Oh. I have not looked into the prices of desktop computers. I have always felt like desktop computers would be more expensive than laptops, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Laptops should be cheaper though, I feel, since they cannot be upgraded easily.
I do not like it when the laptop starts to heat up, and in time you have to change the battery too, which can be quite expensive, the batteries cost around $25, right? So I would just go for a desktop. I think the fact that they are "portable" just makes them all the more expensive. The only perk of a laptop is when you are a home you can just plug it in without using the battery.
I definitely agree with that. It can be rather daunting and scary when your laptop heats up to the degree that it does, and a lot of the time when I have finished using it, I will leave it out to cool off for a while before I put it away in its bag. I don't want to risk anything catching fire. My battery died ages ago. I just plug it into the socket if I want to use my laptop now. From ebay, it would be a bit cheater than twenty-five dollars. I love that laptops are portable, but laptops can definitely be a pain.
I know there's a guy in my general area who builds and rebuilds computers, and if I had money, and was in the market for a used computer, I'd probably contact him. I don't recall his name or number, but am pretty sure I could find him. He's on the local Freecycle groups, and sometimes offers printers, monitors, and other pieces he doesn't need, so I could always find him that way, too. I purchased something from him before, so I know he has reasonable prices. There is probably someone in every community like him, and I'm sure a Google search would bring up a name or two. I have sold used computers, cell phones, etc. on eBay, and the buyers were always happy with them. There are deals to be found. When I purchased my (now broken) laptop, I spent a ton of money on it, but when I'm ready to buy my next one, I'll probably get something new and lower priced.
Never even considered buying a second hand computer. Honestly, it might not be that bad of an idea, if you know what you're doing. Factory resetting it would be the first thing I'd do. Something for me to consider next time I need a computer.
Although there's nothing wrong with second hand purchases, I would probably not recommend buying one specially if it's a computer. Computers are not blenders or washing machines, more often than not your computer would be turned on for long periods of time everyday and since computers produce a lot of heat, it will eventually take it's toll on the hardware which in turn affect the overall performance of the computer. If you're planning on buying a second hard PC though, make sure that you ask the seller about the computer; how old is it exactly? What kinds of parts were replaced beforehand? Also check the physical condition both inside and outside, especially inside.
I have never had a second hand computer and not sure that I would want one either unless it was just for the kids to play on. I do not trust used electronics and would rather spend the money to buy new. It seems like they would not be worth it in the end even though you are saving money upfront. I would just save my money up until I could afford to buy the computer that I want new.
We actually need to buy a new computer soon. Our kids are starting to take classes from a Minecraft school as part of their home school. They need computers that will work well and quickly. My son also wants mods on his Minecraft, my father-in-law says that we will need a new computer in order to do so. I think we will just look for a good deal and price computers for a while before we buy one. But I'm sure we will not be getting a used one. I just don't think it will do the job, so the money saved really wouldn't be worth it.
My first laptop was a second hand piece of work that served me for many years. In fact I donated it to a church and I believe it is still serving the good church people up to now. That was around 7 years ago. It had very low specs and a noisy fan. Today I wouldn't buy a second hand computer because new ones have become quite affordable and are more reliable than old models.
You should try to look at desktop PC's then. They are much cheaper and they seem to last longer too than laptops. And if you buy them 2nd hand, sometimes they only cost around $50.
I already have a desktop, but it runs on an old and slow Windows XP operating system, and we just don't have the space for it to be set up and working. Buying another one would be redundant, as we don't have the space for the first one. I do much of my work in the privacy of my room, and don't have the space in there, which is why laptops are so convenient for me.
Well just don't dispose of that old and slow desktop of yours, it can be handy when you want to play old games!
I would never want to buy a second hand laptop, because I work from home and use it all day every day, and this means that I really need to make sure that it is working as and when I really need it to. So the one thing I will never, ever compromise on is my laptop. I do know of people who have done it though, so I suppose it really depends upon what you want to use it for.
Years ago when I was laid off from a company I was working for due to an acquisition, as part of the deal they let all of us keep our work computers in addition to our severance packages. I used it as my primary computer for another year or so, before finally selling it online. One thing I quickly realized was that this particular model (it was a Dell) was commonly sold to many businesses in bulk, so there were a ton of them on eBay. As a result, I didn't get much for the computer at all, less than $50. But for someone looking for a computer dirt cheap, that was quite a steal because the computer itself - though a few years old - was still a perfectly fine computer. In fact, it was a business computer, the kind they only sell to companies, not to general consumers, so overall it was built better and had more memory in it, a better processor, and overall better specs than most consumer level computers would. I would look at it this way, if you can get it dirt cheap, then just use it until it goes bad, then junk it instead of paying to get it repaired.
I have no problem with buying a secondhand computer as long as it has not been used for more than a year or two, but not one that is already old - 4 to 5 years. Buying a secondhand computer can be a saving since computers are fairly pricey, especially if you want to get a really modern one. Since I prefer to do things within my budget, if I had to choose between buying a perfectly new computer and buying a secondhand one, I would opt for the latter. As long as the computer is working okay and has no defects, it is fine with me.
It really does depend on your need. If you're going to just use the computer to browse the net, watch videos and use some office application: a 5 year old computer is fine. The progression of light use applications hasn't really pushed existing hardware needs (for instance, office computers could probably have a lifespan of 10 years now). Big title gaming or rich multimedia usage it what will quickly out date your setup, these are always pushing hardware requirements. One thing to remember though if you were ever to sell your computer: remove and destroy the hard drive. Even if you delete your files, there is recovery software out there that'll easily pull back all of your documents/photos/internet history/etc.... It will mean the computer will need a new hard drive before it's usable but at least the new owners have no chance of getting your data.
