Computers & Electronics

Question about DellRefurbished's laptop selection

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Question about DellRefurbished's laptop selection

Even though I didn't really need a new laptop, I was impressed with the apparent quality of the refurbished laptop and desktop selection at DellRefurbished.ca, as well as the price points, so took the plunge and bought one a few months ago. It's been a solid workhorse, came with Windows 7 Professional (which is easily upgraded free of charge to Windows 10 Professional), and came uncluttered of the usual Dell, HP, etc. trialware and bloatware common on personal computing PCs. However, in checking their website again recently, I noticed they only had four (4) laptops on offer—all at fairly higher price points. I hope they're not moving their price points upwards, as I think they had a really good thing going, and I also hope that this is just a temporary blip and they'll restock their site with more than just one model of laptop (it's good to have a few price points and offerings).

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Cheers,
Doug
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I have been eyeing them in the recent past as well. What model did you get?
Basil: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically -?
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Sorcerer wrote: I have been eyeing them in the recent past as well. What model did you get?
I just went with the cheapest one, a Latitude E6440. I liked how bare bones was when the system came. I think, net of the coupon and before shipping, it was like $249. With shipping and taxes, $314.65. I think it might've even be a B cosmetic grade and it looks amazing. There's maybe one small spot on the back corner where some of the brushed paint is wearing off and you can see the silver metal colour, but other than that, it looks brand new.

Cheers,
Doug
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Thanks very much. The current selection is very limited and pricey, but I check back every so often. Sounds like you got a great deal!
Basil: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically -?
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Sorcerer wrote: Thanks very much. The current selection is very limited and pricey, but I check back every so often. Sounds like you got a great deal!
Yeah, I recommend signing up for the e-mail newsletters and just deleting the ones that are only 20-30% off. Every few weeks they do a one-day Flash sale whereby they have 40-60% off deals. Their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are usually pretty good, and they also typically do end of month really good clearance sales every month or two. Desktop-wise, though, they've got some attractively priced sub-$200 desktops.

And don't worry about if some of the laptops only have Windows 7 Professional. Microsoft still upgrades you for free to Windows 10 if you use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. ZDNet has a good article on the process.

Cheers,
Doug
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@Sorcerer I just checked DellRefurbished.ca today after the holiday 2019 sale coupons expired yesterday, and they've restocked the laptops page. My model is here. I can't remember if mine was cosmetic grade B or (think B, and it's excellent). Currently it's $299+tax+shipping; my price was around $249+tax+shipping, so you might want to wait, but it's a pretty solid business laptop workhorse for the price point.

Cheers,
Doug
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Thanks Doug! That was really nice of you. Smiling Face With Open Mouth I'll keep an eye on the new stock and wait for a flash sale. I did sign up for their email as you suggested. Cheers!
Basil: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically -?
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I have been looking on their website for sometime now and for some reason, they always have a horrible resolution available. I don't think I have come across a res larger than 1366*768.

If they did, I would jump on them immediately.
Nothing to see here...keep looking.
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Zero1 wrote: I have been looking on their website for sometime now and for some reason, they always have a horrible resolution available. I don't think I have come across a res larger than 1366*768.

If they did, I would jump on them immediately.
It could be because their laptops tend to have screen sizes of 14" or smaller, perhaps?

I actually bought an HP laptop a couple years ago (better speakers, nicer screen, more RAM, Windows 10 Home, etc.) with a 17" screen (from tSc.ca, believe it or not, in response to my watching The Shopping Channel) but I find that a 17" screen is kinda big on a laptop.

Cheers,
Doug
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dmehus wrote: It could be because their laptops tend to have screen sizes of 14" or smaller, perhaps?

I actually bought an HP laptop a couple years ago (better speakers, nicer screen, more RAM, Windows 10 Home, etc.) with a 17" screen (from tSc.ca, believe it or not, in response to my watching The Shopping Channel) but I find that a 17" screen is kinda big on a laptop.

