I refurbish computers as a hobby and as work, so i am very familiar with this. Plus i know where you can save money!
Craigslist is your friend, but i strongly advise you find a person who is knowledgeable with computers. This way it's likely that they wiped the drive and installed windows so you don't get any junk or old files on there. Personally i found a desktop for $300 being sold by a computer store, and i brought it on the spot. Or on ebay/amazon many businesses upgrade their desktops every 5 years when they are off lease selling them for really cheap. Used business class laptops and desktops can be had for 200-300$ CAD. And if anything was wrong with it while still in service it was likely repaired already.
OR if you know how to fix them, you can get laptops for the price of FREE! But you need to be very patient. You can wait in front of bottle depots or ask the manager if you can have one, ask friends and family, look in the free section of Craigslist, and put an ad up for old electronics and finally garage sales. I've probably saved my family 1K from this hobby. Plus a good portion of the computers i find are still good, just need a touch up. Recently i scored a dell e6420 for free, the hard drive and battery were bad. 160$ later and good as new. Only 6 years old and it's a great school laptop and a ton better then brand new 300$ laptops.
If you have the know how and need a computer, this is a excellent way to get one! I've only spent 500$ for both a desktop and a laptop i use everyday! Plus i later found work because i taught myself the skills!
February 02, 2018 at 11:13PM
