anyone have any experience buying from dell refurbished? What does the "B" cosmetic grade look like?

10/8/2015 11:49:44 AM

I've probably bought a couple hundred dell refurbs (from dell) and they're always in good shape.

Technically a grade B "will have minor cosmetic blemishes and typically have a lower List Price than Grade A products"...my current everyday laptop was a grade B and might have had a scratch or something on the body. didn't really notice anything.

10/8/2015 12:00:39 PM

Quote :

"I've probably bought a couple hundred dell refurbs (from dell) and they're always in good shape."

#humblebrag alert

10/8/2015 12:02:40 PM

says the guy who does his best networking in the hot tubs at Vail.

[Edited on October 8, 2015 at 12:07 PM. Reason : but sure buying a bunch of $150 laptops is totally bragging]

[Edited on October 8, 2015 at 12:09 PM. Reason : V my season ski pass works in alaska, is totally a brag.i'm not the only one who points it out dude]

10/8/2015 12:05:46 PM

At least you're actually doing a humblebrag here. In the ski thread in the lounge I asked if anyone had been somewhere and you posted humblebrag. #nothumblebrag.

10/8/2015 12:07:06 PM

I'm looking for something $400 or less. Don't really need anything special these days. Was looking at the new Toshiba Chromebook 2 but it would also be nice to have something that could run Office and Java and stuff.

10/8/2015 1:12:37 PM

Get a (50% off) Dell, dude.

10/8/2015 1:52:30 PM

Quote :

"[Edited on October 8, 2015 at 12:09 PM. Reason : V my season ski pass works in alaska, is totally a brag.i'm not the only one who points it out dude]"

It also has resorts in Japan and New Zealand on it.

10/8/2015 2:06:13 PM

All they really have on there right now are those Latitudes. I don't like how bulky they look and that huge bezel.

10/8/2015 2:06:17 PM

^ I love latitudes, but yah they're not getting any style points. On the plus side they'll last forever. They do have a few XPS laptops if you want something eh, cooler.

[Edited on October 8, 2015 at 3:02 PM. Reason : ^^ lol]

10/8/2015 3:01:28 PM

Latitudes are great. Most of our laptops are e7440s. Solid laptops.

10/8/2015 3:11:26 PM

After searching around for a couple years I finally found a deal on a Lenovo X1 Carbon (3rd gen) on craigslist. This thing is pretty damn sweet. I've had three MBPs in a row, but I think this will do quite nicely.

10/9/2015 9:38:51 AM

Just got a computer in for a customer: Latitude e6420, i5-2540m, 8GB, 128GB SSD, and Windows 7 Pro for $192 shipped.

10/16/2015 2:04:00 PM

That's a good deal albeit an older machine. I had a e6410 for a couple years. After upgrading the ram and throwing an SSD in there it was great.

10/16/2015 2:10:55 PM

Well it's replacing an 11-12 year old Inspiron 5150, so "older" is relative



[Edited on October 16, 2015 at 2:16 PM. Reason : ^ that's what i use at work. i7/8GB/SSD...if it ain't broke!]

10/16/2015 2:15:04 PM

Nice! I still have my college laptop I got in 2004. Dell Inspiron 9100. Thing weighs almost 10 pounds. We usually do a 2-3 year laptop cycle at my company. I think the e6410's came out over 5 years ago. I was happy when I got the XPS 12 I have now. Although the e6410 was a solid laptop.

10/16/2015 2:19:58 PM

^ yeah it's old but has good specs...IT is always trying to give me a new one but I'm not really interested. Maybe I would if it was an XPS.

10/16/2015 2:25:13 PM

Our standard are either e7440's or Macbook Pro's for development. A few people have XPS's or Surface's though. One of our directors ditched his XPS 12 for a more powerful workstation laptop (he runs lots of VMs) so I snagged the XPS 12.

[Edited on October 16, 2015 at 2:28 PM. Reason : s]

10/16/2015 2:27:59 PM

my work laptop is an E6420. I didn't know it was so old. But honestly, it runs fine.

10/16/2015 6:39:55 PM

It's not. That's just neodata686 being neodata686.

10/16/2015 11:34:39 PM

I never said the E6420 was old. I simply said the e6410 came out over 5 years ago. It's a safe assumption that for many companies their laptop life cycle is shorter than 5 years. I never said it was a rule.

10/17/2015 3:39:09 PM

but how does it do at altitude when bicycle hammock camping and skiing?

