would you buy a refurb laptop from Argos?

[MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay]

DD1 has killed yet another laptop:( She's at uni and needs one asap, but I don't have lots of money to spend.I have noticed (via ebay) that I could get a dell or Toshiba refurb for about £225-250. (windows 7..she doesn't want 8)

Any experience or opinions?

Her current dead one is under Currys 'fix it' scheme..but they replaced the motherboard 2 weeks ago and it is now freezing every 2 mins:( I'm going to take it back again, but meantime need a back up!

I think a refurb Tosh at that price should be considered. It's below the cost of s/h laptop from somewhere like CashGenerator/ CashConverters and assuming it has 12 months warranty would be covered far better (they typically offer 60 or 90 days and there's no knowing from a s/h shop who has been using it or whether everything works 100%).

Thanks Network Guy:) Think I'll go for the Toshiba then!!

Another suggestion might be to have a look at the cheaper laptops at John Lewis.
Here's one for £299.
www.johnlewis.com/compaq-cq58-302sa-laptop-amd-dual-core-1-4ghz-4gb-ram-500gb-15-6-black/p231836612

The big upside of buying from them is John Lewis will give you an 2 year warranty on any computer they sell, and they have a good track record of not mucking you about if you have any problems, unlike Curry's.

Bad news is that it's all Windows 8 on their laptops, but I guess we've all got to get used to it at some time!

we've all got to get used to it

Don't you believe it.... I've still got several systems running XP and told my clients a few years ago that if they went to Windows 7 they were on their own :)

I gave my first Windows 7 laptop to my BiL in 2010 and have shifted some systems to Linux and have several (old) iMacs too. My next mobile is more likely to be running the Firefox OS than Windows 8 :)

Sure, customer choice amongst platforms is really important for all computing devices, and people should be encouraged exercise their freedom of choice.

My point on Windows 8 was that I think the interests of a mainstream consumer looking to buy an entry level pc laptop are best served by using current generation hardware and software. That means buying a new laptop pre-installed with Windows 8.

For more sophisticated users who are comfortable maintaining a legacy o/s such as XP, or an alternative o/s such as Lunix, doing so could be a very suitable decision for that type of user.

Not sure about just getting something new and assuming it will be the best option for a general consumer...

Buying new may mean mediocre support if you happen on a problem with some website you're trying to use (eg that of your bank) if they don't have enough support staff with familiarity with the newer machines and 'workarounds' to get past various hurdles.

I really don't know how well users of Vista were supported given many businesses avoided it at all cost, keeping on using Win XP for years.

A business contact down in Newport had someone from the London office come down, who was meant to have installed Sage accounts, but actually upgraded the PC to Windows 8.

As the chap was away working in Barcelona, he didn't know until his return, and it's really very different from previous versions of Windows, and quite awkward when used without a touchscreen.

I know there's the "disliking any change" problem, but this was significantly awkward for the chap (he's over 70, and been familiar with XP, and really didn't want any change!)...

What did my client want ? Immediate assistance just so he could do the regular things like get into his e-mail and then using spreadsheets, etc. I think he was most concerned about accessing files (and the fact things from his desktop had vanished). The 'specialist' from London might have his P45 by now, as my client is one of the directors of the firm!