When considering buying a refurbished unit, a buyer has to understand that it is no longer new. That means, that if a unit still has its original components installed there’s a big chance that one of them will fail in the near future. Had some of these components been replaced, it would mean that there’s a chance that the unit performs better or lesser than it used too, unless of course the unit is factory refurbished, then it would work just the same.
This, however, doesn’t change the fact that its other parts are not replaced, so it’s reasonable enough that the unit is not the same as new, both physically and performance-wise. Should a person consider buying a refurbished unit, as with other purchases, it’s always logical to go for the best deal, this being referred to as the most practical and what one would consider cheap. To do this, one must check the individual components of the unit to determine its performance.
Older units come with older components and most of them can no longer be used with modern software. Also, to check whether a fair price is offered for the unit, it is advisable to check the cost of individual components, should a need for replacement arise. With older units, this is no longer possible because of the evolution of technology. Older components are considered “phased out.” This means that the said parts are no longer produced, making repair of the unit impossible. This is the major risk of buying an old unit, and this is also the reason why they are sold in the first place. Should one pursue the purchase of a refurbished unit, here is a list of units available these days.
The lowest price bracket ranges from $150-350, with the lowest being a Compaq Armada V300 450MHz Celeron unit, with 128MB of RAM, 6GB HD, Integrated CD-ROM, Integrated Floppy Drive, Composite Video, 13.3” Passive Matrix Display, Touchpad, Integrated 56K Modem, AC Adapter, and preloaded with Microsoft Windows 98SE for $225, and the second an HP OmniBook 6000 800MHz Pentium III unit, with 256 MB of RAM, 20GB HD, Modular DVD/CD-ROM, 14.1” Display, Integrated 10/100 Ethernet adapter, Integrated 56K Modem, TrackPoint and Touchpad, AC Adapter, and preloaded with Windows 2000 SP4, for $325. All units covered with a 3 month warranty on both parts and service.
