Can a Refurbished Computer Really Do the Job?

By: Nancy P. Goodman

Is a Refurbished Computer Able to Do a Good Job for You?

I believe a refurbished computer can do a good job for you, if you have limited money to spend.

Is a refurbished computer able to do a good job for you? Yes, I do believe so.

Can a refurbished computer really do the job? Having been a connoisseur, of sorts, of many items which have been ‘recycled, reused, and refurbished’, I feel especially well-qualified to answer that question. If the refurbisher knows what he is doing, be it the original computer company or be it the lone man in a solitary repair shop of his own, then the answer is a resounding YES.

After having owned many different computers and many different brands of computers over the years, some new, some used, some ‘built from scratch’ and some refurbished, then I can actually say to you that I do not see enough difference in the fact of whether new or used to matter at all.

What does matter is the parts in the computing machine, but as to whether new or used, as long as it works, hey, it works! And almost everything in the computer parts-wise, can now be replaced easily and cheaply through online stores.

Two of the main, most functional parts that seem to ‘go out’ or ‘quit working’ on a computer, that I have seen, are the video card or the hard drive. Sometimes the video card is ‘built-in’ to the motherboard, so that is an easy thing to buy a new video card, and install it separately. (First having to ‘disable’ the ‘built-in’ or ‘onboard’ video card.)

And the hard drive, with all of your valuable data on it, well, it seems it can just as quickly ‘fry’ or ‘burn’ as an exploding 4th of July rocket, (without even leaving behind a ‘trail of smoke’). Hard drives can be easily installed to replace one that went out, but the replacement of all that ‘never-backed-up data’ is a lot harder to replace.

So if a refurbished computer is available at a much lesser price than a new one, would I buy it first? Yes. I probably would just because money is tight and times are hard.

Would I recommend the same choice to a friend or relative who is also short on cash? Yes. I would. New is fine and dandy if you are okay on the money, but refurbished is great and worth it, if you need to scale back on your spending.

Now my own computer is giving me fits so I’m shopping for a new one. I found one on Amazon for under $100 so I’m ordering it and will report on how I like it soon after I get it.