Question Laptop life expectancy? Used Lenovo versus new Acer ?

[superaffe]

Hello, thanks for your help,

im buying a laptop for my mom. she'll only use it for surfing and emails and looking at fotos once a week for an hour or so.
It shouldn't break down for as long as possible. Ideally 10+ years. if that is possible.

Budget 500 - 800 €.

I would like to buy this refurbished LENOVO THINKPAD x1 CARBON G6 i5-8250U FULL HD IPS
for 600 €. 3 years ago new it cost ~1500+
everything is perfekt but i am wondering how many years of life I am losing because it is a USED laptop.

LENOVO THINKPAD x1 CARBON G6 i5-8250U FULL HD IPS (GARANTIE & RECHNUNG) INTEL CORE I5 8GB RAM 256SSD QUAD CPU INTEL UHD620 Carbon-Gehäuse 2x Thunderbolt 3 Ultraslim – BF Laptops Notebooks

www.bf-laptops-notebooks.com

My question is, if I should buy a new laptop instead, if I want it to last as long as possible. Or will it last forever anyway because it's only used an hour a week.
This one for example. but the screen isnt as good.
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Acer-Swift-...-Intel-Core-i5-Originalverpackt-/174631170102
757 €

Thank you and kind regards,
Paulee

 

[erik_h]

Well Lenovo X series last a long time--my kids are still using the high end thinkpad I got in 2010, and I fully expect my newer X models to last that long.

But if she only uses it an hour/day then ANY laptop will last a long time, and IMO you should get a new one, not an old one. The reason is simple: The old ones will age out in term os drivers / OS, and the newer ones will not. My 2020 Lenovo is on Windows 7, and can't be upgraded

 

[hang-the-9]

Buying a used X1 carbon is way overkill for the use. Any $200-300 used ThinkPad will be fine with maybe a bit of an upgrade with an SSD. T440, T450 will be fast enough to last for a while.

How long a systems lasts is a guess past known reliability averages for brands, and even then you can't tell because some models are great and some are horrible.

 

[superaffe]

Thx for your answers.

@hang-the-9
1.
isn't it going to break down much sooner if i get a T440/T450 ? these are ~5 years old, no?

2.
Do I have to buy it from a refurbishing site or is it ok to buy it from ebay?

and thx for your recomendations

 

[erik_h]

You should at least try out the new, low-end, machines in your area from any of the major manufacturers. All of those are going to last a very long time with the type of use you describe.

Laptops get better every year! A modern $300 cheap laptop is nicer to use in some respects than my 2020 Lenovo Thinkpad T510 with an i7, even though my machine cost ~$2,000 new. 10 years is a looooooong time in computer years.

If you spend $600 now for a computer which will last 10 years, you will be (a) wasting the computer now, because it's more than you need now, and (b) stuck with an older computer later. You'd be better spending$400 now and another $400 (if you even need to!) in 5 years.

Anyway: The main difference between "refurbished" and "used," once you're talking about cheap old laptops, is that there is often a very short warranty on refurbished and sometimes a return period. Also, in theory the refurbished machines will have had the OS properly reinstalled and all updates run. If you're capable of reinstalling the macine to a clean state on your own, it may not make much of a difference.

 

[hang-the-9]

Thx for your answers.

@hang-the-9
1.
isn't it going to break down much sooner if i get a T440/T450 ? these are ~5 years old, no?

2.
Do I have to buy it from a refurbishing site or is it ok to buy it from ebay?

and thx for your recomendations

Age of a laptop built with quality parts does not matter, most older Lenovos are much more reliable than new systems. Last 4 years of systems I worked on have failed a lot more than any T400-T430 models I worked on. I have actually never had a T,W or X Lenovo model fail on me that I can remember, they are just replaced due to age and just running slower or due to companies just moving on due to no warranties on them anymore.

I look for local sellers to buy used systems so you can actually see them and test them. Ebay is fine if you need to go through that, just read the seller reviews and try to get from one with a long history.