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Looking for cheap or refurbed notebooks

boomhower

boomhower

Diamond Member
I need some computers for work and we need them cheap. Refurbed and/or scratch and dent would fine. Cheaper the better. Main requirement is 14" screen. i3 would be nice but C2D would likely get the job done with enough memory. (Last I used was a Dell D630 and pretty well.) HD space isn't much of a factor. These are going to be mounted in cars that take a beating so the more durable the better. Typically Toughbooks are used but we don't anywhere near that kind on money. I'd like to stay under $400 a piece. The cheaper they are the more we can get. I've been scouting Lenovo and Dell but am open to others if you know of any, doesn't have to the manufacturer if it's a reputable refurb outlet.
 
I check the Lenovo Outlet almost every day for deals. Their search filter works pretty well if you're looking for something specific.
I've seen really good configurations selling for low $$.
You must be ready to act or you could miss out if you wait a day or two.
 
Blain said:
I check the Lenovo Outlet almost every day for deals. Their search filter works pretty well if you're looking for something specific.
I've seen really good configurations selling for low $$.
You must be ready to act or you could miss out if you wait a day or two.
Click to expand...

I've been checking and the L series looks like the best option there, when they are I stock. I have caught a T series cheap yep. One thing I like about the Lattitude is it has metal hinges from a review I read. One of our biggest problems breaking hinges.
 
I would recommend the above mentioned Dell website or Dell's Outlet. Choose the business side of Dell's Outlet for Latitudes. They may have special deals running.
 
I'm pushing for E6410's. Showed my boss and he was in favor. They've been buying $400 walmart laptops which is going about as well as you'd expect. Going up the ladder.
 
:thumbsup:Old high-end business laptops like Thinkpads have superior build quality and features compared to the latest budget laptops. Ebay sometimes has decent refurbs of C2D machines for $200-$300.
 
Torn Mind said:
:thumbsup:Old high-end business laptops like Thinkpads have superior build quality and features compared to the latest budget laptops. Ebay sometimes has decent refurbs of C2D machines for $200-$300.
Click to expand...

Found a batch of 6410's for $270 on ebay Dell refurbished with Dell 90 day warranty. Sent of an email on those as that's a dirt cheap price. I agree the Thinkpad is a better computer but I'd take an i5 speed over the C2D for similar money. If it was completely up to me I would be buying fleabay i5 T410's that don't don't have HD's for <$200 and sliding in 128GB SSDs. Two biggest problems we have are screen hinges and hard drives due to the bouncing banging of the car while the computer is in use. SSD would eliminate the latter issue.
 
Dell off-lease laptops aren't too bad if you use the discount codes.
They have Core i3, i5 and i7 processors in some models.

From TechBargains...

"Dell Off Lease Coupon Codes:

Ongoing Coupons (Exp 11/13): &#8226;25% off any Dell Laptop priced $275 & up Coupon Code: "DELL$275LAP"
 
Blain said:
Dell off-lease laptops aren't too bad if you use the discount codes.
They have Core i3, i5 and i7 processors in some models.

From TechBargains...

"Dell Off Lease Coupon Codes:

Ongoing Coupons (Exp 11/13): •25% off any Dell Laptop priced $275 & up Coupon Code: "DELL$275LAP"
Click to expand...

oohh, that's nice!
 
Thanks for the direct sale website. Wished latitudes had HDMI out.

Anyone know what to expect from a cosmetic "b" laptop?
 
jae said:
Thanks for the direct sale website. Wished latitudes had HDMI out.

Anyone know what to expect from a cosmetic "b" laptop?
Click to expand...

You will have scratches here and there but nothing that's a dealbreaker. Those Latitudes are tanks and you can get giant batteries for them if you need the battery life.
 
gus6464 said:
You will have scratches here and there but nothing that's a dealbreaker. Those Latitudes are tanks and you can get giant batteries for them if you need the battery life.
Click to expand...

