Used Laptop? Good or bad idea?

[dieterbrock]

Not a real tech guy and was looking at picking up a laptop on the cheap. I'm on my work laptop pretty much 24/7 and was thinking it might be good for my mental health to put the thing away when my work day is done.
So I dont want to break the bank, just looking for something I could surf the web, maybe try those game feeds etc. Also my work pc doesnt have a DVD player
I've seen on Ebay some refurbs in the $75-$100 range, but I'm not even sure what to look for as far as speed, storage etc
Any advice would be appreciated

 

[-X-]

If it's solely for surfing the web and streaming or playing media, I wouldn't get anything under an i5 processor and 8gb of RAM, for speed considerations, but that's also largely contingent upon your connection speed (which I assume is pretty high). You'll hate the load times on anything less than that. Disk space shouldn't be a big deal if you're not looking to store any significant files on there (like pics, movies, etc). Anything you can get for $100 is gonna infuriate you, in my opinion. You're gonna have to pony up a little bit more if you don't want to be inconvenienced. Especially if you're used to the speed of your work PC right now.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

Many of the new pcs/laptops etc do not have dvd drives on them.

You can pick them up pretty cheap as a usb connection.

If all you are looking for is a scrolling device for the internet. You may want to look into something like a chromebook.

 

[Dz1]

From what I've known for years follow @X ,he knows his s%$$t.

And eBay is a good place to get reverberated used computers.

 

[dieterbrock]

If it's solely for surfing the web and streaming or playing media, I wouldn't get anything under an i5 processor and 8gb of RAM, for speed considerations, but that's also largely contingent upon your connection speed (which I assume is pretty high). You'll hate the load times on anything less than that. Disk space shouldn't be a big deal if you're not looking to store any significant files on there (like pics, movies, etc). Anything you can get for $100 is gonna infuriate you, in my opinion. You're gonna have to pony up a little bit more if you don't want to be inconvenienced. Especially if you're used to the speed of your work PC right now.

Wanted to circle back on this, I followed your advice and kept those specs saved in an Ebay search and picked up a refurb Lenovo laptop. I've had it for about a month and I'm really happy I did. This thing flies, and I'm amazed I hadnt done before. Being in sales for 15 years, changing companies is like changing socks and each move I make I leave something behind that I wish I had kept. No more of that...
So thank you my Ram brother, very much appreciated!

 

[Memento]

If you don't mind me chipping in...a used one costs more in the long-run, especially if you have to get it fixed. Might as well get the new one from a reputable place and get the warranty on it; at least you know it'll be guaranteed to perform.

I don't have technological skills, that's true, but that strategy's worked for me.

 

[dieterbrock]

If you don't mind me chipping in...a used one costs more in the long-run, especially if you have to get it fixed.

Nah, I paid less than $150 for it, a new one with same specs would run $700-800. I spend most of the day on my work laptop, just wanted one for a spare, after hours type deal. And Im terrible about warranty crap anyways, something breaks I just buy a new one. Most warranty run out after a year anyways when the problems start to begin

 

[Memento]

Nah, I paid less than $150 for it, a new one with same specs would run $700-800. I spend most of the day on my work laptop, just wanted one for a spare, after hours type deal. And Im terrible about warranty crap anyways, something breaks I just buy a new one. Most warranty run out after a year anyways when the problems start to begin

Fair enough. I just have the warranty for my Microsoft Surface Pro 4 because I've had rough luck with computers.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

not a laptop story but my desktop computer.

i couldn't function with windows vista anymore on my 15 year old, slow as fuck computer.

i started looking around at new desktop computers with half decent ram and storage and was looking at minimum $1,500.

ridiculous.

so i started looking at refurbished desktops and i went with one that had a i5 processor, 16gb ram and 500 gb ssd storage. for $350.

that's double the ram the new ones had for that monstrous price. and it's like night and day compared to my old one.

why would you buy new ever again?

