Hi Jim,

I guess I just don’t trust the pre-installed OS. There was that issue with, I believe it was “Acemagic” computers having malware upon delivery. It sounds similar to what Adelaide experienced.

Also, I prefer to use Windows 10 LTSC (doesn’t EOL until 2032, woohoo!) for an ultra-clean & lean Windows OS.

Even if I used a consumer version of Windows (home or pro) i would still do my own install.

I agree though, the risk is quite small.

Hey Joe,

I’ve bought only 2 refurbished desktops over the years but, in both cases, they’ve come with a fresh Windows installation.

Malware? I works assume that DCT enthusiasts would always do a fresh OS install on any new/used machine that they buy.

Even new, there is often much “crapware” .. so much easier and faster to do a fresh install of Windows.

Yep, I bought a Minisforum mini PC (Ryzen 5825u) “refurb” for $150 several months ago. It works great. A new equivalent was $300+

Honestly, no reason to buy new most of the time. Either the PC works after a few hours of stress testing or it doesn’t & would be returned.

For instance, I love the 1.8mm key throw (depth when typing) of my Thinkpad T480. It can also have two batteries.

They changed the keyboard to 1.5mm and even 1.3mm on subsequent models, which for many are less satisfying to type on.

Always consider the battery to be kaput. A new T480 internal battery costs $30 or so.

Also, who cares about a charger these days? A 65-watt usb-c charger costs $15-20 brand new & many already have several laying around. I use a $10, 47-watt charger and it’s much smaller than the stock charger.

I focus on the display mostly. Some older laptops and even newer have dreadfully dim 250 / 300 nit panels.

The laptop arrived in great physical condition (though speakers and webcam are poor for that model), but with Windows 10 Pro preinstalled with multiple malware items showing during setup! While it was easy to remove all partitions from the SSD by booting from USB, download Ubuntu 24.04 and Win 10 Pro ISO’s (on another PC), and install both operating systems, this would not be a good choice for the neophyte.

Overall, I still consider the purchase worthwhile — with that caveat.

You probably won’t get a pleasant surprise on the upside, but you’ll spend less time looking at listings.

Thanks for the recommendation Frank. PCLiquidations certainly enjoys a very good reputation and might well be of interest to US readers.

Hey Bruce,

Wow, that’s a lot of drive space mate. HP are quality built, good choice.

Bruce

I just picked up an X1 Carbon Gen8 (it’s only 1.08 kg!) with a gorgeous 500 nit 4k panel on eBay for $300US & by pure luck it only had 40 cycles on the battery, so it charges to full spec capacity. This seller didn’t know what they had, it could have sold for $500+ .. and a new unit would cost $1600US for not much more performance. Sometimes there are deals to be found.

Best thing about buying a business line laptop is being able to use software (Lenovo Commercial Vantage in this case) .. to make tweaks. E.g. I have placed my a hard-cap of 80% maximum charge on the battery to prolong it’s service life.

I’ve heard that HP whitelists certain components, so upgrading can be a problem. Something to look in to.

I’ve also bought motherboards, CPU, Synology NAS, little N100 units. So far, so good.

Hey Reg,

I’m a bit wary of refurbished laptops, period.

https://davescomputertips.com/beware-refurbished-pcs-running-windows-11/

Hey Randy,

Yep, I would have no qualms about buying a refurbished PC fitted with a small SSD, for example, with a view to replacing the SSD with a larger one. As you say. cost is not prohibitive.

Hey Robin,

Yep, I agree 100%, HPs are quality built.

Hey Kelltic,

I’m a bit wary of refurbished laptops for that very reason- battery and adapter/charger issues.

The only “refurbished” PC I would be extra cautious in buying are specifically those expensive gaming laptops. The gaming ones tend to run hot and of course heat is not your friend in an enclosed space – the people who buy them likely game on them and have them going red hot playing for hours at a time. I have seen lots of issues reported online with them even from the best known highest specc’d brands.

Let’s face it is you are paying only a couple of hundred dollars then for most people it is not the end of the world if something goes wrong. If a PC has worked well for years with no issues then chances are it will keep working for many to come as others have commeneted already – unless you were just unlucky enough to have broken a mirror prior to purchase or had a black cat run in front of you (depending on which culture you are from).

Just be aware that you can only install Windows 11 legally on Gen 8 version CPUs (generally post 2018) and above as well as requiring secure boot and the TPM 2.0 security chip nonsense. If yours isn’t that then it is highly likely the seller has got around the Windows minimum requirements with a software hack and you risk Microsoft undoing your licence (potentially at least) in a future update or else if you ever need to reinstall Windows yourself.

Cheers
Reg