Cheers,
Doug
Wouldn't matter. .com of the refurb website has higher resolutions and the sizes are about the same. 1080p on a small laptop is too high for me. I would rather see something like 1440*900 or along those lines. Maybe it's just my eyesight.

I am only concerned with battery life on those as my HP elitebook sucks and doesn't last long.
Nothing to see here...keep looking.
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Zero1 wrote: Wouldn't matter. .com of the refurb website has higher resolutions and the sizes are about the same. 1080p on a small laptop is too high for me. I would rather see something like 1440*900 or along those lines. Maybe it's just my eyesight.

I am only concerned with battery life on those as my HP elitebook sucks and doesn't last long.
I rarely use my laptop unplugged most of the time, mainly because my experience is the battery rarely lasts more than 2 hours anyway! So I'm just used to unplugging the charging cable and carting it with me. I haven't used it too much unplugged, but am pretty sure it holds a charge for at least two hours with the screen on.

Can you order from DellRefurbished.com, and will they ship to Canadian addresses?

As for resolution, doesn't the wider resolution only work better on wider screens?

I still like 1024 x 768, but maybe I'm old school!

Cheers,
Doug
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A quick update for @Sorcerer et al. re: my Dell Latitude E6440's battery life. I've had it unplugged, downstairs, since 4:30 pm (three hours ago to the minute) and it's still at 77%. Granted, part of that time it was in "sleep" mode, but still, that's pretty decent, don't you think? ;)

Cheers,
Doug
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Hey Doug, that sounds pretty good for an older laptop. I have three older laptops sitting in a closet and all have dead batteries that won't hold a charge for even 10 sec. I know that I can buy replacement batteries, but most of the time I only use them on vacation and I keep them plugged in. Not the most convenient way to use them but hey, it works!
Basil: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically -?
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Sorcerer wrote: Hey Doug, that sounds pretty good for an older laptop. I have three older laptops sitting in a closet and all have dead batteries that won't hold a charge for even 10 sec. I know that I can buy replacement batteries, but most of the time I only use them on vacation and I keep them plugged in. Not the most convenient way to use them but hey, it works!
@Sorcerer Yeah, I wonder if DFS replaces the batteries before they sell them? Could be an advantage to going with DFS over another seller refurbisher despite their sometimes higher prices. I was surprised how good that battery was. :)

Cheers,
Doug
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@Sorcerer Did you grab the Dell Latitude E6440 before it sold it out? 20% off $299 is still $239 ($10 cheaper than I paid). Or, did you go for one of the higher end Dell Precision workstation laptops? 20% off a beast Dell Precision laptop gets you under $600.

Cheers,
Doug
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Hey, no I decided to give the spending a rest. Between BF and buying for Christmas, I think I set a personal best and so to keep the marriage alive and well, I have to slow things down, lol.
Basil: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically -?
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Sorcerer wrote: Hey, no I decided to give the spending a rest. Between BF and buying for Christmas, I think I set a personal best and so to keep the marriage alive and well, I have to slow things down, lol.
BF? Sorry, not familiar with that acronym. But that's probably wise. They'll restock with lower end models and have decent Flash Friday sales throughout the year. I saw on their Facebook page that @joshnet admitted to buying SFF Optiplex desktops when they go on sale. I wonder if he bought any more this time? ;)

Cheers,
Doug
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I did not! Although I was tempted to. I have no spares currently. My last spare I put at my office for an offsite backup server (fiber at home, fiber there, basically LAN so 300Mbps symmetrical).
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joshnet wrote: I did not! Although I was tempted to. I have no spares currently. My last spare I put at my office for an offsite backup server (fiber at home, fiber there, basically LAN so 300Mbps symmetrical).
Nice! They seem like they last a long time. Solid computers. I'll probably buy one in the spring.

Cheers,
Doug
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BF = Black Friday
Basil: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically -?

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