It’s actually a decent little machine. The processor is a bit dated and the graphics card is definitely struggling by today's standards, but for what you need to do, it'll get the job done. The reason it's such a steal is that it's part of the IBM ReThink program—basically refurbished. That means it was likely sent back for repairs under warranty, fixed up, and put back on the market. It isn't "brand new," it's more like pre-owned. It works fine, but since it isn't fresh out of the box, you only get a 12-month warranty.
The price makes it a solid opportunity, but at the end of the day, it's your call.
If you’re only printing a few pages a month, just hit up a FedEx Office 😬 At that volume, you’ll end up spending more on ink just to keep the nozzles from clogging—which usually ends with you tossing the whole machine in the trash—than you actually will on useful prints. In the long run, any other option is just burning money compared to those few cents per page 🤷
Plus, at a print shop, you don't even have to lug around a thumb drive. You can just email them the files and swing by to pick them up whenever it fits your schedule...
Look for a cheap, compact printer with a scanner that runs on budget replacement cartridges that won't dry up and kill the unit... Not financial advice, but "it is what it is..." 😬
Chris Mitchell4 said:No, I'm just confused because for those two models, there's no mention of Wi-Fi connectivity or Android support, which seems weird to me. I absolutely need that kind of connection.
There’s nothing to be confused about—those are just the bottom-of-the-barrel budget models. If it isn't listed in the specs, it doesn't exist.
I’m not even going to waste my breath trying to figure out what he meant by that "in/out" nonsense—it's not worth the headspace. Honestly, just stay away from HP if you can help it; their warranty is pathetic, lasting only a single year. Looking at the options over at Best Buy, the Dell Inspiron stands out. It’s got a solid configuration tailored to you (decent processor, really good integrated graphics), plus it comes with a three-year warranty and actually sits in a higher class than those other models listed. If you're watching your budget, maybe consider bumping up the memory a bit. It isn't expensive these days, and it'll give you a nice performance boost since more RAM gets allocated to the graphics and lets you juggle more tasks without everything slowing down. But hey, you can always do that later if you feel the need...
When you're hunting for a laptop (or anything else, really), you should be checking out sites like Google Shopping. There are way more deals and the filters actually work:
That way you can track down the best price from a reliable seller. If you aren't sure about someone, just ask us here 😬. For example, regarding that Dell 5558 in the link above:
Rembrandt is trying to say, even if he's struggling to put it into words, that HP makes quality printers. And they do. The whole business model for printer manufacturers is to sell you cheap hardware—way cheaper than what it actually costs to develop the printing tech and the ink—just so they can bleed you dry through consumables over time. Third-party ink makers throw a wrench in that math by providing competition, preventing them from choking us with insane markups. In response, manufacturers come up with all sorts of "compatibility" excuses and run campaigns claiming that only "original" ink works and anything else will wreck your machine. Honestly, some companies even make it a condition that if you want to sell their printers, you aren't allowed to carry third-party ink. I don't know if that's still the case, but that’s how it used to be at Staples.
HP is the leader when it comes to tricks to force us back to original ink, making it a pain to find compatible alternatives. That’s their whole genius plan. They sell a solid, non-cheap printer along with their overpriced ink. A total win-win. Real geniuses. Since they're industry pioneers with deep roots in massive corporations and government agencies that buy hundreds or thousands of units at a time (not just here in the US, but pretty much everywhere), they can afford this strategy. For those big clients, it's easier to just have an open standing order for ink from one reliable source. Price isn't really the deciding factor for them. Meanwhile, small-time individual buyers usually skip HP because the operating costs end up being way too high—though, like I said, those big players couldn't care less about the cost; they can afford it.
It performs well and has some "advanced" features. As far as ink goes, from what I hear, you can use third-party replacements without any issues. I've used OrInk before; they're easy to find and cheap.
The most important thing is to check which reliable, budget-friendly inks are available at the stores near you... because any ink is going to be expensive if you're ordering them one by one and paying shipping every time. So, pick your printer based on that. Most of them have similar specs; the real difference is just the cost of running it (paper + ink).
With inkjets, you have to watch out so the ink doesn't sit in there too long without being used. If that happens, the print heads clog up, which usually means tossing the whole unit in the trash. 😬 Also, when you get a printer, you only get a "starter" amount of ink—enough for maybe 10-20 pages—so it's smart to just buy a full set of ink right away.
Ask if the diagnostic is free. Tell them you’ll only pull the trigger on the repair if the quote makes sense and it's actually worth fixing. That way, you get a ballpark figure without signing your life away. 🤷
Just a heads-up, though—labor isn't free. I'd guess an hour of service is probably around 100-$50 bucks. It's not like you can just snap a laptop back together in an hour if they have to gut the whole thing just to reach the cooling system. Then you've got parts, cleaning, thermal paste...
Let's be real: you aren't walking away from this for less than 200-$100... 🤷 and anything higher than that feels like a rip-off (assuming it's just a fan issue, for example). If the heat pipes have leaked and the entire cooling assembly needs replacing, you're looking at a much bigger hit. But hey, that's all just guesswork until someone actually looks under the hood...
EDIT:
By the way, I think you can check if your General Electric laptop is still under warranty by plugging the serial number into their official US website...
