Buying a used laptop, what to look for

[JoaoPRSousa]

Hi guys

 

This week I'm going to check a used laptop that I'm gonna be buying for my brother.

What do you guys recommend me to do with it, like, programs to use (stress tests?) ? Other than the usual physical check, obviously.

So far, the things I can think of are:

• Check if every single key on the keyboard works
• Check if there are any weird noises coming from the HDD and fan
• Dead or stuck pixels

Should I take a USB stick with me with some programs like CrystalDiskInfo and AIDA64, is it just not worth the hassle?

 

Thanks in advance

 

[Klemmbrett]

I would first of check if i could still get new battery from manufacturer. Then ofc if everything works maybe you can get some better price if for example one usb port does not work or the integrated camera and or microphone.  Test all I/O. Check if OS is included (license key)

[Ashleyyyy]

do some stuff on it, and load core temp on a usb stick. if it gets crazy hot just doing stuff, it's probably full of dust.

that would mean that it was never cleaned out, and depending on the age of the machine, got really hot for a long time, which would make it more likely to break.

 

check if Windows is activated, if all the i/o (especially headphone jack) works. check for scratched on the display, and dents in the chassis if it's mate of aluminum. that would give you a good indication of how it was handled.

 

running a disk benchmark is also a good idea.

 

what model will you be buying?

[JoaoPRSousa]

14 minutes ago, Klemmbrett said:

I would first of check if i could still get new battery from manufacturer. Then ofc if everything works maybe you can get some better price if for example one usb port does not work or the integrated camera and or microphone.  Test all I/O. Check if OS is included (license key)

 

Forgot to add the I/O to the list...

Batteries, I can buy new ones.

Integrated camera and mic aren't really that important, but I'll check those.

OS check is a must as well. Thanks

 

4 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

do some stuff on it, and load core temp on a usb stick. if it gets crazy hot just doing stuff, it's probably full of dust.

that would mean that it was never cleaned out, and depending on the age of the machine, got really hot for a long time, which would make it more likely to break.

 

check if Windows is activated, if all the i/o (especially headphone jack) works. check for scratched on the display, and dents in the chassis if it's mate of aluminum. that would give you a good indication of how it was handled.

 

running a disk benchmark is also a good idea.

 

what model will you be buying?

 

If it does get really hot (I can clean it, no problem), I have something to get the price down, even tho it already is pretty darn low. 350€

 

Will do. It is made of aluminum, and, if the photos are recent, I don't think it has any. Anyway, when I get to inspect it, I'll check that out.

 

It's a Toshiba P50-B-10V. Quad core i7 4710hq, 1080p display, 1TB HDD + 128GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and an R9 M265X. For 350€ it's a steal, considering you can only get something this decent if you're going to spend 1000€+ on a new laptop.

[ProjectBox153]

52 minutes ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

 

It's a Toshiba P50-B-10V. Quad core i7 4710hq, 1080p display, 1TB HDD + 128GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and an R9 M265X. For 350€ it's a steal, considering you can only get something this decent if you're going to spend 1000€+ on a new laptop.

Considering it has an SSD, definitely look at the total reads and writes of it when checking it out. 

[kelvinhall05]

Replace the thermal paste, run Memtest, and download Crystal Disk Info. Also, run some stress tests on a clean install of Windows to see if it's stable.