Used Laptops

Now as we are in the heart of new hardware season, I’m in the market for a new laptop…however, I am trying to get the best bang for the buck in the used market.

How old of a laptop would you get?

What are your best places to look for used?

Conversation 18 comments

  • xperiencewindows

    05 September, 2019 - 6:49 pm

    <p>A thinkpad on ebay</p>

  • Tamichan

    Premium Member
    06 September, 2019 - 7:49 am

    <p>Most manufacturers sell refurbs. I usually hit the Lenvo refurb site and have gotten fairly new, brand new or a year or two old.</p>

  • Sprtfan

    07 September, 2019 - 12:10 am

    <p>I tend to shop sales instead of going used when it comes to tech. Not sure what you want to spend but this laptop look very sold for $350 </p><ul><li>Intel Core i5-8265U quad-core, up to 3.96GHz and 6MB cache</li><li>256GB 2242 M.2 NVMe SSD hard drive</li><li>8GB DDR4 RAM</li><li>15.6" display, Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, Intel UHD Graphics 615</li><li>Backlit keyboard</li></ul><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Coupon code: 14408</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Items (1):$399.99</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Coupons (1):-$50.00</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Subtotal:$349.99</span></p><p><br></p><p>https://www.staples.com/lenovo-ideapad-s340-81n8001lus-15-6-notebook-intel-core-i5-8265u-8gb-memory/product_24393613?&amp;tid=US&amp;storeId=10001&amp;AID=11965372&amp;PID=4485850&amp;SID=1d3ee3bcd12411e997db02fafdfe01860INT&amp;cvosrc=affiliate.cj.4485850&amp;cvo_campaign=Coupon&amp;cm_mmc=CJ-_-4485850-_-4485850-_-11965372&amp;CID=AFF%3A4485850%3A4485850%3A11965372&amp;CJPIXEL=CJPIXEL&amp;cjevent=1d65fbb9d12411e983dd002f0a24060b&amp;dclid=COr669TpveQCFQ7HwAodeQwJGw&amp;akamai-feo=off</p><p><br></p><p>Look around slickdeals. Can find computer listed there pretty much everyday with similar specs from $350 to $550</p>

  • evox81

    Premium Member
    07 September, 2019 - 2:44 am

    <p>I wouldn't go any older than an 8th gen Intel processor. So if you're dead set on a used laptop, that's going to mean something less than 18 months old.</p><p><br></p><p>But I also agree with others… I personally wouldn't shop used for something like a laptop. But, I understand we all have different priorities.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      07 September, 2019 - 8:23 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#461522">In reply to evox81:</a></em></blockquote><p>This is probably the smartest and best advice possible. The move to quad cores with 8th-Gen Intel Core processors has established a new base line that will make "older" PCs viable for many years to come. </p>

  • Tony Barrett

    07 September, 2019 - 4:21 am

    <p>Is there a hardware season these days, or are we just told there is to drum up sales? Yes, back to school is upon us, but I'd be interested to see what the actual uptick in sales looks like. Are all those parents rushing out to buy new Surface laptops for their kids? Not likely. They'll be looking at cheap ones, or like this person, refurb devices, of which you can get some excellent ones for not much money, because I can tell you, kids won't treat a £1000 laptop any differently than a £200 laptop, ie, not very well.</p>

  • Bats

    07 September, 2019 - 8:59 am

    <p>How old of a laptop to use? I don't think age matters for the hardware itself or it's components. Laptops are like cars, in terms of the hardware's wear, tear, and frequent use. </p><p><br></p><p>Also, if your needs for a laptop are for general-use purposes, and you are looking to save money, than you can go as "old" as 7th Gen processors. However, if you do need the processing power (audio/video, file conversion, any kind speciality work etc…) then of course, you can't go wrong with the latest and greatest.</p><p><br></p><p>Best places to look? For me, there is only one place…..Amazon. Amazon because of the customer reviews, their corporate policies (with regards to warranties and returns), and their corporate policies with regards to ther FBA resellers, you are safe with them. I would say go with an Amazon FBA Reseller (aka "Other Sellers on Amazon), because Amazon is really on their buts all the time with regards to quality customer experience.</p><p><br></p><p>GL</p>

  • sjb2016

    07 September, 2019 - 5:34 pm

    <p>As @xperiencewindows says, buy a ThinkPad on eBay. I suggest the T series as these are designed for companies that need to service them onsite (or have Lenovo service them onsite) so you can do many fixes yourself with genuine Lenovo parts. Of course, it's actually pretty easy to find used ThinkPads that still have time on the Lenovo warranty (sometimes onsite even). This is why I have stopped buy Macbooks. I have been a Fanboi since I was 5 and my dad brought home a Mac 512K. The last Macbook I bought was in 2007 and it lasted 10 years because I could easily replace the RAM, harddrive and battery. This is no longer the case and why I've moved to Thinkpads for laptops, even though I much prefer MacOS (I use a NUC Hackintosh for my desktop machine).</p><p><br></p><p>Obviously, how old, depends entirely on what you want to do. If you want to play games, the newer the better. If you just want to do web stuff and Office stuff, then we've got a 2014 T430 still happily chugging along.</p><p><br></p><p>Anyway, good luck.</p><p><br></p>

