So Dad Wants $700 for His Old Laptop

[mudbug]

....and I have no clue what it's worth, being a computer idiot and all.

OK, all you computer weenies, what specs do you need to know about to tell me whether I'm getting a good deal or not?

I know it has a CD burner and a wireless mouse and that it's a Dell.

He also sent me his old printer, but I haven't even opened that box yet.

 

[GB]

What type of Dell is it? It should say somewhere on it. Mine for instance is an Insperion 8600. How old is it? What operating system does it have (Windows XP for example). How much RAM? What speed is the processor? What size is the hard drive?

I am sure I am missing some things here, but that should get you started.

 

[jennyema]

How old is it?

 

[Maidrite]

If I was buying a Laptop Used for $700. I would expect P-4 3.2 GH at least, 512 MB Ram, Windows XP, DVD Burner, Setup for Wireless and Dial-up, Carrying Case, Power Supply, and No older than a 1 year max. And it should have a transferable warranty!

I bought this computer AMD XP3000 Barton Core,DVD Burner, 256MB, 56k Dial-up, 3 1/2 floppy Drive, and a 17 inch flat panel monitor for $75.00 and it was about 7 months old its a Northgate Innovations.
It had a virus the DVD Burner was Broke and I had to repair it. That took me about 3 hours.The DVD Burner was still under warranty so they replaced the DVD Burner free !

But Used Computers go down in price quicky. He probably paid $1100 or more for it new!
Check Ebay for the Model you have and see what they are bringing, That will tell you how you did.
But since it was your Dads I am sure he will give you a good deal !

 

[GB]

If I was buying a Laptop Used for $700. I would expect P-4 3.2 GH at least, 512 MB Ram, Windows XP, DVD Burner, Setup for Wireless and Dial-up, Carrying Case, Power Supply, and No older than a 1 year max. And it should have a transferable warranty!

I completely agree. Great advice Maidrite!

 

[marmalady]

You can almost buy a new puter for $700 these days; tough to wrangle with family members, though on prices. Where did he come up with the figure?

 

[mudbug]

OK, here's what it says under Properties on this thing:


XP operating system
2002
Service Pack 2

Ispiron 5160
Pentium CPU 3.06 GHz
1.83 GHz, 512 MB of RAM

HH says it can go wireless, and it comes with a wireless optical mouse

Don't know how old it is (knowing Dad, not too old - he usually upgrades when the next Best Thing goes on sale)
or if the warranty is still in effect.

I'm sure he paid more than $700 for it, but don't know how much more.

 

[Sandyj]

I want to buy a laptop for my mom....

She's going back to South Africa in about two months. My eldest daughter taught her how to do email last summer, and she's come along so well. She found the mouse the toughest. Recently, Granny has made forays into the web. I came home from work a couple of weeks ago and there she was, pleased as punch, to have found Sandra Dee's website, and, to boot, located a DVD of Bobby Darrin's last concert. (We had just seen Kevin Spacey's "Under the Sea" movie of Bobby Darrin's life, she loved it.) She'll be 75 tomorrow and has always been a really shy reserved person. The internet and email has been so good for her & I'm so proud of her!
She wants to keep up her skills.
I wouldn't be able to afford something fancy, but second hand might just do! Any recommendations (p.s., I'm not experienced at all with ebay).
-Sandyj

 

[Maidrite]

OK, here's what it says under Properties on this thing:


XP operating system
2002
Service Pack 2

Ispiron 5160
Pentium CPU 3.06 GHz
1.83 GHz, 512 MB of RAM

HH says it can go wireless, and it comes with a wireless optical mouse

Don't know how old it is (knowing Dad, not too old - he usually upgrades when the next Best Thing goes on sale)
or if the warranty is still in effect.

I'm sure he paid more than $700 for it, but don't know how much more.

I should check to make sure the warranty is still good and you maybe able to purchase an extended warranty.
The reason I push warranty with computers and mostly Laptops are they do tend to have problems and this is why I don't have one yet. Laptops are not nearly as updatable and have a Ruff live even with the best of us, and cost 2 as much for half as much.
I would say Mudbug for what you have explained it is a good buy as long as it is a P-4 and not a Celeron.


Sandyj = Go to www.Tigerdirect.com and look around, I would think about getting her a desktop you can buy one new Now for around $300 to $400 that would serve her well.

 

[GB]

Mudbug, I agree with Maidrite, but at the same time you might want to get on Dells website and see what they are currently offering on new laptops.

 

[mudbug]

Thanks, guys. Good idea on the website, geebs.