New vs Used?

[FockeSterben]

Long story short, I am upcoming Univeristy student and I am looking for a laptop mainly for general purpose but also low-level video editing/ 3d modeling.
I do most of my stuff at home with Workstation PC but laptop could serve as a backbone incase something has to be done while I dont have access to home pc.

My budget sits around 500$ 

From Used store I found a Lenovo Thinkpad with:
I7 4800HQ
16GB Ram
Nvidia Quatro KM1100M
180GB SSD
3K Dispaly 

+ new battery
Condition ~ good as new/good

And from new ones I can choose from ~5 manufacturers (All hardware usually between the same)

I5-8250U/I5-1035G1
8GB Ram
Intel HD xxx/Nvidia MX250 -
250/500GB
Full HD Display.

A lot of people recommended to buy Thinkpad because its a laptop that doesnt fear to take a hit or being tossed in a bag. And that a real point for me because I would be carrying it arround with me in a schoolbag.
+ My friends previous laptop just died because  case was so weak that at one point he over bent his motherboard.
On the other side I do have somewhat lowered trust about used stuff. Thankfully It is bought through a reseller so they do give me 1 year guarantee. But still, I have some doubts about it.

What would community recommend?
 

[TomvanWijnen]

I would almost always recommend buying used, especially if you're looking for something cheaper, like a 500 dollar laptop.

[jjbeebe]

A disclaimer: Everything depends on what resolution you plan to edit, the amount of effects,  visuals, Software, operating system and other aspects when editing and working with 3D models.

 

The $500 price tag is usually good for just school work, browsing the internet, and watching videos.Regarding 3D modeling, it depends on the software you use along with your computer spec and the overall goal.  If you want your 3D models to look like a sketch or want to learn, then I would say they are ok..I would not plan on using either for creating heavy 3D animations etc… in blender or similar software.

 

I predict you will have slow render times and editing won’t be super smooth. I would recommend the computer in this link instead https://www.newegg.com/dell-precision-m6800/p/36B-0006-00012.  It is a little over $500, but it has plenty of storage (one for OS and the other for projects) and is kind of in the same ballpark as the computers you mentioned.

[FockeSterben]

1 hour ago, jjbeebe said:

A disclaimer: Everything depends on what resolution you plan to edit, the amount of effects,  visuals, Software, operating system and other aspects when editing and working with 3D models.

 

The $500 price tag is usually good for just school work, browsing the internet, and watching videos.Regarding 3D modeling, it depends on the software you use along with your computer spec and the overall goal.  If you want your 3D models to look like a sketch or want to learn, then I would say they are ok..I would not plan on using either for creating heavy 3D animations etc… in blender or similar software.

 

I predict you will have slow render times and editing won’t be super smooth. I would recommend the computer in this link instead https://www.newegg.com/dell-precision-m6800/p/36B-0006-00012.  It is a little over $500, but it has plenty of storage (one for OS and the other for projects) and is kind of in the same ballpark as the computers you mentioned.

Well, I meant just Blender stuff and etc. Rendering times arent that important

Edit: And probably Full HD, 

[genexis_x]

21 hours ago, FockeSterben said:

My budget sits around 500$

For your usage and budget, used options aren't bad