Author Topic: Refurbished laptops...  (Read 2837 times)

lee n. field

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #25 on: September 17, 2018, 12:37:13 PM »
Hum... that one on the business side doesn't appear to have a wireless card in it....

I'm also finding a couple of good possibilities on the consumer NewEgg side...

Way too many possible choices.

It would be really unusual to not have wireless.
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K Frame

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #26 on: September 17, 2018, 12:38:40 PM »
You can get USB WiFi dongles for under $25. They work fairly well -- I've used a couple of them to add WiFi to older desktop boxes that didn't have the capability built in.

Yeah, I used a dongle on my original desktop when I finally got my home up and running with WiFi in the early 2000s. It worked, but that's just something taking up a USB port and sticking out of it.

If I can get a computer with an integral wireless card, much the better.
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K Frame

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #27 on: September 17, 2018, 12:40:13 PM »
It would be really unusual to not have wireless.

That's what I thought, but I'm finding a number of "business" laptops that have no wireless card listed, which leads me to believe that there isn't one.

Unusual, but not unprecedented is my guess, depending on who the customer was.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #28 on: September 17, 2018, 04:06:41 PM »

I liked the tablet, but it was never as functional for my purposes as I had hoped that it would be, so I'm thinking that this time I'm going to get a laptop. I don't need much in the way of powder, as it will really be a surfing unit and to use when I travel, so I'm thinking refurbished.

I forgot to ask earlier... what functionality was lacking?

I ask because a friend of mine just bought a sub-$200 laptop (Dell refurb) and isn't exactly jumping with joy about the performance. It's okay, but still noticeably laggy compared to a machine just a few steps up the equipment ladder.

Her needs are pretty basic (surfing the web, basic email, shopping) and very close to what you stated. I'm wondering if going to a laptop over the tablet will really get you anything unless you up the budget a bit? Maybe a simple peripheral add-on or two to your tablet rather than a whole new machine?

Brad
« Last Edit: September 17, 2018, 05:52:50 PM by Brad Johnson »
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Scout26

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #29 on: September 17, 2018, 04:57:35 PM »
I just bought a Dell Inspirion  15 3000 as a scratch & dent or re-furb (don't remember which it was) from when Brad mentioned the deal a few weeks back.  My Toshiba's were getting a little long in the tooth and were slow to begin with.

For under 4 bills (including tax, Thanks Illinois !!) I got:

Processor: Intel Core 7th Generation i3-7130U Processor (Dual Core, 2.70GHz, 3MB cache,15W)
Windows 10 Home 64bit English
1TB SATA3 512e 2.5inch 5.4K RPM Hard Drive
8GB DDR4 Non-ECC SDRAM 2400MHz (1x8GB)
15.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Disp
1 Year Full Dell warranty.

Blazing fast and not alot of bloatware slowing it down.  I did have to clean up some, but otherwise took maybe two hours to get it configured, MS Office loaded up, Firefox and Avast downloaded.  Posting from it now.

I've had it all of two weeks
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Hawkmoon

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #30 on: September 17, 2018, 06:49:26 PM »
Quote from: Mike Irwin
Quote from: Hawkmoon
You can get USB WiFi dongles for under $25. They work fairly well -- I've used a couple of them to add WiFi to older desktop boxes that didn't have the capability built in.

Yeah, I used a dongle on my original desktop when I finally got my home up and running with WiFi in the early 2000s. It worked, but that's just something taking up a USB port and sticking out of it.

If I can get a computer with an integral wireless card, much the better.
I agree, built-in is better. But the new, mini WiFi adapters don't stick out nearly as far as the old dongles used to.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-TL-WN725N-wireless-network-Adapter/dp/B008IFXQFU/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1537224370&sr=1-6&keywords=USB+WiFi+adapter
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K Frame

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #31 on: September 18, 2018, 08:10:09 AM »
"I forgot to ask earlier... what functionality was lacking?"

It was primarily the flip over cover keyboard. I couldn't use it on my lap, which means I had to use it as a tablet while surfing. If posting here or at faceplace it was as annoying as I had to post using single finger typing.

The keyboard was also way too cramped for my hands and I had problems getting accurate typing speeds with it.

It was a nice unit for just casual surfing and reading, but it was never quite the solution I had hoped it would be for me.




"Maybe a simple peripheral add-on or two to your tablet rather than a whole new machine?"

I can add all the spiffy peripherals I want, but as I said, the tablet is largely dead because I dropped it. And a non-functional tablet means non-functional peripherals.

« Last Edit: September 18, 2018, 12:49:53 PM by Mike Irwin »
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K Frame

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #32 on: September 18, 2018, 08:16:40 AM »
"But the new, mini WiFi adapters don't stick out nearly as far as the old dongles used to."

You know what, I got one of those for my Mother's old Dell refurb computer that I bought her. I bet that wireless USB plug in is still in the port in the back.
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Hawkmoon

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #33 on: September 18, 2018, 11:36:31 AM »
"But the new, mini WiFi adapters don't stick out nearly as far as the old dongles used to."

You know what, I got one of those for my Mother's old Dell refurb computer that I bought her. I bet that wireless USB plug in is still in the port in the back.

As it happens, that's what I use it for. Early this year I was given an older Dell (Optiplex 320) that had seen better days. After a month or so of tinkering with it in my spare time, I had it running again. On-board video was dead, so it needed a video card. I found one that worked in a box o' parts. I upgraded the RAM from 2 GB to 4 GB and did a couple of other things I can't remember at the moment. All I was given was the box. I had plenty of keyboards and mice, and it gave me an excuse to buy a new 23" monitor for my #2 desktop, so I could assign the 19" monitor to the old Dell. Once I got it running, though, I discovered that it had no wireless capability, so I splurged for one of those inexpensive mini-USB WiFi antenna thingies.

It works. In fact, I was looking at that old box last night, and I had to look closely to see that the WiFi thingie was there -- it's that small that it hides between/behind the keyboard, mouse, and LAN cable connectors.
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Marnoot

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #34 on: September 18, 2018, 04:46:05 PM »
Just a note on buying from Newegg, make sure whatever you buy is "Sold and shipped by: Newegg". If you get ripped-off by a "Newegg marketplace" seller, Newegg pulls out their tiny violins and basically tells you "sucks to be you."

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Re: Refurbished laptops...
« Reply #35 on: September 18, 2018, 10:55:13 PM »
I have a dell 2-1 11 inch I think. Atom quad core.

Was slow as hell with the 5400 rpm hard drive.

Installed a SSD and am quite happy with it. Use it for my side business and surfing on the couch.

299 + 79 for the SSD.

Pleased.


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