If you're looking for a personal computer of your choice, never go in haste in buying one. Take a greater look for something worth for your money. Nevertheless, it's up to you take it or not, after all, it's your money. But think wisely, for once you brought a used PC you'll end spending too much on it.
However, if you want a second-hand desktop or laptop on a tight budget be sure you know what you were looking for. Search over the internet to choose what is best for you. Ask a friend who knows something about computer specifications and knows how to take a good eye on it. Don't be satisfied when a seller or an agent will say something about their offer. We know how marketing works when selling a product. And best of all, give yourself a time to think or search for another, a day or two.
Bilal Ahmad wrote something about buying second-hand computer. He suggested to test it before buying. In his article he suggested some ideas on how to test a good computer. I find it sounds good to try his suggestions
But it is truly better to buy a brand new computer considering the warranty period as an advantage. Don't waste your money for used one with warranty or something like 3 or 6 months. I don't think any seller or agent will give you longer warranty for a used one. You can't rely on the used one while a brand new will last for five years or more depending on how you use it. With the new one, especially a latest model, you will certainly enjoy its highest performance. Although the price is too expensive but your money really worth it.
The used one is good when you know how to troubleshoot or repair it yourself. Troubleshooting and maintaining a computer is the hard part I've seen with those who have putted up a small internet cafe that at the end losing all their money on repairs and maintenance then opt to sell it at a lower price. Same thing happened to us personally.
Personally, I advised my friends not to spend money on second-hand and don't recommend it either. Let say you have P5,000 plus in your budget, a used one may cost a little lower than that but with a brand new, adding P2,000 or higher, you can already buy an ECS or MSI motherboards with built-ins graphics, a CPU and 2GB Memory.
Think before we buy a second-hand computer.
