Why Nobody Sells a Better Quality Refurbished Computer Than Us

We are sometimes asked whether or not we do price matching on our refurbished computers. Rather than beat around the bush, I tend to reply with “Absolutely not” – and here is why.

While the price matching topic is relevant to brand-new products, it isn’t relevant at all to refurbished products.

That’s because refurbished computer models are better compared to each other using “quality match”, not “price match”.

You see, the quality provided by sellers of refurbished computers can vary greatly. – from just dusting it off and putting it out for sale for some resellers, to thorough and complete refurbishment like Refresh Computers has done over the past 23 years we’ve been in business.

So when asked if we price match on a particular model of refurbished computers, then hopefully you can see why we say no, we do not price match but we do quality match. Just ask the other reseller what goes into refurbishing their computers for sale and compare that to how thorough we are, as detailed below.

Here is what goes into every refurbished computer at Refresh Computers:

1) The first thing we do is turn on the computer to make sure it boots to what is known as the BIOS screen – the screen showing factory settings and information about the processor, RAM, etc- but most importantly whether or not the BIOS screen has a password left behind by the previous user. If there is a BIOS password, Windows will still install but certain system features will never be available to the end user without the BIOS password.

This is important because if there is a BIOS password on your so-called refurbished computer, then you may be using your computer for weeks or months before realizing you are stuck if the BIOS needs to be updated with things like a BIOS update or adding extra memory.

At Refresh Computers, we have tools to reset most BIOS passwords to no password at all – but it’s something you have to know how to do and many so-called refurbishers don’t bother because either they don’t know how to reset it or they simply don’t take the time to do so.

2) After making sure that the BIOS is cleared, the next step is a thorough cleaning INSIDE the computer. This means removing all accumulated dust in and around the motherboard, fans, USB ports, monitor ports, power ports, etc.

3) The next step is removing the hard drive and replacing it with a brand-new solid-state drive. We do this with all of our machines because the new, unused, solid-state drive is what makes the computer run like new.

4) We test the memory installed in the computer to make sure it is performing at peak speed. If it isn’t then we replace the memory.

5) We test the video ports, the USB ports, and any other port associated with the computer and replace or repair as needed.

6) We remove the heat sync from the CPU. We then use a special chemical to clean off the old and often-times crusty CPU thermal paste and replace it with brand new thermal paste. This is an important step in making your computer like new and will help it run cooler.

7) We remove the motherboard button battery, which is otherwise known as the CMOS battery, and replace it with a brand new CMOS battery. This will ensure your computer stays up to date with not only the time and date but other settings on the motherboard.

8) We then load a fresh install of Microsoft Windows using a legally registered Windows product key that you never have to worry about being illegitimate.

9) We then instruct the computer to update all of the drivers for all of the devices including video ports, ethernet ports, optical drive, speakers, microphone, wifi, camera, USB ports, etc – making sure each has the latest version and making sure each is functioning properly.

10) For laptops a detailed battery test is performed. If the battery is not performing like new, then we replace the battery with a brand new battery – which is often the case with our refurbished laptops.

So hopefully you see now that when asked – do you price match your refurbished computers, we say absolutely not! We have no idea if someone else is following the detailed steps we take to make sure your refurbished product will last for years to come.

We charge a very fair price for the super high-quality products we sell and one thing is for sure – nobody, and I mean nobody, does it better than we do.