Refurbished.... Do you "get what you pay for"?

[svejkovat]

Very generally. Recently I went looking for the best new laptop I could buy for 300USD. After quite a bit of research I started to find things like this,
https://www.amazon.com/HP-i5-5300U-...furbished&qid=1569355122&s=electronics&sr=1-9

Seems on it's face to be far superior to what is available new for 300 dollars. But I'm really so recently caught up on numbers and performance as I used to be. This refurb is in A condition, but it's already four to five years old. Intel i5-5300U and 5500 graphics.

Isn't it sometimes the case that one years' i5 processor is leapfrogged by the next years' i3? So it's hard to make quick comparisons.

In short, does 300 dollars in the fall of 2019 buy you as good or better performance than the 2015 zbook listed above? Or is it not possible to generalize at all on this? I understand that the zbook is probably built more solidly than any current manufacturers 300 dollar level series.

I prefer business class laptops for no frills, basic black, physical durability, and user serviceability. And new business class at 300 usd is already not in the ballpark. Did I just answer my own question?

I'm this close to purchasing one of the 300 dollar refurb zbooks online. Just need a little reassurance on the decision.

Thank you.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

That laptop doesnt really seem far superior to a new $300 laptop. Its older and thicker than a modern $300 laptop, while offering a bit better performance. It will be better in some respects, but not far superior. Refurbished will work like new, just may not look as nice.

A modern mid-range mobile I5 offers over double the performance of that I5. https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-8365U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-5300U/m774761vsm16790
A modern I3 mobile CPU will also offer better performance of the I5 5300u
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-8109U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-5300U/m609620vsm16790

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Display-Graphics-Keyboard-A515-43-R19L/dp/B07RF1XD36/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ryzen+3+3200u+laptop&qid=1569719754&s=electronics&sr=1-4&th=1
This laptop does have a weak amount of ram and storage. It has a better CPU and Igpu than the Zbook, however

 

[svejkovat]

Thank you very much for that response. That does offer some perspective.
Was that just a quick example of a 300ish laptop for comparison purposes or
one you would especially recommend?

1. What is your budget?
300ish

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
14 but would consider 15.6

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1920 x 1080


4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
A little of both. 14 might be preferable and I would get a full sized monitor to use at home.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Battery life is not important at all. I rarely use it.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
No games at all

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Light photo editing. No large/bulk processing or professional work. But am very interested in good color rendition/gamut. Light CAD work. Google/Trimble Sketchup

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Not essential. 512 SSD optimal. SSD reported to be more agile/responsive. Faster loading times?

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
newegg. ebay. will consider recommendations.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
6yrs approx.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Optical drive not essential.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I seem to gravitate to HP/Lenovo/asus/acer when tracking down my preferences.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Storage is not high priority since I keep things very spartan and generally store any large files on a 1tb external drive and/or cloud. I strongly prefer utility and build quality over looks. Frankly I wish all laptops were solid black. I'm sometimes disappointed to find exactly what I'd like but cannot stomach the two toned distracting and ugly color schemes.

I'd be very grateful if anyone might suggest a few laptops for me. 350USD tops, but would prefer 300.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I personally would not buy the Acer I linked due to the 4gb ram, but it is a pretty good unit for the money otherwise.

SSDs are a lot more responsive then HDDs. Programs and Windows load a lot faster as well. I wouldn't buy a laptop without one.

Here is a better deal then the HP Zbook. This one is refurbished. I dont mind refurbished (i bought a GPU refurb) as long as its a good deal.
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Latitud...se-bin:2057441011&rnid=2057412011&s=pc&sr=1-3
I5 6300u
8gb ram
256gb ssd
windows 10 pro
Screen isnt amazing, which is the biggest downfall. The screen is the same resolution as the Zbook.

This laptop is simmilar to the Zbook, but the Dell has a slightly newer CPU and is cheaper.

 

[svejkovat]

I really would like a 14 inch with 1920 x 1080 and a good bright screen.

Still looking through google shopping. Any other good candidates based on my above criteria?
Are amazon and google shopping the best places to sift through these?