# used computers



## geg1751 (Oct 14, 2010)

does anyone out there reccommend buying a re-conditioned computer?
Thanks


----------



## Idmason60 (May 17, 2010)

In todays world reconditioned is a very wide statement. A laptop needing a battery or a desk top needing a motherboard replaced both are reconditioned but both had entirely different needs. 
Computer histories are hard to determine. Its common for power supplies to fail and the same goes for hard drives,dvd,cd drives and even memory. I don't think any of these are critical and each have different cost and concerns. 
You ask the question should you buy second hand,reconditioned equipment? Sure if the price is right and you know enough about the product to know if its 
in good shape and a value purchase.


----------



## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

A new low-end computer is pretty cheap these days. The used computer would have to be a darned good deal. If it is a very good deal, go for it. So long as you understand its mostly obsolete.
If you are buying this from a small shop, I figure, most likely, its a 5 year old computer that somebody brought in with a bad hard drive, merged with the hard drive from a 5-year old computer that had a bad power supply. 
There must be a few big companies out there that actually use all the computing power of their PCs, (like engineering companies) and upgrade every few years. Not sure where these old computers end up.

But most likely, that used computer is closer to my fist example.


----------



## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

Depends on what you are doing with it. If you surf the net and work on a few forums, a 4 or 5 year old computer with XP for $100 or less is worth a shot.


----------



## RedHelix (Sep 15, 2010)

It really depends on how much you're looking to sink into a refurbished computer and whether it's a laptop or desktop. 

Personally, having worked in factory authorized repairs, I would never sink more than $150 into a refurb. Operate under the expectation that it will fail within a fraction of the time of a new PC.


----------



## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

a low end or buisiness machine uses on board graphics.

OBG have made tremendous strides forward in the last couple of years, so no, I do not recomend a refurb.


----------



## RedHelix (Sep 15, 2010)

Just a heads-up that Micro Center is selling what appear to be out-of-lease d510's for about a hundred bucks, if there's one in your area.

I can at least vouch for buying that particular model refurbished. My office still has a bunch of d5's, d510's and d530's floating around. When I worked in IT for the MBTA, they had them in the garages, covered in grease/sawdust/etc and still running like champs.

They're like an old Toyota. You kinda sorta want to get rid of it because it's so old, but it just keeps running and you can't justify spending money to toss out something that works.


----------

