[kwlug-disc] Refurb laptops & monitors - Eco-Tech Recycling?

[unsolicited]

Thanks Charles, good stuff here.

Presumably I can just use my current Win CD if I need it, and the COA on 
the box. (?)

Just thinking about laptops here, for the moment. Did 'cross-check' 
against Canada Computer before posting, trying to get a sense of prices 
/ reality check. Thus my comments in it.

Yeah, when I got my 2 quad core i7's (one since blowed up), particularly 
once I added an SSD it was pretty mind blowing.

You sure notice when you move to another computer for anything.

On 14-04-23 12:26 PM, Charles M wrote:
> Canada Computers used to have a selection  of refurbished computers in
> stock, but for the most part I think they're sold out:
> http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?cPath=7_158&bsort=0&brand=0&price=1&location=0
>
> They don't mention it on their web site, but I suspect Eco-Tech uses
> Commercial versions of the Microsoft Registered Refurbisher license on
> their systems. If the systems display a brown COA check for the text
> Refurbished on the license. The commercial licenses normally come with a
> DVD (as opposed to the Citizenship/Charity licenses available to
> non-profits which don't come with DVD).
>
> Having used a Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM for the past several years (on
> Xubuntu, I don't run Windows on my machine) I can say it was an enormous
> difference buying new. Here's what I bought: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/21wsB
>
> (except I bought 16GB of RAM, not 4GB)
>
> Most of what I do with the system is ripping my DVD/Blueray collection for
> our media center (which is a Pentium D/older machine). The one thing I
> noticed a huge difference on was the speed when loading 5-8 photographs in
> GIMP.
>
> If you're looking strictly at laptops it gets a bit more tricky. We see a
> lot of "serious" issues with older consumer-grade HP laptops. The one
> Eco-Tech has listed looks more like a business-class notebook. About the
> only laptop I'd stay away from is the Windows XP Dell.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 11:43 AM, unsolicited <unsolicited at swiz.ca> wrote:
>
>> I see a number of refurb laptops, computers, and monitors, at
>> http://www.eco-techrecycling.com/refurbs.php (Found via kijiji search.)
>>
>> Anyone with any comments on the offerings?
>>
>> Seems to me:
>> - anything with a trackpoint is a Lenovo business class laptop. More
>> robust?
>> - Core 2 Duo preferred over others?
>> - More speed, the better.
>> - More memory, the better.
>>
>> At one time refurb prices were so close to new that it wasn't worth the
>> loss of warranty. Doesn't seem so at the moment - this level of hardware
>> doesn't seem available at, say, Canada Computers. There you either go up a
>> couple hundred for the next class of hardware (new, but Celeron), or down
>> to a smaller screen.
>>
>> Comments, experiences?