Features

Several of the companies we contacted made the point that a refurbished PC may be less likely to have problems than a new one. We haven't been able to find any statistics to back this view up, but we can see a strong argument for it.

Before a PC (or any other high-tech product) leaves the factory, it'll go through certain checks to ensure it's working correctly. The checks are generally thorough, but occasionally PCs do slip through with faults. These may become evident straight away, or, for example with borderline faulty components or loose connections, may only come to light later, when your system suddenly fails. It's not at all common, but it happens - that's one reason why machines come back from customers and end up becoming refurbs.

When you buy a refurb, on the other hand, not only has the system been through this original check, but it's come back and been re-tested, repaired where necessary, and checked yet again before being resold to you. That should reduce even further the chances that another underlying problem has been missed.

For example, here's an edited summary of the computer testing process used by PC Interworks, the company behind buyit247.com. Bear in mind that the steps listed here only begin after the PC has already been unpacked and had its hard drive completely erased to remove any data.

If the item fails at any stage, the relevant part is replaced and the machine then goes back to step 1.

1 - External inspection: any significant damage to case necessitates a replacement part
2 - Cables and essential accessories check: any missing items replaced.
3 - Initial boot test
4 - BIOS inspection, reset to defaults, check for password, set date and time, boot sequence
5 - Hardware diagnostics suite: check components such as processor and memory chips
6 - Install operating system (eg Windows)
7 - Install drivers and utilities
8 - Battery check (laptops)
9 - Touchpad/buttons check (laptops)
10 - Modem diagnostic check
11 - Keyboard check (laptops)
12 - USB port check
13 - Flash card reader check
14 - Cable LAN check
15 - Wireless LAN check
16 - FireWire (IEEE1394) check
17 - Install CD/DVD RW software, testfull CD copy, test full DVD copy
18 - Install DVD playback software,test 30 mins DVD playback
19 - Defragment hard disk
20 - Screen dead pixel inspection (laptops and monitors)
21 - Check date and time, prepare Windows for initial boot by customer
22 - Repack item, replacing packaging as necessary