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"Scared" about refurbished

D

diegobgr

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 22, 2009
340
0
Hi.

I have decided to get 27" refurbished i5.

I am a bit "scared" due to used machine.

It is possible to the keyboard or Magic Mouse to have scratches or something like? What about the screen? Yellow tint, scratches...

Is it worth the refurb.?
 
They look like new. The only difference is that it doesn't come in the standard box. Everything should look perfect, don't worry. They also carry the same warranty as new products.
 
I have bought a few refurbished Apple products and I never had a problem. I really think they were just unsold stock. MC
 
zedsdead said:
They look like new. The only difference is that it doesn't come in the standard box. Everything should look perfect, don't worry. They also carry the same warranty as new products.
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Some of them come in the retail box, especially now as they are selling old stock. Generally, refurbs are great. They have been individually tested and you have the full return policy etc so IF it comes with something you don't want, simply exchange it.
 
Hellhammer said:
Some of them come in the retail box, especially now as they are selling old stock. Generally, refurbs are great. They have been individually tested and you have the full return policy etc so IF it comes with something you don't want, simply exchange it.
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That's true, especially since the update just happened. Also, you may end up getting a RAM or Hard Drive upgrade as a surprise.
 
And what about 4850 vs. 5750?

It's my biggest doubt now.

Thanks for your replies.

I think that I will play at Full HD res. (1920x1080)
 
I just purchased a 27" i7 refurb and aside from the box it came in, it looks brand new. There are no scratches, dead pixels or really any blemishes of any kind. I have also heard that the refurbished products go through more rigorous testing than brand new models although I'm not sure how accurate that is.

Either way I would highly recommend the refurbished i5!
 
diegobgr said:
And what about 4850 vs. 5750?

It's my biggest doubt now.

Thanks for your replies.

I think that I will play at Full HD res. (1920x1080)
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5750 (which is really mobility 5850) is around 10-20% faster than mobility 4850, plus runs a bit cooler. You don't wanna play games that aren't at an lcd's native resolution.
 
Actually you should be more scared about a new product then a refurbished one. For whatever reason that machine was returned, because the person didn't like or it had a problem, they double check if the machine is working propely, so in a way, they analyse that machine more times than a new product, meaning the probability of something going wrong is reduced greatly.
 
Just a quick question i hope one of you can answer as someone touched the subject of the new cards and as you know i ordered a 27" i5 couple of days ago if i dont plan to game at all does the graphics card have a big input because i wasn't sure.
 
GeorgeN111 said:
Just a quick question i hope one of you can answer as someone touched the subject of the new cards and as you know i ordered a 27" i5 couple of days ago if i dont plan to game at all does the graphics card have a big input because i wasn't sure.
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Not really. Some professional software may benefit from the faster GPU but generally, no.
 
GeorgeN111 said:
Just a quick question i hope one of you can answer as someone touched the subject of the new cards and as you know i ordered a 27" i5 couple of days ago if i dont plan to game at all does the graphics card have a big input because i wasn't sure.
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Have a big input?

Don't worry about refurbished Apple products. I have a refurbished 27" iMac and it didn't look like it had ever even been touched when I got it.
 
Thomashw yes i do have an imput however i posted it in the OPs other thread which is also on the main page of the iMac forum telling him why i would go quad core with the details he posted and i also gave my thoughts on refurbs. Im sure the OP has already seen my post there so there is no need to post same info again.
 
Apple has the best refurbished items. Additionally, they really take good care of things under warranty.

You're good to go.
 
Seeing BareFeats benchmarks, in test wothout AA, both cards are really close.

But, using AA, 5750 really goes significantly faster than 4850. This is due to drivers, really?

If it's 10% only, I will go 4850.
 
DGaio said:
Actually you should be more scared about a new product then a refurbished one. For whatever reason that machine was returned, because the person didn't like or it had a problem, they double check if the machine is working propely, so in a way, they analyse that machine more times than a new product, meaning the probability of something going wrong is reduced greatly.
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This.

They basically go through quality control several times over opposed to new computers that only go through it once. Odds are you will end up getting a higher quality machine. :D

And occasionally you will get free upgrades. I remember when people would get free upgrade to 4gigs (before it was standard), higher capacity hard drives, or even outright wrong units with faster CPUs.

Of course those are very rare and you shouldn't expect them but just saying it's possible.
 
ntrigue said:
Apple has the best refurbished items. Additionally, they really take good care of things under warranty.

You're good to go.
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I've had to take my refurb MBP in 5 times now. I've had a logic board failure, several superdrive failures, battery failure and my Airport often had signal/connection issues, but they refused to replace it because it worked perfectly in store, I tried to explain it's only ever on wifi with passwords, but they wouldn't listen.

To the OP, if you get a working refurb, it's awesome, you save a lot of money, but if you get a lemon, you're going to be going to the store ALOT, I'd say just get a new one, yes it costs more, but you won't have to fight as hard to get issues fixed.
 
DGaio said:
Actually you should be more scared about a new product then a refurbished one. For whatever reason that machine was returned, because the person didn't like or it had a problem, they double check if the machine is working propely, so in a way, they analyse that machine more times than a new product, meaning the probability of something going wrong is reduced greatly.
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In theory this is true- but I had an iMac that never got the refurb lookover- it was all scratched up, was dirty, and DOA on arrival. Apple took care of me and I saved $500 on the refurb so it was worth it of course.

Overall the forum supports buying refurb here- only a few cases of weird things like I had and you can save loads most time doing refurb.
 
Refurbs are great and under full warranty. Just make sure that you are ordering the model you want as a variety of models may be present.
 
Just something to reassure you, i bought my iMac from eBay not even refurbished by Apple! Needless to say that it's had no problems at all. I think Apple are a little different when it comes to Refurbished stuff or indeed used stuff. Go for it!
 
I've order a refurb mac mini a few years ago and it was good as new. I just ordered an refurb i7 imac, no hesitations!
 
diegobgr said:
Seeing BareFeats benchmarks, in test wothout AA, both cards are really close.

But, using AA, 5750 really goes significantly faster than 4850. This is due to drivers, really?

If it's 10% only, I will go 4850.
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It's about a 10-20% difference depending on the game. Those large improvements you see in Portal, etc, are almost definitely due to the OS X update that the 2010 iMacs have for the new graphics card that should eventually make their way to the 2009 iMacs.

It's drivers, there is nothing in the silicon itself that should make the graphics any faster than 10-20%.

The price difference between a 2010 i7 iMac and the refurb is $500. If $500 is not much money for you then get the latest and greatest. If you have other uses for that $500 or that is the difference between getting the machine and not getting it then the choice should be obvious.
 
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