.

 

[FrantikRam]

I'm a developer and have technology pretty much everywhere in my house - from google homes, google wifi, nest cam, hue lights.

I buy everything off eBay. Never had an issue with anything. I got a $1000 laptop for $400 and it was basically brand new.

 

[dieterbrock]

I'm a developer and have technology pretty much everywhere in my house - from google homes, google wifi, nest cam, hue lights.

I buy everything off eBay. Never had an issue with anything. I got a $1000 laptop for $400 and it was basically brand new.

Yeah, I love Ebay. The shipping costs drive me a bit crazy some times but the $$ saved far outweighs it.
Have a 3rd gen Apple tv which works great, however the apps cant be updated, and become unusable. Since I keep cnbc streaming in my office, this became problematic. Won an auction on a 4th gen 64gb unit for $60 that retails for about $180, and works like a charm.

 

[CGI_Ram]

The new iPad Air supports 2nd generation pencil. That’s a cheaper entry point for tablet format. I haven’t tried one yet, though.

ROD is awesome on iPad with a pencil as part of navigation.

The used route you took @dieterbrock was a good choice.

 

[dieterbrock]

ROD is awesome

Indeed!

 

[rdlkgliders]

Wanted to circle back on this, I followed your advice and kept those specs saved in an Ebay search and picked up a refurb Lenovo laptop. I've had it for about a month and I'm really happy I did. This thing flies, and I'm amazed I hadnt done before. Being in sales for 15 years, changing companies is like changing socks and each move I make I leave something behind that I wish I had kept. No more of that...
So thank you my Ram brother, very much appreciated!

I5/8GB is a solid suggestion
I have a Lenovo Yoga 2 in 1. Lenovo and Asus are hardware manufacturers. Even when you don't buy them you are buying them since they make parts for everyone. I had a HP Spectre x360 and it was great until I bounced it and cracked the digitizer.
In the tablet world the Ipad Pro, Chrome books and Samsung s7 seem to be the most common and get the best reviews
For 150 you aren't to worried about early obsolescence. with the I7 and 16gb or Mac Book Pro you get 4 -6 years before they are obsolete for video/sound editing and other resource heavy jobs. Dell's seem to get a lot of bad feedback until you get to their XPS stuff.
Good luck with your new laptop

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I've had bad experiences with used laptops. I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad for my stepson from EBay. It cost $300 and was a high end model at the time, that was supposedly great for gaming. It worked but after six months he started having trouble with it. He was always having to reboot it during games and the battery died within the year.

We bought two used laptops off of Susquehanna University. Again, they were good bra d's that got good reviews. $100 each. We didn't get a year out of either. They were so slow and unreliable. They came from the accounting department. People used them for work, so we figured they be pretty good machines. My wife is a part time photographer. Hers crashed frequently trying to run Photoshop. We finally gave in and bought her a new state of the art laptop that is great for photo editing.

 

[nighttrain]

i got a used HP notebook ($150), great for surfing and ROD
train

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

i got a used HP notebook ($150), great for surfing and ROD
train

I did that and it only lasted me a year. I was bummed

 

[snackdaddy]

I think its the luck of the draw. A computer place in town sold new and used. I bought a used a few years back for cheap. Lasted quite while. After a couple years I thought I'd upgrade and buy another used with more memory. They gave me a 90 day warranty. Lasted about six months. Ended up breaking out the old used one till I bought a new one. Now I just look on Amazon when I'm thinking about another laptop. It usually takes a couple months of checking prices and what the laptops have before I break down and buy a new one. I much prefer Amazon because they're awesome if you have any issues with it.

 

[nighttrain]

I did that and it only lasted me a year. I was bummed

mines two + years an workin very good......guess i'm lucky
train

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

mines two + years an workin very good......guess i'm lucky
train

We bought two from Susquehanna University. They buy new ones and wipe the old laptops and sell them for $100.