Are relatively used laptops still worth it?

[rukspuks]

It used to be that processor technology was quite sluggish to change between 2010 to 2018 but since the arrival of ryzen, even new low-end laptops are comparable to mid tear models from the 2-3 years ago.

 

I am thinking of buying a thin and light with at least 4 cores. The new ryzen CPUs especially the 4300U and the 5300U are offering a lot in $400 laptops like the HP ones.

 

If I try to get 1-2 gen old laptops, the best I can get it are the ones with 8th gen i5s and they would bill be around $250 to $300. Is it worth buying a 2-year-old laptop for that, keeping in mind that there will be some drawbacks for $100 to $150 difference:

1. battery condition

2. SSD usage

3. no warranty

4. internal issues?

5. lacking screen improvements?

 

I am going to explain #5 a bit here. I see this in phones all the time. A screen from 2015 with 1080p resolution will be far inferior to a 1080p screen from 2019. Is this in laptops too?

[SupaKomputa]

2 years laptop should still be good enough.

1.Battery  condition depend on the usage, but you can replace it if it's bad. Battery is relatively cheap and easy to swap.

2.SSD can hold up at least 5 years, you can check the ssd remainding life with crystaldiskinfo.

3. this is the only drawback

4. with normal usage, laptop internals can last at least 5 years. as long as the memory and hdd can be replaced it can last longer.

5. there's no screen improvement in cheap laptop, it has use the same tech for the past 5 years (even more), depends on the configuration, IPS is lovely, but usually they use VA / TN panel for these laptop.

 

54 minutes ago, rukspuks said:

A screen from 2015 with 1080p resolution will be far inferior to a 1080p screen from 2019.

like what? almost all cheap phones are still on 1080p 60hz, nothing change by alot.
You will see screen improvements in flagship phones, not mid-low end.

If 1080p 60hz is good enough, there's no need to change, like in laptop.

[rukspuks]

19 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

like what? almost all cheap phones are still on 1080p 60hz, nothing change by alot.
You will see screen improvements in flagship phones, not mid-low end.

If 1080p 60hz is good enough, there's no need to change, like in laptop.

Not all 1080p 60hz screens are made equal. I have two phones one from 2017 and one from 2020, both low end, but the screen difference is huge. The 2020 one is way clearer. I think there are changes in technology that arent listed in specs.

[SupaKomputa]

Yes, it depends on the panel itself, in phones they use IPS (most phones) and Amoled (mostly samsungs).

Amoled is way better than IPS, and it's making way to cheap phones lately.

So if youre comparing 2017 IPS and 2020 amoled, the difference is huge.

But if 2017 IPS to 2020 IPS, there are some improvements, but the difference not that obvious.
Phone technology is rapidly advancing, laptop not so much.

In laptop, lcd screen is devided in 3 tech, IPS (great), VA (good to great) and TN (relatively bad), there is OLED, but it's too expensive.

Cheaper laptop use VA or TN  to cut cost, IPS is rare but some use it.

So if you do get an IPS panel, i say for the last 2 years, it's still as good as today.