what to check before you buy second hand laptops

by December 23, 2015 0 comments

When people ask me- Which laptop should I buy?
My first question to them is – what is it that they want the laptop for? Almost always the answer is some variant of the following: net surfing, office work (excel, ppt), basic games, watching movies, listening to music. In most cases a standard laptop with basic specification will suffice. Why not buy a second hand laptop as they tend to cost considerably less than new ones, and still have all the features you want.

This article will help you choose a second hand laptop which will not only have a long life but also reliable.

Buy Refurbished: A refurbished laptop is one that has been thoroughly examined and might be upgraded with extra memory or some other feature and often brought back to brand-new quality by an expert company. A used laptop is one that has not undergone any checks before being sold. Because refurbished laptops have been tested and examined, they are more reliable than used laptops.

Test Battery Life: Weak battery life is often expected when purchasing a used laptop. However, your usage can also extend the battery life. Never overcharge your laptop battery. Knowing the battery’s back up time is very important when purchasing it as it will help you decide how soon you will have to replace it. Avoid buying a laptop whose battery life is less than 20 minutes.

Check Screen: One of the most costly things to replace on a laptop is its screen. Check the screen for any dead pixels and also purple or pink discoloration. A few dead pixels will not affect your work especially if they are on the sides.
Check all the ports and inputs: Check all ports (USB, VGA etc.), headphone, microphone jacks and wireless connections like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
A lot of them are attached to the motherboard and might be costly to replace. If one USB port is broken and you can use the others, then do it. Do check your Optical drive if it can read, write etc. all kind of optical disks.

Read reviews: Make sure you read about the laptop model performance on sites like JoshFactory. Reading reviews online is a great way to make sure you are informed about the laptop model you are thinking of buying.

Shamsher ALI Siddiquee

Developer

JoshFactory - जोशफैक्टरी webdesigner, android app developer, problogger, system engineer, windows related tips and tricks!