10/17/2015 6:16:12 PM

You guys are insufferable.

10/17/2015 6:35:19 PM

Quote :

"Me: Just got a computer in for a customer: Latitude e6420..."

Quote :

"Insufferable: That's a good deal albeit an older machine."

...

Quote :

"Insufferable: I never said the E6420 was old."

10/18/2015 12:05:29 AM

You're taking it out of context. I said it was older than the ones we'd been discussing. Then after that I said the e6410 was an old laptop because as I said according to most people it would be considered an old machine.

You're getting a tad bit too insufferable for tech talk. It's tolerable in chit chat but you're just annoying now as nothing I've said in here is anywhere close to insufferable whereas you're becoming the exact definition of it.

[Edited on October 18, 2015 at 12:18 AM. Reason : s]

10/18/2015 12:17:26 AM

Nice fucking try. This is obviously news to you, but the E6420 is a newer generation than the E6410.

[Edited on October 18, 2015 at 12:37 AM. Reason : There was a week before my E6420 post, so this isn't a matter of context.]

10/18/2015 12:35:34 AM

Try doing what? Again I said the e6420 was older then the previous laptops we'd been discussing (the e6410 hadn't been mentioned yet). I then mentioned I had an e6410 (obviously the predecessor to the e6420). When did I say the e6420 was older than the e6410? I didn't. The e6410 wasn't even mentioned until after you mentioned the e6420...

Quote :

"There was a week before my E6420 post, so this isn't a matter of context."

What does that have to do with anything? I said in generality that the e6420 was an older machine. Do you believe this to be an incorrect statement in a thread (generally) about new laptops?

Truthfully though you're hunting a little too hard here. I'll give you credit if you really point me out for being insufferable (as I've been doing) but me calling a 5 year old laptop older barely fits the trend.

10/18/2015 12:41:48 AM

Quote :

"Me: Just got a computer in for a customer: Latitude e6420..."

Quote :

"Insufferable: That's a good deal albeit an older machine."

...

Quote :

"Insufferable: I never said the E6420 was old."

...

Quote :

"Insufferable: I said in generality that the e6420 was an older machine"

Q.E.D.

10/18/2015 12:43:52 AM

You're continuing to post contradictory posts. Again I said the e6420 was an older machine in general. I never said it was older than the e6410 (which I mentioned in the first place). Order of events is really challenging for you isn't it...

If you disagree that a ~5 year old laptop is not an older laptop in a thread (generally) about newer laptops then please explain your reasoning. Do laptops need to be 8 years old to be considered older?

Not everyone has the luxury to buy hundreds of laptops from Dell.

10/18/2015 12:46:59 AM

wanting to buy a surfacebook with dgpu but the firmware issues have given me pause. I'm thinking about waiting for the lenovo yoga 460. anyone using it as their daily driver?

12/15/2015 6:21:06 PM

came here to read about laptops and instead ended up scrolling through post after post of neodata686 and synapse pissing on one another

12/19/2015 12:43:19 PM

You're welcome!

12/19/2015 1:30:02 PM

got the best buy version of the yoga 460. I really like it. I'm probably going to use it until the real yoga 460 comes out so I can get the i7 option but for $700-1000 depending on the sale, this is a GREAT laptop.

1/23/2016 6:24:57 AM

Just got a HP that is running 8.1

It's stuck on the factory reset screen that asks for the product key...8.1 windows means that I can find it somehow without buying a new key??

1/25/2016 8:49:16 PM

Isn't there a sticker somewhere on it with the key? Check under the battery too.

Upgrade to Windows 10 too.

1/25/2016 9:29:44 PM

I HATE the mouse lag on Windows 10...I can't get it to not happen. I've gotten all the drivers updated, etc etc...I reverted back to 7 on another laptop solely because of that.

Now, if I have this laptop, could I put 10 on it and not need a key? then figured out a way around the mouse lag...

[Edited on January 25, 2016 at 11:24 PM. Reason : it has no stickers that I can see.]

1/25/2016 11:24:36 PM

Somebody must've taken the stickers off before they sold it to you

http://espn.go.com/college-football/news/story?id=3718266

1/26/2016 12:36:19 AM

Mouse lag sounds like a driver or configuration issue. I haven't seen that on any of our Windows 10 laptops or desktops before..strange.

Yeah just install Windows 7, activate it, then upgrade for free to Windows 10. I think they still let you do it until like July 2016 or something.

