Refurbished computers

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Sat 17 Oct 2015 21:11
Refurbished computers - scot22

When it comes to replacing my desktop I have wondered about buying a refurbished one. Are they a way to get higher spec at lower cost ? Or fraught with potential problems ?

If think a good idea, can anyone recommend a supplier.

Thanks

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Sat 17 Oct 2015 22:38
Refurbished computers - RobJP

They can be just as good as a new base unit.

However, the computer I'm using right now was an 'end-of-line' model from Tesco. Base unit only, original price £459, last one in the store was £219.

That was 5 years ago.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 00:53
Refurbished computers - FP

My laptop, bought a few years ago, is a refurbished one from PC World. It was much cheaper than a new one with the same spec. It has Windows 7 and has performed faultlessly.

The screen has one dead pixel - that's the only drawback - which I didn't think worth quibbling about.

On the other hand, my new PC is a custom machine from PC Specialist. Because of the high spec there was never any question of a refurbished computer.

So it depends what your requirements are.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 01:36
Refurbished computers - alan1302

Agree with FP - they can be very good unless you are looking for something in paricular. If it is just day to day stuff then they are ideal.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 09:49
Refurbished computers - gordonbennet

We use two refurbed Dell desktops bought from e-green via Amazon, presumably the company is still going.

Fraction of new price, not been a problem at all...had them well over two years, think mine is over 3 now.

SWMBO'd previous new Acer desktop expired far too soon, as have any laptops we bought.

If these expire we'll do the same again, hopefully that way we can stay on windows 7 for as long as possible.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 10:20
Refurbished computers - Bromptonaut

It also needs to be born in mind that 'refurbished' is a wide ranging term.

My daughter's t***iba laptop was sold as refurbished and has a manufacturers label on the back to say so. At the time it was bought it was broadly current spec (Core i3, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Win 7) but about half price. We assume it was returned under warranty and repaired. Out of the box it functioned as new.

At the other end of the scale are 'refurbished' ex-office machines disposed of as being too old/slow. These are probably Pentium/2GB/100GB or less HDD. XP operating sytem included if you're lucky. Might be OK for a child's first computer but not much else.

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Sun 18 Oct 2015 19:27
Refurbished computers - scot22

Thank you for these very helpful replies. I'm not looking for any specific high spec more day to day.

I'm a big user of Amazon so will probably look on there. Reassured and informed by your comments - much appreciated.

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Mon 19 Oct 2015 01:35
Refurbished computers - Wackyracer

When my parents deleted some of the OS files on the last computer (something that happens alot with them, apparently the PC does it all itself!) I bought them a new Lenovo e50 for £149, it has better performance than the old one as well as a much lower TDP of less than 50watts.

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Mon 19 Oct 2015 11:18
Refurbished computers - concrete

Thank you for these very helpful replies. I'm not looking for any specific high spec more day to day.

I'm a big user of Amazon so will probably look on there. Reassured and informed by your comments - much appreciated.

Hello scot22, I have an old Evesham laptop. Works fine, does not need refurbishing or whatever that means. It has Ubuntu software installed and works fine. You are welcome to it if you can collect it. I live in rural Kent. Cheers Concrete

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Mon 19 Oct 2015 12:28
Refurbished computers - scot22

That's very kind of you - thanks. I live in Yorkshire, rather a long journey ! so will give it a miss.

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