Choosing a laptop is incredibly hard in 2023 as the options are almost endless with the growing range of refurbished laptops making options even broader. If you want to buy a laptop and are faced with a wide range of offers, both new and used, your final decision should be based on a mixture of hands-on tests and online product reviews.
"The trend is towards ever thinner, flatter notebooks, which often have very good basic equipment," says technology journalist Sven Schulz.
For most prospective buyers, it is hard to tell at first glance how good a new device actually is. The many logos on the packaging are usually not very informative.
Thus it pays to get reading online before you take any decision. "If you want to buy a new, inexpensive notebook, you should analyze tests beforehand and make a preliminary selection," advises Schulz. It also makes sense to examine the device in advance at the store, if possible.
For cheaper laptops, manufacturers save on the display, which is often noticeable in the picture quality. With many laptops, it is also often not possible to upgrade later because components are soldered in place or device cases are difficult or impossible to open.
That is when higher-quality notebooks can be the better choice. "If you invest more money, you can use a notebook for longer," Schulz says.
"Another option is to buy a laptop where the RAM can be upgraded or a larger SSD can be retrofitted," he adds. However, that is unfortunately less and less the case with thin models.
Those who do not want to spend much more than $200 to $400 should consider buying a used device, says technology journalist Matthias Wellendorf.
"If the notebook budget is not the biggest, looking at used devices is definitely worthwhile," he advises.
"Professional dealers buy up used notebooks in large quantities and offer them as ‘refurbished’ with a one-year warranty after reconditioning," explains Wellendorf. One good source of high quality, second-hand laptops is those that were leased to businesses.
Used models are especially worthwhile when the purchase price is significantly lower than that of a new comparable device, says Sven Schulz.
However, if you are on a budget and still want the most up-to-date components you should be looking at new inexpensive devices.
"New fans are quieter, plus the operating system is up-to-date and the display definitely has no scratches," says Wellendorf. The battery will also be new. But for a low price you will not get as much RAM or a high performance processor.
In the case of cheap new laptops, "the working memory is usually only 4GB and often the cheaper and slower eMMC modules are installed instead of SSDs," says Wellendorf.
So, in the end, it very much depends on your own computing needs as to whether a more or less inexpensive new device or a used notebook is the better choice.
"If you only want to do a bit of browsing and writing, a used notebook can be suitable," says Wellendorf.
However, if you want to use complex graphics programs or play games, you should only invest in a particularly high-quality second-hand laptop or else opt for a new device.
