Used laptops

[LadyCrimson]

I could use a small laptop for field work sometimes. That is, mostly it just has to be good enough power-wise to be able to load and view huge image files (I know it'll be slow), as well as run XP. I don't care about game playing or wireless. I do care about battery length, if any are a lot better than others. I'm guessing I'd be looking at 1-2ghz, more or less, on used ones?

 

I figure I could find something cheap on ebay or similar, but I know nothing about laptops; what brands are more reliable (important if you're buying used I guess?) and what would be overpaying? Or am I better off just buying a cheap new one for $800-$1000?

 

Example: This Toshiba 1.8/512 on ebay is bidding at $400 at the moment. Would it do what I want ok? Is that a decent price for what it is?

[Fionavar]

I would really suggest going new - for the price range you have you would be better off and have a warranty too boot!

[Bokishi]

Yea new stuff FTW

[LadyCrimson]

Oh, normally I agree. I like new stuff.

But between $35K in tax payments plus a couple of big financial forays/dares, money is getting tighter all the time this year; so unless I discover how to get rich w/photograhy (ha..ha..ha!!!) saving $300 here and $500 there could help a lot. ie, I'd rather scrimp on things like the laptop than elsewhere.

 

Hubby says Toshiba's a good brand, what about Dell? I only know cameras ...

 

Craig's List here I come ...

[Fionavar]

I have had both a T and a D - imo D's warranty/customer service programme is better. Both require time if needed, but D is more accommodating fwiiw. I appreciate indeed the financial concern - my reflection is that buying 'used' is that you are paying for a product without any possible support should it go south. New at least has a year usually attached to it ...

[LadyCrimson]

Usually by the time something breaks I've already long gotten my money's worth and the repair would be enough/take long enough that I just buy a new thing. Yes I'm horrible that way. It's a point to still consider if an item is costly enough relative to one's ability to replace it, but generally I pay no attention to warranties as a sale point.

 

Anyway, dell and toshiba.

Craig's list is nice because you can meet the seller in person and thus go beat them up if they try to scam you. Harhar.

[kalimeeri]

Some companies (Dell and Gateway come to mind) also offer off-lease equipment at discount prices ... some even still have warranties. The price does tend to be higher than eBay, but they're easier to find if you need to beat somebody up.

[metadigital]

Yeah, that's called reconditioned equipment, and I'd take it (with the included warranty) over a blind secondhand purchase over eBay ... some components (like DVD drives) have a significant failure rate when new ...

 

Also, you can lease to buy (at least here in the UK), e.g. a 36 month lease where you can keep the equipment after 18 months, so long as you take out another lease (for another piece of equipment).Which is pretty neat.

[Kaftan Barlast]

At my uni department we use laptops for everything from programming to sculpting high-res meshes in Zbrush andmudbox, and with 50 peole using laptops of all makes(from alienware to acer) and sizes(a freshman recently bought onee of those giant 20" models) I have a lot of experience. Most laptops will start to break down after 6 months, after a year there will be guaranteed faults and after 2 years they should be replaced. Exceptions exist but only confirms the rule. My 18month old Acer 5024 has broken down once already and the screen is about to come off, just from normal daily use.

 

 

Never ever buy a used laptop unless the warranty is still valid, you will just end up paying so much for repair and service that you could have bought a shiny new one for that money instead.

[metadigital]

Yeah, I wouldn't like to name names, but good design in a consumer culture behooves built-in obsolescence ... after all, what's the point in building a mobile telephone (for example) that lasts for twenty years when the consumer will be tossing it out for a new one after 18 months?