1/26/2016 10:31:34 AM

If the mouse is wireless try using a USB extension cable or plugging the wireless receiver into a different USB port

1/26/2016 1:51:20 PM

I was having mouse lag among other issues - a BIOS update made win10 start working properly for me.

1/26/2016 3:05:09 PM

I just put windows 10 on it, cleaned the whole thing and put it on.

Apparently HP's have issues with mouse lag and sometimes audio issues after going to windows 10.

Luckily this particular model doesn't have the lag anymore after I did the bios update as mentioned. Good idea.

1/27/2016 1:27:21 AM

I'm pretty out of touch when it comes to new computers but just thought I would ask. My parents are in need of a new desktop, but they insist on having a tower instead of an all-in-one type computer.

What's a reliable brand these days for simple daily use? Just stick with Dell?

2/15/2016 8:31:33 AM

^ I haven't found a reason to stray, especially for those kind of applications.

[Edited on February 15, 2016 at 8:50 AM. Reason : http://bensbargains.com/bargain/40-off-sitewide-free-shipping-at-dell-financial-services-5606/]

2/15/2016 8:48:49 AM

http://arstechnica.com/staff/2016/02/dealmaster-get-a-dell-inspiron-15-7000-laptop-with-4gb-gtx-960-gpu-for-699/

Seems like a good deal. i7 Dell gaming laptop with a 4GB 960m for only $699.

Also:

http://www.techbargains.com/dell-inspiron-17-5000-deals

[Edited on February 18, 2016 at 3:58 PM. Reason : s]

2/18/2016 3:56:18 PM

Looking for opinions/advice. I am researching laptops to replace my 5 year old sub-$300 Lenovo. I have narrowed it down to two, but am also open to other suggestions as long as they are in the same price range. Both of these units have the i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD drives. The Acer is intriguing because the reviews on Amazon say that there is an empty bay for an additional hard drive, and that the 8GB RAM is one stick, and is easily upgradable to 16GB (max 32). It also has a dedicated GPU, but from what I have read, the 940 is not that great of a card. I am wary of the Acer name and "official reivews" have the ASUS as being rated higher, but it is not as easy to upgrade and has integrated graphics. This will be used as my home computer and will not be used for gaming, unless I can get my two kids and wife to all take a nap at the same time! I don't plan on playing anything graphics intensive. Really, my last two laptops have been cheap units purchased at Best Buy, so I want to get something a step up because these have been insufferably slow almost from the start.

Acer Aspire E 15
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-NVIDIA-Windows-E5-575G-53VG/dp/B01DT4A2R4/ref=zg_bs_13896615011_2

ASUS F556UA-AS54
https://www.amazon.com/F556UA-AS54-15-6-inch-Full-HD-Laptop-Windows/dp/B01CGGOUJM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1472956444&sr=1-1&keywords=F556UA-AS54

I am also open to something used/refurbished if it is comparable in price or specs. Thanks.

9/3/2016 10:34:38 PM

I'm kind of a one trick pony ITT, but: http://slickdeals.net/coupons/dell-refurbished/?couponid=932231

Business class laptops ftw

eg: i7 8GB 256GB SSD 1600x900 display for $300+tax shipped.
http://dellrefurbished.com/product/systems/laptops/cat61199/dell-latitude-e6430-8gb-ram-500gb-hdd/si6871566

[Edited on September 3, 2016 at 11:59 PM. Reason : Cheap consumer class crap ftl]

[Edited on September 4, 2016 at 12:03 AM. Reason : Acer does have Windows 10, better resolution, and a better graphics card...but I like the bitness cl]

9/3/2016 11:49:42 PM

Thanks for the advice. I had looked at the refurb Dells, but hadnt looked for a coupon. That makes them hard to refuse. How easy are dells to upgrade (RAM/hard drive)?

9/5/2016 11:33:56 AM

They're easy...Latitudes especially so. I always put SSDs in them if they don't come with one.

There is almost always a coupon on them...from 35-50% off usually with free shipping.

9/5/2016 12:00:53 PM

I went with a refurbished dell. thanks for the advice and especially for the coupon link.

9/5/2016 8:48:28 PM

Gaming laptops, what do I really need vs what is overkill?

Looking at something in the gtx1060 ballpark now.

Also which laptops cool the best, my old ASUS fried the graphics card and I don't want to end up in that situation again

3/2/2017 7:56:11 AM