Buying a Refurbished Dell Laptop

By Max Bellamy

Tags:notebook computers,Buying a Refurbished Dell Laptop notebook computers,notebook computers

Dell offers a full line of refurbished laptops on their website, dell.com. Look for "Outlet Refurbished Laptops." There you will find a full range of popular models that run just as reliably as a new machine - for hundreds of dollars less than you would pay for new versions. This is because Dell refurbished laptops are inspected for "good-as-new" quality. The only differences are the red label on the bottom of the unit and a lower price.

Lenovo ThinkPad L420 Review

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The L-series ThinkPad is an eco-friendly business notebook made from post-consumer recycled content. Read our review to see if the 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad L420 measures up to the ThinkPad standards for durability and performance.

Our Lenovo ThinkPad L420 review unit has the following specifications:

• 14-inch 720p (1366x768) anti-glare display with LED backlighting
• Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
• Intel "Sandy Bridge" Core i5-2520M dual-core processor (2.5~3.2GHz Turbo Boost, 3MB cache, 35W TDP)
• Intel HM65 chipset
• Integrated Intel HD graphics
• 4GB DDR3-1333 RAM (1x 4GB, supports up to 8GB - 2x4GB)
• 320GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drive (ST9320423AS)
• Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 wireless network adapter
• Integrated Bluetooth 3.0 wireless
• Integrated 720p webcam
• DVD burner (MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ8A0A)
• Integrated biometric fingerprint reader
• 6-cell li-ion battery (10.8V, 5.2Ah, 57Wh)
• Weight: 5.1 lbs.
• Dimensions: 13.54 x 9.17 x 1.26~1.42 inches
• 1-year limited warranty
• MSRP: $969

Our review unit has numerous options which bring the price up substantially from its base of $599. The upgrades include Windows 7 Professional over Windows 7 Home Premium; the Intel Core i5 processor from the base i3; double the RAM (4GB vs. 2GB); a higher-capacity hard drive (320GB vs. 250GB); Bluetooth wireless; a 720p webcam; finally, an upgraded Intel wireless card. The final price of $969 as of writing is not exactly a bargain, especially considering the notebook only comes with a one-year warranty.

Toshiba Satellite A25-S279

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In an age where sleek Pentium-M notebooks are starting to dominate the scene, Toshiba's Satellite A25 stands out as an anachronism. Though recently released, it is a clunky dinosaur that's heavy and slow, and it lacks some of the basics needed for mobile survival.

At 13.4 by 11.6 inches, the tapered A25-S279 has flowing lines, with no sharp edges. It measures 2.2 inches at the back and narrows to 1.8 inches in the front. It weighs in at 7.9 pounds, but with its huge AC adapter, it has a travel weight of 9.2 pounds, at least 1 pound heavier than IBM's ThinkPad R50 and Fujitsu's LifeBook N

Toshiba Satellite A35 Review

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Tags:notebook computers,Toshiba Satellite A35 Review Review Review notebook computers,

With its 2.3-GHz Pentium 4 processor, big 15-inch screen, roomy keyboard, and oversize touchpad, the Toshiba Satellite A35 would seem to have the bona fides of a powerful desktop replacement. But a close look at the details explains why the $1349 A35 is part of Toshiba's value line.

Toshiba Satellite M30 Series Review

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A stylish thin-and-light, Toshiba's Satellite M30 series is new from top to bottom. One of the best-looking laptops around, the consumer-oriented M30 has a marvelous 15.4-inch wide-screen display, a great keyboard, superior sound, and solid battery life. But it falls short in a few areas. Performance drags when running on batteries, the only wireless option is 802.11b, and during our tests, the unit ran a bit hot. Depending on your needs, you may be willing to overlook these shortcomings, but other thin-and-lights offer fewer compromises.

Toshiba Portege M205-S809 Review

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The Portégé M205-S809 successfully combines the performance of a notebook with the functionality of a tablet, but it's expensive and fails to outpace other convertible tablets.

Toshiba Portege M205-S809

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The Portege M205-S809 successfully combines the performance of a notebook with the functionality of a tablet, but it's expensive and fails to outpace other convertible tablets.

Toshiba M30 Review

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Toshiba is well-known for producing stellar multimedia notebooks. The Satellite M30 is noticeably smaller than some other members of the Satellite range, and is more suited to all-round computing than raw multimedia playback.

Toshiba Portege M200 Review

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Shopping for a tablet is a little like packing for an extended camping trip: every ounce of creature comfort you throw in the bag weighs on your performance and endurance. The Toshiba Portege M200 offers a nice balance of features that lets it successfully walk the line between ultraportable notebook and tablet PC, and mobile technology, like hiking, is all about balance. The Toshiba Portege M200 lacks an internal optical drive, but you can also buy the laptop bundled with a USB DVD/CD-RW combo drive, albeit under a different model number, the M205-S809. Toshiba's convertible notebook can swivel into a tablet, and it includes support for wireless, Ethernet, and dial-up networking. It also has one VGA and two USB ports, as well as a PC Card and an SD card slot. Although the Toshiba Portege M200 is more expensive than Fujitsu's LifeBook T3000, we think it's worth it. 

Toshiba Satellite Pro A10 Review

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Keep your life and business on track with Toshiba's entry-level professional notebooks. The Satellite Pro A10 is the perfect solution for small-to-medium businesses, where these immensely versatile, great-value notebooks in a sleek silver-black design will bring added power, mobility and performance to everyday task 

Toshiba Satellite M35-S359 Review

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Think of the Satellite M35-S359 as a big-screen notebook lite. If monster multimedia notebooks such as the Pavilion Zd7000 seem like overkill, look no further: The black-and-silver M35-S359 weighs just 6.1 pounds and has a wide 15.3-inch screen, great-sounding corner-mounted stereo Harman/Kardon speakers, and a fixed combination drive on the right side for burning data or music CDs. A volume-control thumbwheel and CD buttons on the front let you play tunes with ease. For just $1499, it's a great value.

Toshiba Portege R100 Review

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Although desktop replacement notebooks are becoming more powerful by the day, there is still a market for something very small and very light. With the Centrino/Pentium M platform, it’s easier to make an ultra-portable notebook than it has ever been and Toshiba has capitalised on this with the Portégé R100. With this model Toshiba has really gone the extra mile to offer the lightest, slimmest and most portable machine ever. 

Toshiba Satellite P15-S420 Review

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The first thing you'll notice about the Toshiba Satellite P15-S420 is that it's a great-looking machine. Since the last release in the Satellite P15 Series, Toshiba has upgraded its processor to a 3.0-GHz desktop Pentium 4 and added more storage (80GB). Unfortunately, the company did not upgrade the notebook's graphics solution—the lackluster (by current standards) nVidia GeForce FX Go5100.