What should i look for?

Biz.Kid09 · 3 Nov 2009 at 16:52

Good afternoon,
I am going to have a look at a laptop tomorrow which i spotted on gumtree (is that fine or is it a compitetor). What do i need to look for regarding the hardware.
Is there any sort of tests i can put on a usb and run on the laptop to test it?? and make sure the gfx card and ram is all working fine,
I had thought of running Prime 95 but i think that it will take to long to test.

Thanks guys

Chiz · 3 Nov 2009 at 16:54

Well you're right really. You could be there for hours with Prime.

For ram you could try Maxmem, and use CPU-Z to make sure everything is running as it should.

there's probably a billion apps out there you could use but at least you have a starting point with these two.

Biz.Kid09 · 3 Nov 2009 at 17:01

Ok will they run off the usb? As i dont think he will want things installed on his laptop should i not buy it.

Chiz · 4 Nov 2009 at 09:34

I can't see why not. And you could always uninstall the apps once used.

Biz.Kid09 · 4 Nov 2009 at 15:30

Thanks so just put the .exe on the usb or .... Is there anything else i can use ??
Thanks

JonJ678 · 4 Nov 2009 at 15:40

Very dependent on how long you have with it. Full hard drive/memory diagnostics take ages.

I'd run prime on it and listen. If you hear the hard drive grinding (running hd tune will encourage this), consider it a lost cause and needing replacement. If the cooling system goes mental under load its full of dust, and you may have issues with the gpu/motherboard as a result of it overheating.

Run prime while on battery power to get some concept of what state the battery is in. Obvious things to look for are prime crashing, screen corruption, random reboots. If it doesn't turn on, assume the worst i.e. motherboard dead and the system is a write off.

I'd try to judge it in terms of initial cost + cost to repair/replace knackered bits. Good luck

Biz.Kid09 · 4 Nov 2009 at 15:59

Well the laptop was £225 and for some reason has been taken off GumTree now?
I am thinking it was a con as it seemed a bit to good to be true and probably didnt expect anyone wanting to come and see the laptop.
Thanks anyways guys and will keep the advice you gave for future.
Thanks again

JonJ678 · 4 Nov 2009 at 16:16

225 on a second hand laptop would need to be core two duo or above really. Don't worry too much about it disappearing, second hand laptops are common as muck. The trick is finding one which hasn't been badly neglected; I wouldn't personally go for GumTree as a reliable source for one.

Good luck in your search