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Bauer Systems

Refurb (&new) Laptops/Desktops/Monitors/SSD/Tablets&Phone/with mini buying guide

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  • Nov 27th, 2023 3:39 am
Deal Addict
Nov 27, 2019
1418 posts
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poorwingman wrote: optiplex 7070 tower.. but it's not a real tower it's smaller.

I'm kinda newb to this.. i thought that dell uses properities connectors?
How much did you pay for 7070 SFF tower?
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Jan 7, 2002
29708 posts
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Waterloo, ON
desmat wrote: Can I install it myself using the win7 key they give?
On most systems these days the COA is embedded in the BIOS, so yes. In that situation you can clean install Win10.

Note however that Bauer has a disclaimer that they won't be responsible if the COA you get doesn't work. That may refer to older systems with COA stickers. It could also refer to systems that never came with any Win preinstalled, etc.
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Sep 2, 2018
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desmat wrote: They are offering a desktop with Windows 7 Pro.. and charging $35 extra for Windows 10Pro..
Can I install it myself using the win7 key they give?
or Can we buy it off ebay and install easily and save $35...

And do you know if i have to fresh install Win10 after formatting drive with Win7 ?
OR
I can upgrade Win 7 directly by login into windows and upgrade to Win10?
If the system has the W7 COA, that can be used to activate Windows 10 post-install. However like @bylo mentioned, no guarantees. In my experience, it's always worked.
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Jul 4, 2006
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desmat wrote: How much did you pay for 7070 SFF tower?
I didn't get a SFF. I got a MT.

I got an i7 9700 with 1TB/16 gb for $800 + 20 shipping + HST.

I would not recommend it for gaming given that the 7070 MT PSU is only 260 watts and finding a gpu that is the right size will be challenging because the MT is pretty small even though it's the largest of the 7070.
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Nov 27, 2019
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sid8tive wrote: If the system has the W7 COA, that can be used to activate Windows 10 post-install. However like @bylo mentioned, no guarantees. In my experience, it's always worked.
poorwingman wrote: I didn't get a SFF. I got a MT.

I got an i7 9700 with 1TB/16 gb for $800 + 20 shipping + HST.

I would not recommend it for gaming given that the 7070 MT PSU is only 260 watts and finding a gpu that is the right size will be challenging because the MT is pretty small even though it's the largest of the 7070.
bylo wrote: On most systems these days the COA is embedded in the BIOS, so yes. In that situation you can clean install Win10.

Note however that Bauer has a disclaimer that they won't be responsible if the COA you get doesn't work. That may refer to older systems with COA stickers. It could also refer to systems that never came with any Win preinstalled, etc.
Thank you guys..
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Mar 23, 2004
35606 posts
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I assume since this thread is still going and is relatively recently posted to, Bauer's still a good place to buy from? Trying to help out a co-worker and the name of this place escaped me but "refurb computers redflagdeals" google search helped me find it :) IIRC they tend to have the most reasonable prices and a lot of selection... Will refer my co-worker. He's looking for a "desktop" machine; he has/ordered a PS5 or whatever for gaming and doesn't want to spend new-system money on something, which makes sense. I don't really have the time to help random people build things anymore so I think something from Bauer is probably the best bet.
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Oct 3, 2018
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ES_Revenge wrote: I assume since this thread is still going and is relatively recently posted to, Bauer's still a good place to buy from? Trying to help out a co-worker and the name of this place escaped me but "refurb computers redflagdeals" google search helped me find it :) IIRC they tend to have the most reasonable prices and a lot of selection... Will refer my co-worker. He's looking for a "desktop" machine; he has/ordered a PS5 or whatever for gaming and doesn't want to spend new-system money on something, which makes sense. I don't really have the time to help random people build things anymore so I think something from Bauer is probably the best bet.
Yep, Bauer's still a good place to buy from, best if local GTA + able to pickup to save on shipping etc.

However, 'lot of selection' may be limited, and prices higher, due to covid. Have your co-worker check their Weekly Price List and reach out to them via email, if he has something specific in mind for his desktop.

