IGX

So I am planning on getting the kids a computer. I have seen refurbished ones for cheap. Good idea getting one or not or does depend on the brand? I wont buy an HP cause the one I have pisses me off. thanks in advance.

Big win if you do some homework. Check reviews on model for longevity. Woot can offer particularly good deals.

Apple refurbs aren't cheap but they have the same one-year warranty as new.

Back around late 2005 or early 2006 my ex girlfriend bought a refurbished Mac iBook. She still uses the damn thing.

IBM sells refurbished equipment, free shipping, 7 day money back and 3 month warranty

http://www.ibm.com/products/specialoffe ... /icue.html

I wouldn't buy a refurbished HP or Dell. Then again, I wouldnt buy a Dell or HP brand-new, either.

If you want a second-hand PC for the kids, that'll hold up well, I would suggest putting feelers out on EBay looking for an ASUS. My first desktop PC was a custom box I put together myself, with an ASUS motherboard in it. It's still chugging after 10 years of reliable service. ASUS began making rock-solid, affordable desktop PC's and laptops of their own and lots of folks bought them. They still do. Finding a used/refurbished one for cheap is not outside the realm of possibility at all, and I'd suggest you go that route.

My main computer is a refurbished mac I bought on the apple website. It's perfect. One of my clients works for Mac and told me that the refurbishes ones are basically the same as new ones. Also, if you get it online they have super fast shipping. I think it was one or two days.

I disagree about Dell. They build solid (if not fancy) machines, have a good warranty and their customer service is good (and in the USA). We buy them for our office all the time and I personally use a refurb Dell laptop. The also offer free shipping.

Dr. Agkistrodon wrote:I wouldn't buy a refurbished HP or Dell. Then again, I wouldnt buy a Dell or HP brand-new, either.

If you want a second-hand PC for the kids, that'll hold up well, I would suggest putting feelers out on EBay looking for an ASUS. My first desktop PC was a custom box I put together myself, with an ASUS motherboard in it. It's still chugging after 10 years of reliable service. ASUS began making rock-solid, affordable desktop PC's and laptops of their own and lots of folks bought them. They still do. Finding a used/refurbished one for cheap is not outside the realm of possibility at all, and I'd suggest you go that route.

I find a lot of truth here.

Especially if you need a computer for "stuff" and not for work, refurbished computers are a great idea.

I have several old computers in my basement.

I will sell them to you at a great price.

I don't know what to do with them other than store them in my basement.

baffled wrote:

Dr. Agkistrodon wrote:I wouldn't buy a refurbished HP or Dell. Then again, I wouldnt buy a Dell or HP brand-new, either.

If you want a second-hand PC for the kids, that'll hold up well, I would suggest putting feelers out on EBay looking for an ASUS. My first desktop PC was a custom box I put together myself, with an ASUS motherboard in it. It's still chugging after 10 years of reliable service. ASUS began making rock-solid, affordable desktop PC's and laptops of their own and lots of folks bought them. They still do. Finding a used/refurbished one for cheap is not outside the realm of possibility at all, and I'd suggest you go that route.

I find a lot of truth here.

Especially if you need a computer for "stuff" and not for work, refurbished computers are a great idea.

Yep :-D works great for kids who need a good computer for school and other educational purposes. Now, if they're gamers, that'd be another issue all together.


I use a Mac Book PRO for my work stuff, but I still have that ASUS custom box, I run Slackware Linux on it and I use it for surfing, watching movies and writing/testing out programs for little toy projects I'm playing around with. Works great for that stuff.

I use Macs so that is what I can speak to.

Would I buy a refurb Mac? Yes, and have. They're always like-new. If they save you some money there's no reason not to.

However, I've not for my last 2 or 3. Here's why:

1. You can often do better buying "mail order" (online, etc) from out of state. The savings on sales tax often matches the refurbished discount, plus you'll often get free software bundled along (like: Parallels) that can make buying new a better value than an "in state" refurb. (Any State that has a Mac Store pays sales tax when buying from Apple.)

2. I often need to order a customized Mac. For instance I use a Macbook Pro with the "optional" Anti-Glare screen (how can anyone use a glossy?). I also typically want a larger/faster hard drive than stock. So, it's not likely that exactly what I want is available refurbished. Now hears the deal: Apple's educational discount is basically done on the Honor System. As my school aged kid typically gets my hand-me-down Mac I consider it a good enough fit. They don't ask if the computer is for a student or teacher, just select a school from the pulldown menu and you're good to go. Got a free $100 certificate for the App store too.

So while a refurb Mac can save you some money over new, it often doesn't, depending on what you want, availability, and how you shop.

Thinking of getting this for business. No heavy graphics or multimedia use.

Is this thing something that ought to be current for a bit? I'm still getting myself up to speed on Macs, and I didn't see anything that looked current and reliable on Woot.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC968 ... e7c52f46d7

Thanks.

baffled wrote:Thinking of getting this for business. No heavy graphics or multimedia use.

Is this thing something that ought to be current for a bit? I'm still getting myself up to speed on Macs, and I didn't see anything that looked current and reliable on Woot.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC968 ... e7c52f46d7

Thanks.

That looks like a decent deal.

Macs used to run forever though the newest OS X doesn't support models that are probably fine for their owners. However, for reference, late 2008 Macbook Airs and newer are supported so things should be fine on what you are looking for for some time.

The only thing that I don't like about what you are looking at is the 2GB of memory - you could get a new model with 8GB for $350 more. Of course, the new Mac Airs seem to fly on less memory than you would think they need.

For what you need it for, I wouldn't have a problem picking it up.

I support a lot of Dell and HP boxes, and it seems to me that your typical Dell Optiplex (business class machine) is pretty solid - a refurb would have fixed whatever was dodgy when it was recycled. Anything less than 4 years old is probably going to do well for you.
HPs, not so much.

Of course, I build my boxes at home now, but I've got a Dell Inspiron 580s that was recommended by Consumer Reports, and it never gave me a lick of trouble.

I found a bunch of old Texas Instruments scientific calculators.

Is there any way to daisy chain them together and create a super computer?

Buy them an abacus.

Thanks Terry. I should have noted that as long as it can run iTunes so I can try to write off my monthly iTunes bill, it's good.

ABW,
I have a Dell too, but nearly everyone in my line of work runs on a Mac and it's just easier to sync up with everyone else. I was at a conference last weekend and I was the only guy who was still using a PC. It's not a deal breaker or anything, but the work is a touch easier on a Mac for reasons I cannot explain. I'm sure it's more perception, but perception is everything or whatever that saying is.

yeah yeah, thaks terry

you saved the day m8

i'm through giving out tech advice on here

baffled wrote:I was at a conference last weekend and I was the only guy who was still using a PC.

I saw a guy in a Starbucks a week or so ago working on a computer that wasn't a Mac.

I couldn't help but stare.

protobuilder wrote:i'm through giving out tech advice on here

People need to be told to sync their iPod with their toaster in their bathtub every so often.

Terry B. wrote:

baffled wrote:I was at a conference last weekend and I was the only guy who was still using a PC.

I saw a guy in a Starbucks a week or so ago working on a computer that wasn't a Mac.

I couldn't help but stare.

I hope you helped him see the light by pouring a cup of coffee ($8, motherfuckers) on the keyboard so he can join the cult.

Terry B. wrote:

protobuilder wrote:i'm through giving out tech advice on here

People need to be told to sync their iPod with their toaster in their bathtub every so often.

don't talk down to me, luv