Great! Are there any sites like this for Thinkpads or ProBooks?
 
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gus6464 said:
You will have scratches here and there but nothing that's a dealbreaker. Those Latitudes are tanks and you can get giant batteries for them if you need the battery life.
Click to expand...
Agreed!

Can't beat the Dell Latitude D620/D630 for price and functionality, IMO.

Here's my current road warrior (D620, 1.67GHz Core 2 Duo, 80GB 2048MB WXGA+ 1440x900)...

* Screenshot shows the CPU scaling back to 1.0GHz for extended battery time


vindsl-desktop-8-nov-2013-2.png


Purchased HERE for under $150 (condition type B / Win XP Pro): http://arrowdirect.com (comes w/Win 7 now)

I haul this 'tank' all over the country, in a Victorinox laptop brief (costs more than my Latitude). Looks good enough to sit at a board meeting without feeling embarrassed. Many of my peers are using the Dell Latitude D620 (reportedly the top selling Dell laptop of all time), or HPs and Apples, in the same condition.

Flies like the wind on 64-bit Peppermint Four OS. I bought the OEM secondary battery (replaces the DVD writer) for $25 on FleaBay (new - no kidding - Dell asks $149). Gives me 12-cells (6+6) -- doubles the battery time -- and nothing is sticking out of the case AKA "palm rests".

I'm running the latest stable Linux 3.12 kernel. Here's a 46-second video of me compiling the kernel to Mozart (inside joke).

Code: 
http://youtu(dot)be/44oZc8afPTk

It'll give you an idea of how a Type B lappy looks...

* Takes the same time to compile a kernel on the D620 as listen to a Mozart piano concerto -- 30 minutes. LoL 🙂

If this Latitude ever dies, I'll replace it with another one -- that's how much I like it.

If you can find a better business rig, for under $200, you're a better man than me. Heh!
 
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I remember when the D620s came out. I was working help desk at college. I was looking for one of those cheap last yyear when I was broke.

Im lookin at Precision M4500 right now.. only thing I dont like about this site is that they dont list screen resolution.
 
jae said:
I remember when the D620s came out. I was working help desk at college. I was looking for one of those cheap last yyear when I was broke.

Im lookin at Precision M4500 right now.. only thing I dont like about this site is that they dont list screen resolution.
Click to expand...
Those guys are great (if you're talking about the link above).

They deal in tonnage -- huge warehouse -- not a mom n' pop shop -- blah, blah, blah.

I called them before buying. At the time, I was more worried about the memory.

The guy said, "it's advertised as 1 gig, but I think they're all 2 gig. We'll give it to you for the same price." Then, he said, "Hold on and I'll check."

Bwahahaha! I could hear him walking out into the warehouse. Finally, he said, "I have a whole pallet of them here. I'll make sure to pull one with 2 gig for you."

Anyway, if you're serious (or just curious) give them a call. 😉
 
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VinDSL said:
Those guys are great (if you're talking about the link above).

They deal in tonnage -- huge warehouse -- not a mom n' pop shop -- blah, blah, blah.

I called them before buying. At the time, I was more worried about the memory.

The guy said, "it's advertised as 1 gig, but I think they're all 2 gig. We'll give it to you for the same price." Then, he said, "Hold on and I'll check."

Bwahahaha! I could hear him walking out into the warehouse. Finally, he said, "I have a whole pallet of them here. I'll make sure to pull one with 2 gig for you."

Anyway, if you're serious (or just curious) give them a call. 😉
Click to expand...

Yeah. Both sites actually do not list resolution. I'll give them a call Monday. Right now, I'm trying to decide between T410 and the M4500. Laptop will be used mostly for VMs (studying), surfing, and some video playback. I'll be running Fedora and/or OpenSUSE.
 
I would stay away from D620 / D630, as well as the Thinkpad T6x series. Many of these have Nvidia chips that are known to fail from overheating.

The Dell e6410 / e6420 are good, as well as the T4xx series.
 
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