https://www.bauersystems.com/
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Sep 13, 2004
6016 posts
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Toronto
ES_Revenge wrote: I assume since this thread is still going and is relatively recently posted to, Bauer's still a good place to buy from?
Another place to look is DellRefurbished.ca (formerly Dell Financial Services). Their prices seem high but become more reasonable when they have a sale. I expect a Black Friday sale. Subscribe to this old thread to get announcements
dell-refurbished-dell-refurbished-coupon-codes-1155678/
Last edited by Hugh on Nov 15th, 2020 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29708 posts
29127 upvotes
Waterloo, ON
ES_Revenge wrote: I assume since this thread is still going and is relatively recently posted to, Bauer's still a good place to buy from? Trying to help out a co-worker and the name of this place escaped me but "refurb computers redflagdeals" google search helped me find it :) IIRC they tend to have the most reasonable prices and a lot of selection... Will refer my co-worker. He's looking for a "desktop" machine; he has/ordered a PS5 or whatever for gaming and doesn't want to spend new-system money on something, which makes sense. I don't really have the time to help random people build things anymore so I think something from Bauer is probably the best bet.
Another option to consider is https://ca.refurb.io/

No personal experience but I've seen good reviews on RFD.
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Mar 23, 2004
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bylo wrote: Another option to consider is https://ca.refurb.io/

No personal experience but I've seen good reviews on RFD.
Thank yeah knew about them--that name was easy, heh ;) The "place with the price list" though, the name escaped me until I found this thread again :)

Still these prices seem kinda high overall--I was expecting to see some Skylake i5 business machines in the $300 range but looks like you're still looking at Haswell for that money, which isn't bad mind you but just saying. Seems like as far along as we are in CPUs, I would have thought Skylake'd be next to worthless by now lol.

I have more PCs in my house than I know what to do with and reasonably I could sell him something from my collection if he's looking at Sandy, Ivy, Haswell anyway; but I don't want to become "lifetime support" for anyone lol, so not gonna go that way. Even on kijiji prices are high though I did see some reasonable ones, though I imagine those are gone pretty quickly; plus again don't want to be responsible for kijiji sellers I have nothing to do with. I think referring him to a shop with some kind of warranty is a better idea.

Don't think he needs to put a dGPU in but I'll have to check with him. Otherwise I think this thing looks good:
https://ca.refurb.io/collections/deskto ... ows-10-pro
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Jan 7, 2002
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Waterloo, ON
ES_Revenge wrote: Still these prices seem kinda high overall
As @mzmoney suggested, COVID-19 and WFH has created a lot of demand, raising prices and reducing choices. I was going to suggest also IBM's certified pre-owned hardware site but it's currently closed, presumably the result of COVID-19 cleaning out their stock.

Given the high prices of refurbs, upcoming seasonal sales (BF, XMAS, BD) and your reluctance to get into the tech support business, perhaps you could consider recommending a good new system. The price may not be much higher. The technology is new. There's a one-year warranty. And your co-worker even gets a 1-800 that doesn't ring on your phone.

What's not to like with that suggestion? :twisted:
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Sep 13, 2004
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bylo wrote: As @mzmoney suggested, COVID-19 and WFH has created a lot of demand, raising prices and reducing choices. I was going to suggest also IBM's certified pre-owned hardware site but it's currently closed, presumably the result of COVID-19 cleaning out their stock.

Given the high prices of refurbs, upcoming seasonal sales (BF, XMAS, BD) and your reluctance to get into the tech support business, perhaps you could consider recommending a good new system. The price may not be much higher. The technology is new. There's a one-year warranty. And your co-worker even gets a 1-800 that doesn't ring on your phone.

What's not to like with that suggestion? :twisted:
Run of the mill desktops seem to me to be drifting to higher prices. Sometimes a notebook isn't too much more expensive. And you can hook it up to a monitor. It's no wonder many choose a notebook over a desktop. Of course many others just use tablets or even their phone.

This notebook seems to be not much more than a desktop: dell-dell-15-4500u-usb-c-dp-4k60-65w-pd ... t-2387232/

I still like desktops but the reasons are falling away.

I think desktops age better, but a Haswell desktop (what I use) has lived most of its prime of life already.
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Jan 7, 2002
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Waterloo, ON
FWIW I haven't owned a desktop in at least a decade. All I have are ThinkPads, three in daily use, another three on the shelf and several others that I've given away.

(That inventory doesn't include the PC XT in my museum collection.)
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Oct 27, 2016
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bylo wrote: FWIW I haven't owned a desktop in at least a decade. All I have are ThinkPads, three in daily use, another three on the shelf and several others that I've given away.

(That inventory doesn't include the PC XT in my museum collection.)
Thinkpads for me too! T540p as daily driver, T420s as backup, X220 as my kodi / emulation machine, another X220 as my plex / torrent rig.

