The Refurbished Laptops Guide » reconditioned laptops

Finding The Best Laptop for College Students

GuestPoster — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:40:40 +0000

If either yourself, or someone close to you is heading off to college its almost obligatory these days that a laptop have to be purchased for the endeavor. Of course, going to college usually happens during a time in our lives when we don’t exactly have a fortune available to buy everything we need. This means that we will usually have to find the best laptop for college students which are going to cost as little as possible.

Even though you won’t have much to spend you are still going to need to get a machine that has specifications which meet our needs. Also you probably won’t want to buy a new notebook computer during your time at university so you will want a machine that has a high enough specification that it will still be up to speed in four years time when your days of studying are finally over.

These days you will want to find a laptop that has at least a 2Ghz dual core processor, 3 gigabytes of RAM and a hard drive which is large enough to hold all your work, and probably your music collection. Thankfully the days or hugely expensive laptops with slow processors which are quickly out of date have passed. You should now be able to get something that will do a perfectly acceptable job for just a few hundred dollars if you choose your shop and notebook manufacturer carefully.

One thing you will want to keep in mind is that you are not going to be able to buy the “coolest” most up to date stylish laptop such as the Apple Macbook. Its more likely that you are going to be looking at something such as a Dell which are available at some great prices if you know where to look. You might want to check out the Dell Outlet center where they sell reconditioned or returned laptops at a reduced price, with a 1 year warranty. If you don’t find anything there you will just have to do your own research and find something suitable within your budget.

Shopping:

Kensington 64343 MicroSaver DS Notebook Computer Lock with Keys (PC/Mac)

Pink Sparse Tranquility Carrying Case Sleeve fit Apple MacBook 13" and 13 - 14 inch Notebook Laptop Computer

Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler

USB Powered Slim smart NoteBook Cooler Pad w/ 3 Built-in Flash LEDs for Laptop Computer

Asus K50IJ-RX05 Dual Core, 3 GB, 320 GB Refurbished Notebook PC

Do you trust reconditioned laptops?

Brent — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:44:46 +0000

Do you trust reconditioned laptops? If you don’t, you should. We’ve talked about this time and time again: Reconditioned laptops are just about the same as any new laptop; there are very few differences other than the fact that a reconditioned model has been previously owned. If that doesn’t creep you out in any way, shape, or form, then you have nothing to fear. These laptops are brought back to pristine condition by people who know best: The manufacturers. Yes, sometimes the manufacturer farms out this work to other companies, but those other companies have to prove that they know how to do the work first. You know that you’re still getting a good product when you buy from them.

So, we know that reconditioned laptops aren’t evil. They’re just misunderstood. The process that a reconditioned computer goes through is quite intensive, and requires more than just a cursory glance at the exterior of the system. Yes, real reconditioning is basically the same process that a used car goes through before it’s put back on the lot, given a shiny new warranty, and sold again as “certified pre-owned.” Pre-owned laptops are quite the same as long as they’ve gone through this process. If they haven’t, well, then you won’t be quite sure what you’re getting. This is especially true if you’re out getting your computers in places like eBay or craigslist. eBay certainly has a good return policy and insurance against fraud caused by the seller, but you don’t want to get into that fight. Just go ahead and stick with a reputable retailer when buying your “new” computer. You’ll do yourself a huge favor when you do so.

So, where do I think you should go to get trustworthy reconditioned laptops? That’s easy: First go to the computer manufacturer’s website. I know for a fact that Dell has a very large online outlet for all of its reconditioned models (called refurbished to them) that were returned for one reason or another. Apple has the same kind of thing, ASUS does as well, etc. etc. They all have them, and they all offer some pretty solid deals. Keep in mind however that buying from the manufacturer directly is going to cause a little bit more of a cost to develop. If you want to save more than the usual 5-10% go ahead and try for a place like Fry’s Electronics. They always have a good selection.

Shopping:

ASUS G71GX-RX05 17.1-Inch Refurbished Laptop - Black/Red

Asus K50IJ-RX05 Dual Core, 3 GB, 320 GB Refurbished Notebook PC

Asus Laptop U50A-RBBML05 Notebook Computer with Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor & Windows 7

Reconditioned laptops: Is there a difference?

Brent — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:53:37 +0000

Is there really a difference between reconditioned laptops and new laptops? The short answer is: Yes. Reconditioned laptops (also called “refurbished laptops“) are simply systems that were used before by other people, organizations, businesses, etc., then were brought back to the manufacturer for some reason or another. That reason is usually something pretty harmless: Most of those people felt that their time with that computer was over, and decided that they should go upgrade. Some of those people may not have been able to afford the laptop and turned it back in, and some may have sent it back to the manufacturer for repairs and decided to buy something else before it came back fixed. In that case, the company would simply recondition it for resale, and you’ll save a lot of money on the deal.

Factory reconditioned laptops actually go through a fairly intensive check of their operation, condition, and other factors before they’re put back out on the market. This is so that customers buying these computers get the most out of their money, and allow the companies to actually make money on used computers instead of throwing them away and losing money. Combined with new and refurbished computer sales, companies actually make a substantial amount of money.

This intensive “check” of the operation of the laptop is what makes a laptop reconditioned and not just “used.” A used laptop is something you find on the internet (maybe on eBay, swoopo, craigslist, etc.), or from a friend or neighbor. That laptop isn’t guaranteed to be in good working condition; you’re basically taking that person’s word that it’s in good condition. Also, you want to watch out that the previous user’s personal data may actually be on that computer. You really don’t want that, do you?

So, as I said previously, reconditioned systems are the best way to go. The factory will actually go in and make that computer “like new.” The laptop will be stripped down to its bare bones, have any defective parts replaced, be wiped clean (so you or the previous owner don’t have to worry about personal data leaks), and all cosmetic problems will be taken care of. This is all done for you, and while it does cost the company some money to do the reconditioning, it costs a whole lot less than actually building a new laptop from scratch.

So, that’s what I have to say about that. If you value your money, find reconditioned laptops for sale at any place new laptops are sold.

Shopping:

Dell Latitude D620 Laptop Computer System Dual-core Processor Wireless XP Pro

ASUS G51VX-RX05 15.6-Inch Laptop (Refurbished)

Dell Latitude D610-1.73 Laptop Wireless Computer (Refurbished)

Asus K50I-RBBGR05 15.6-Inch Widescreen Titanium Notebook - Black (Manufacturer Refurbished)

Asus K50IJ-RX05 Dual Core, 3 GB, 320 GB Refurbished Notebook PC