill so far for five years and was cheaper.

To me Refurbished means this:
A new computer.. Many companies "Spot check" they may pull one in 10 or one in 100 and test them. (or less) so if there is a problem many computers may ship before it is found.

The bad ones are then returned,, Fixed and tested 100% then sold as refurbished

So refurbrished means this one works.. Has been tested, Unlike a new one that may or may not.

Still.. Sometimes you have an odd failure that only shows up if you run a specific command.. Happened to my mother.. poor IBM technician (Genuine IBM hardware) Dang near got himself a Kojack Haircut finding it,, Hew fixed it too.

Seattle Steve wrote:
It totally depends upon who did the refurbishing. I have purchased refurbished, but only refurbished by and purchased directly from quality manufacturers. Other than that, you never know what you will be getting. For some, refurbished could mean simply opening up the case and blowing out the dust.

X2. Most listings say if it was factory refurbished or done by a 3rd party. Stay away from 3rd party refurbs. Factory refurbs are as good as a new product except the warranty period is often shorter.

I have bought MANY refurbed electronics over the past 30 years. Never once had a problem.