And a T41, T43p and 760EL for retro computing!
Pixel 6a combo -
$8 talk text PM plan
$0 4GB eSIM data only plan
$1 voip backup line
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Oct 24, 2004
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I've purchased 2 laptops from Bauer and have been really happy with the results for the price.
My girlfriend is on a budget and needs one for herself - she uses Photoshop so would require the following:

Laptop - ThinkPad if possible
Intel/AMD 64-bit support and 2 GHz processor or better
Windows 10 - 64-bit or better
16GB RAM or better
1280 x 800 display at 100% UI scaling or better
SSD

I'm not the best at knowing what specs are best from what is available - any recommendations please?
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Jan 7, 2002
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newt_101 wrote: she uses Photoshop so would require the following:
I would look at something like the T450, T460, or T470. Avoid the "s" suffix models because they're less upgradeable and more expensive.
1. The ones Bauer lists show Win8. You can pay them $35 for Win10 or you can DIY.
2. RAM can be upgraded so if a model doesn't come with 16GB it's not a disaster. Ideally in that situation you want a single 8GB module so you can add one 8GB (as opposed to comes with 2x 4GB and you need to buy 2x 8GB.)
3. The T4xx series comes with either 1366x768 or 1920x1080 displays. The former is notorious for being lousy. Avoid it, especially with an app like Photoshop. (Or you'll need an HD external monitor.) Much better to get something with the 1920x1080 IPS panel.
4. Re 3. a 14" screen is small. Unless portability is essential, consider getting an external monitor. Bauer has used ones. I'd recommend Dell U24xx series. They show one for $110 but it's OOS. Ask them if they're getting more. That's a great monitor at a great price. New ones both 24" and 27" are cheap these days and cheaper now (BF) so that too may be an option.
5. If you can get a model with NVIDIA discrete graphics rather than just the integrated graphics, then get it.
6. Again if portability is essential, don't expect the battery to get anywhere close to what the specs say. Plan on the possibility of having to buy a new battery.

I would call Bauer tomorrow, tell them what you're looking for, how much you can afford to pay and ask them what they have. They may have something that just came in that's not yet listed or may be able to upgrade what they have (e.g. from 8GB to 16GB or HDD to SSD) less expensively than you can.
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Feb 1, 2018
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Just got a P510 from Bauer for a ridiculously good price given the specs. Super well packaged shipment and the system is in an impeccable condition. Got a T450s from them as well in the past. Cannot recommend them enough!
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Oct 24, 2004
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bylo wrote: I would look at something like the T450, T460, or T470. Avoid the "s" suffix models because they're less upgradeable and more expensive.
1. The ones Bauer lists show Win8. You can pay them $35 for Win10 or you can DIY.
2. RAM can be upgraded so if a model doesn't come with 16GB it's not a disaster. Ideally in that situation you want a single 8GB module so you can add one 8GB (as opposed to comes with 2x 4GB and you need to buy 2x 8GB.)
3. The T4xx series comes with either 1366x768 or 1920x1080 displays. The former is notorious for being lousy. Avoid it, especially with an app like Photoshop. (Or you'll need an HD external monitor.) Much better to get something with the 1920x1080 IPS panel.
4. Re 3. a 14" screen is small. Unless portability is essential, consider getting an external monitor. Bauer has used ones. I'd recommend Dell U24xx series. They show one for $110 but it's OOS. Ask them if they're getting more. That's a great monitor at a great price. New ones both 24" and 27" are cheap these days and cheaper now (BF) so that too may be an option.
5. If you can get a model with NVIDIA discrete graphics rather than just the integrated graphics, then get it.
6. Again if portability is essential, don't expect the battery to get anywhere close to what the specs say. Plan on the possibility of having to buy a new battery.

I would call Bauer tomorrow, tell them what you're looking for, how much you can afford to pay and ask them what they have. They may have something that just came in that's not yet listed or may be able to upgrade what they have (e.g. from 8GB to 16GB or HDD to SSD) less expensively than you can.
Thanks so much for the advice.

I ended up getting the ThinkPad T460 (CORE I7/6600U, 16GB RAM, 256SSD, 14-inch screen and Windows 10) - and I'm looking for a good deal on a decent external monitor as we speak.
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Jan 7, 2002
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newt_101 wrote: I'm looking for a good deal on a decent external monitor as we speak.
See Dell 24" 1080P IPS monitor $99.99. This is a good monitor for the price. Not as good as Dell U-series that Bauer sometimes has at $110 but still a decent FHD monitor, According to the thread it will be on sale this weekend.
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Oct 24, 2004
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bylo wrote: See Dell 24" 1080P IPS monitor $99.99. This is a good monitor for the price. Not as good as Dell U-series that Bauer sometimes has at $110 but still a decent FHD monitor, According to the thread it will be on sale this weekend.
Was able to get one today for $116 plus tax. Thanks!

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