[TIPS]Used laptop inspection

[WashMachine]

I've been searching on google on this topic but then i decided to ask enthusiast over here. Can you guys help me inspect a used laptop before purchase ? 

[Any software that i can run on it ps. i have the option to check it without the owners presence] 

It could be windows built in or 3rd party

I want to compile a to-do list so i don't forget anything. 

 

 

Thanks everyone that helped me out now i will compile a list of my research i hope it will help other people in future.

 

After you see a laptop online that you might consider buying used. Do e research on the web

You can watch/read reviews from trusted media you follow- but i would bet on community forum just like this one

But generally a review would give you an idea how on things like how keyboard should feel how the screen should look

how long battery lasts how hot the laptop gets during use etc. 

 

Things you will need. 

1 USB stick drive [Check last part for 3rd party free software you will use]

2 The charger for the laptop. [You want the laptop to be plugged in for some tasks like hammering it with Cinebench/ Unigine/ etc]

 

Step 1 Exterior check. 

Make sure the exterior looks good

- no cracks on plastic surfaces

-no bend metal surfaces

-no missing screws

 

Step 2 Turn on the laptop.

-screen. turn it up to it's max brightness [We're looking for stuck pixels, discoloration or hue] 

-It's a good idea to open google and browse for solid color images. Black/White/Red/Green/Blue/ 

- Check the hinges [Laptop is ON] make sure hinges feel good and no wobble or anything like that

-Move the screen back and forward few times to check for any flickering or discoloration. But any strange behavior is a red flag

-Play some music/ listen for windows notification sounds playing through the laptops speakers to make sure they work.

-Open notepad try every single key on the keyboard.

-No separate testing for trackpad is needed since you are going to get a good feel for it while doing other tasks mentioned here.

-Check USB ports.

-Make sure charger works and charges the laptop

-Turn on wifi and bluetooth make sure you can discover devices [Use your smartphone to create a wifi hopstop] or connect using bluetooth

Step 3 software and windows built-in tools

-First thing i would do is open view reliability history.  Click start and search for " view reliability history" 

That will open a timeline with different failures over time go back as much as you want but click every error sign and read the description 

Here we are looking for hardware related issues like devices stopped working or critical errors that caused restart of the laptop.

 

-Click start then type "run" in the popup type "perfmon /report" Wait for a minute and that will get you a small report for the current status of devices/software etc. again you don't want to see any hardware related problems here. 

 

-Now it's time for 3rd party software 

Make sure you are monitoring temperatures on main components. 

Note:Some small form factor laptops are designed to throttle under heavy load and can reach high temperatures like 90 95C but it should settle to a lower temp in a short while

Here the reviews and research you did earlier about the exact model comes in handy you know what to expect. 

 

@LukeSavenije 

 

• 3dmark
• userbenchmark
• aida64
• unigine valley/superposition/heaven
• gpu-z and cpu-z

 

meenmeen1103

Even if it isn't a gaming machine, a gpu stress test still proves useful if only just to verify gpu temps especially if not an igpu. So unigine heaven/valley for gpu, cinebench r15 for cpu, crystaldiskinfo & crystaldiskmark for drive age/use and performance are what i'd start with (apart from obvious physical inspection), and you can step up to more demanding stuff like aida64/prime95 and firestrike if you wish.

 

Pyramiden

Ask the seller to run Battery Eater before you get there to have a look at the status of the battery,
And don't forget to run a RAM test.

 

Memtest86 is great. 

 

 

 

[LukeSavenije]

I assume a gaming laptop?

I would do the following

 

• 3dmark
• userbenchmark
• aida64
• unigine valley/superposition/heaven
• gpu-z and cpu-z

[myselfolli]

Also obviously look for physical damage on the machine, maybe pop it open if you can?

[WashMachine]

9 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

I assume a gaming laptop?

I would do the following

 

• 3dmark
• userbenchmark
• aida64
• unigine valley/superposition/heaven
• gpu-z and cpu-z

No not a gaming laptop. I use a tower to play games

[myselfolli]

3 minutes ago, WashMachine said:

No not a gaming laptop. I use a tower to play games

Well what IS it for then? Don't just tell us what you won't do with it

[WashMachine]

3 minutes ago, myselfolli said:

Well what IS it for then? Don't just tell us what you won't do with it

Well for everything else except gaming. Movies, photoshop, a lot of internet browsing(work) ms office, android stuido. 

[meenmeen1103]

Even if it isn't a gaming machine, a gpu stress test still proves useful if only just to verify gpu temps especially if not an igpu. So unigine heaven/valley for gpu, cinebench r15 for cpu, crystaldiskinfo & crystaldiskmark for drive age/use and performance are what i'd start with (apart from obvious physical inspection), and you can step up to more demanding stuff like aida64/prime95 and firestrike if you wish.

[WashMachine]

1 minute ago, meenmeen1103 said:

Even if it isn't a gaming machine, a gpu stress test still proves useful if only just to verify gpu temps especially if not an igpu. So unigine heaven/valley for gpu, cinebench r15 for cpu, crystaldiskinfo & crystaldiskmark for drive age/use and performance are what i'd start with (apart from obvious physical inspection), and you can step up to more demanding stuff like aida64/prime95 and firestrike if you wish.

I dont think i will have more than let's say 20 mins but ill try to get done as much as i can 

[Pyramiden]

Ask the seller to run Battery Eater before you get there to have a look at the status of the battery,
And don't forget to run a RAM test.

[WashMachine]

17 minutes ago, Pyramiden said:

Ask the seller to run Battery Eater before you get there to have a look at the status of the battery,
And don't forget to run a RAM test.

battery isnt a big concern for me i only use pc at home or at work. So can you suggest me a utility to test ram ? 

[Pyramiden]

Memtest86 is great. 

[WashMachine]

@Pyramiden @meenmeen1103 @myselfolli @LukeSavenije if you have any other tips or things you want me to add let me know please

[LukeSavenije]

1 minute ago, WashMachine said:

@Pyramiden @meenmeen1103 @myselfolli @LukeSavenije if you have any other tips or things you want me to add let me know please

Seems fine to me