  • karlinhigh

    Premium Member
    07 September, 2019 - 6:04 pm

    <p>Lenovo ThinkPads were already mentioned. For HP, I would generally choose a refurbished EliteBook over a new Pavilion. And for Dell, refurbished Precision or Latitude over new Inspiron.</p><p><br></p><p>What I'm trying to say is that many manufacturers have multiple product lines. For the business-class models, $1,000 USD goes past very quickly when buying one new. But their construction is often so superior that even as refurbished models I find them preferable over the new ~$500 USD models found in big-box retailers.</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    08 September, 2019 - 8:22 pm

    <p>FWIW, my son bought a refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad T400 from Newegg a few years ago, and he's been happy with it. FWIW, my own experience with Newegg has been positive.</p>

  • Daishi

    Premium Member
    09 September, 2019 - 7:28 am

    <p>Since, as you say, we are deep into new hardware season I’d suggest just seeing what can be had in terms of clearance deals. I recently picked up a new machine that normally went for something like $1400 (i5U, 16gb, 512gb, FHD, Gtx1050) for a bit over $900 because it has last year’s parts. </p><p><br></p><p>You don’t make clear what kind of budget you’re looking at or what you want to do with it, but you might be able to find a similar deal without having to play refurbishment roulette.</p>

  • peter5412

    15 September, 2019 - 9:41 am

    <p>I think the decision of buying a second hand laptop is a good one. I bought (<a href="https://www.time4buying.com&quot; target="_blank" style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">at time for buying</a>) a refurbished laptop from iZone. The laptop has 2.6 Ghz core i5 , 4 Gb Ram, and a video card of Nvidia. I took it for 300$. And the laptop comes with a 1 year guarantee. This is the perfect choise for this price.</p>

  • sentinel6671

    Premium Member
    15 September, 2019 - 1:47 pm

    <p>It's easy to be penny wise but pound foolish with laptops.</p><p><br></p><p>I personally wouldn't pick any machine without 8 gigs of RAM and SSD based storage, preferably SSD using NVMe tech.</p><p><br></p><p>Watch out for 5400rpm hard drives. The whole machine will be dragged down by it. I bought a decently spec'd Dell machine (new) for my mother in law a few years back and it's a dog of a machine and I feel extremely guilty and embarrassed that I picked it.</p><p><br></p><p>This is not a good example of used, but I just purchased a new Asus laptop for $1499. Specs are amazing, Core i7 – 9750H, 16 gigs of RAM, 1 TB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA 1650 graphics. There are great deals on new machines out there.</p><p><br></p><p>Be sure wherever you buy from has a good return policy…don't pull the trigger if it doesn't.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    15 September, 2019 - 5:52 pm

    <p>I run a ThinkPad x140e. Not a powerhouse but I paid $110 for it. $75 for a 240GB SSD, and $60 for 16 GB of RAM. It outperforms a friend’s i5 for Internet and productivity.</p><p><br></p><p>I use it for most things I do, especially with GeForce NOW, it handles gaming even. </p><p><br></p><p>MILSPEC ruggedized design and a spill resistant keyboard are icing on the cake. </p>

  • Patrick3D

    16 September, 2019 - 9:27 am

    <p>Whatever you go with make sure you can still get a replacement battery for it if you plan on actually using it as a laptop. The one thing that always caused me to sell a laptop was lack of replacement batteries.</p>

    • Daekar

      16 September, 2019 - 9:43 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#466515">In reply to Patrick3D:</a></em></blockquote><p>This 100%. Old laptops are great as long as you can address battery capacity issues that normally come with usage and age. </p><p><br></p><p>I'd also second the advice to stick with 8GB RAM minimum and, my personal preference, no less than 128GB SSD. </p>

  • minke

    17 September, 2019 - 2:07 pm

    <p>I would be very wary about buying a used laptop. They live very hard lives and I have had many just die on me in ways that made them too expensive to repair. You can never tell if one has been dropped, or left in the trunk of a car day after day in 100-degree temperatures, or whatever. They can look perfect and just die the next day. Desktops, on the other hand, are generally very easy to repair and most components can be replaced or upgraded, making them great candidates for buying used. On the other hand, I hardly every buy one–just inherit one from someone who has upgraded to the latest and greatest. Install my favorite Linux distro and away I go with better performance than most of the latest models running Windows 10.</p>

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