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

[Charles M]

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?
>
>
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-- 
Charles McColm, Author: Instant XBMC,
Columnist: Full Circle Magazine,
Project Manager: The Working Centre Computer Recycling Project
Web: http://www.theworkingcentre.org/cr/
Blog: http://www.charlesmccolm.com/
Twitter/Identica/Google+: @chaslinux
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