Go laser. The Xerox 3320 is one of those rare high-end printers you can actually track down here in the States. You might find Brother or OKI stuff occasionally, but their local presence has been pretty much non-existent for years. Most other brands just skip over us because we're too small to care about; they'll send cheap all-in-ones, but nobody's interested in moving a few serious enterprise printers a year. Unfortunately, that’s just how things work in this market. It’s a low-budget, tech-lagging landscape where companies don't see the ROI in investing.
This Xerox handles a monthly volume of 80K pages. One large toner (rated for 10K pages) costs about $333, which puts the cost at roughly $0.03 per page—honestly, that's a solid deal. If you go with compatible toners, it gets even cheaper. It’s got plenty of features, it's high quality, and it's built like a tank. If it fits your budget, grab it.
If for some reason that doesn't work for you, look into OKI or Brother instead. For example, maybe a newer Brother HL-L5100DN. Just a heads up though, you'll actually have to call their reps to see if they even have any in stock...
Nah. That processor isn't up to the task, and the integrated graphics? Forget about it. They aren't meant for actual gaming, just the bare essentials...
Basically, you need to prioritize getting the strongest graphics card possible within your budget. If the GPU is solid, the rest of the components usually fall into place. Or, just go read the megathread for laptop buyers and actually answer some of the questions there. If you do that, we can actually help you find the best bang for your buck...
It should work fine. Just try registering it; if his serial number goes through, you've got a warranty you can claim directly with Seagate BarraCuda support if things go south.
Everything is heading that way; it’s just a matter of time. Once the power draw for desktop components drops enough to be handled by a little "power brick" like you see on laptops, we'll finally be there.
You’ve already got some pretty decent SFX power supplies out there, like this Silverstone model, and low profile CPU coolers are a thing now. All we're waiting for is someone to get smart and rotate the GPU PCIe connector 90 degrees... 😬 we're getting close...
Look, I’m a secret IBM fan, and while that Intel Core i7 6700HQ has 8 virtual cores compared to the "mere" 4 physical ones on the Intel Core i5 6300HQ, I just can't justify the massive price gap when you look at something like this Dell:
It's a killer configuration with great specs and high build quality (standard for IBM, really). It doesn't come with an SSD out of the box, but you can easily upgrade it. I haven't found the exact specs for the Ford model yet to confirm if there's a free M.2 slot for an easy install—most 551 series models have one, which makes upgrading seamless (though you'll have to crack it open at an authorized service center to keep the warranty intact). Besides, SSD prices have tanked; you can pick up a decent SSD with a 5-year warranty for around $60.
The options range from basic setups all the way up to a top-tier 256 GB model with a 5-year warranty, though that one's pricier:
If there isn't a dedicated connector, you can always swap out the DVD drive—which nobody uses anymore anyway—for a caddy adapter to fit any standard SSD:
By the way, regarding the weight—it's a bit of a trade-off against the heavy-hitting hardware, specifically the GPU with its solid cooling, the rugged build, and the dual storage setup. You don't get everything in one package.😬
It wasn't an error. It clearly stated there were two used ones available for $550–$600. Now they’re gone because someone actually bought them... 🤷
Anyway, if you're looking to game, hunt for laptops with a GTX950m or GTX960m. Once you find those GPUs, everything else in the build is usually decent enough, though you should probably make sure it has at least 8GB of RAM—or at least ensure you can upgrade it later.
There are issues with Apple laptops, and there’s already a thread about it here, but it mostly applies to those budget models in the X and eventually the K series. The higher-end, pricier ones are fine. It’s the same story with any brand. If you're looking at Apple: the P, N, and GL lines are where you'll run into the fewest headaches. The Dell is basically just an upgrade over the K series.
With HP, I’d say the V3s are the best bet, followed by the F series, while the E series is definitely the bottom of the barrel. Then again, it all comes down to whether you just get lucky or not...
Regarding gaming, like I mentioned, neither the GeForce GT 210 nor the GeForce GT 730 are anything special, especially if you're trying to play at 1080p. However, since CS:GO is an older title, both cards can handle it without much trouble (according to Notebookcheck's data):
It’s an excellent laptop—definitely a step up from the standard Dell lineup. Most importantly, it packs a solid GTX 960, so you can actually get some decent gaming done. Plus, it comes with an SSD 👍
That’s what happens when you don't bother reading the stickied thread meant for everyone buying a laptop. It clearly states that if you actually want some helpful advice 😬, you need to specify what you're planning to use the machine for in the first place.
Look, there is a difference between the NVIDIA GeForce GT 940M and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 920M found in the Apple product, but it's so marginal it's barely worth mentioning. And if you were thinking about gaming? Forget about it. Trying to play anything on an NVIDIA GeForce GT 940M at 1080p is a joke—you’d need at least a GTX card just to scrape by.
On the flip side, with this Apple product, you're getting a great chassis, a fingerprint scanner, incredible battery life, and a three-year warranty covering both the laptop and the battery. Plus, it's Apple's own warranty—which includes a promotion for the first year.
At the end of the day, it's all about personal preference and deciding what matters more to you...
Basically, there isn't a massive gap between them. Sure, the i5 packs more punch than the i3, but since you haven't actually specified what you're planning to do with it, it doesn't really matter. Just pick whichever one looks better to you...