Used laptop or Used barebones?

[PrinceXizor]

Last time I knew anything about hardware I bought a TBred AMD that is currently still OC'd in the computer I'm using now. Anyhow, I do know a little, but what I don't know is used value, so that's what I'm here for.

What kind of value (i.e. general performance area) should I expect to find in a used laptop for between $150/$200?

Same question for a bare bones between $50/$75 (need to allocate money for HD and OS...)?

Things I'm looking for our general procesor specs, ammount of memory/spd, platforms, etc.

If you have any additional questions, fire away. I'm probably looking for something off of FS/FT.

Thanks!

P-X

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: PrinceXizor


What kind of value (i.e. general performance area) should I expect to find in a used laptop for between $150/$200?

if you look on ebay, maybe a pentium II or crappy pIII. ebay people are crazy and tend to pay waaaaay more than things are worth

 

[PrinceXizor]

Which is why I added the part about the FS/FT forum being the source of said used laptop or used barbeones system. I'm not really keen to pay eBay prices...

P-X

 

[IlllI]

well you asked what kind of value, and i wasnt about to go looking for you. i gave a rough estimation on what i know from where i've looked in the past. but how about you post a WTB thread in the fs/t forum then and see what kind of people contact you with what thay have in that price range?

 

[TerryMathews]

In general, used laptops are way overvalued ATM, everywhere. Too many stupid buyers who just don't get the MHz inflation of P4s compared to modern Core and Core 2 lappies.

If I were in the market, I'd wait for prices to stabilize on the 9" EEE and buy one of those. Close to the price of a used lappy and brand new with a warranty.

 

[PrinceXizor]

Thanks Terry. Good to know, seems to match what I've been seeing.

I'm not asking for someone to do a lot of research for me. When I built my rig I could have answered my own question without a lot of research. Just figured there were some that could share their knowledge and save me some time (the reason I HAVE to ask this question in the first place, not enough time to keep up anymore).

Anyway, So far as I've seen some PIII-1Ghz total systems (case and all) going for $45-$75 shipped.

My problem is I need XP and I don't have a copy to install so I either need to buy a used laptop system that comes with XP preinstalled or a barebones system and leave some money to pick up an OS.

The EE Laptops are intriguing but not exactly what I'm looking for. They are cool, sleek, etc. but the form factor is actually a little TOO small for my needs. A great little product though that I am keeping my eyes on.

Still trying to sort things out. Any additional comments would be helpful.

P-X

 

[TerryMathews]

That looks low for a 1GHz P3, are you sure the system was 100% functioning? That seems to be what people are paying for broken P3 lappies.

The other thing you've got to keep in mind too is that when you're looking at order laptops, almost all of the time the rest of the systems are just as outdated. There really isn't much in the way of "hotrod" laptops, especially that generation. What I'm trying to say is when you're looking at P3 laptops, you're also looking at similar era chipsets that may not even be Intel, ATi Mach64 or Rage Pro graphics, etc.

Bottom lining it for you, I really think you need to look at new laptops. If the EEE is too small, and make sure you try one before you make that decision, grab a similar priced one on sale. Staples had a real nice one on sale for $399 recently.

 

[Triumph]

What is this EEE laptop?

I am currently sitting on a Dell Latitude with an 650 mhz P3, running XP and 128mb ram. I have pared down the XP install as much as I can, turning off all non-essential programs at startup, cleaned up msconfig, turned off fancy graphics, etc. And this thing is dog slow. Sometimes it will sit here and swap with the swapfile for 2 or 3 minutes, making the computer useless in that time. I post this because if you are looking at P3 laptops with these sort of specs, then running XP is not going to be the most fun you can have with a computer. More ram would definitely help, though.

 

[TerryMathews]

Seriously? Welcome back from under your rock.

EEE

$199-$249 for the 7" screen model (looks kinda jakey) with 2GB of storage, up to $549 for a 9" screen and 20GB of storage, all SSD. 900MHz Celeron, the current darling of the hacker world.

 

[Triumph]

Ah, I see. Yeah, I have been under a rock. The EEE is not for me, I like my 14" screen. I'm also looking for a used laptop to replace my Thinkpad. Not sure what I can get for under 500.

 

[TerryMathews]

Why used under $500? Grab one of the $399 specials that seem to come around monthly.

 

[verd14]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=45&threadid=2133296