which refurbished model?

[ryan7777]

Hi I'm on a budget and choosing between two refurbished models, here are the links:

At @ $250
Canada Computers | Desktop PCs | HP Compaq Business Desktop DC7800 (GC758AV) (Refurbished) Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz, 3GB DDR2 Memory, 160GB HD, DVD-RW, Audio, GigaLAN, Windows 7 Home Premium & Recovery Media with 1 Year Warranty

OR

At $169

Canada Computers | Desktop PCs | HP Compaq Business Desktop DC5700 (EW290AV) (Refurbished) Intel CORE 2 DUO 1.80GHz, 2GB DDR2 Memory, 80GB HD, DVD-RW, Audio, GigaLAN, Windows 7 Home Premium & Recovery Media with 1 Year Warranty

$80 dollar difference.

I can't decide because I don't know exactly what 'refurbished' entails and if it's much worse or only slightly less efficient than a new model. Like the $250 model, with OS included, sounds great and only $100-200 less than a new model, but if the parts are really old or creaky or something then the $169 model with slightly lower specs would be cheaper for comparable performance. But then there could be a big difference between when both refurbished models where first released...so I'm not sure.

Please advise.

 

[Roark]

Refurbishment is the process of maintenance or major repair of an item, either aesthetically or mechanically.
Refurbished items may have scratches, dents or other forms of cosmetic damage which do not affect the performance of the unit.
Refurbished products could possibly be the products which are returned by the customer within the return policy of the company which sold the product, without any defect with the product.

Honestly there is no real telling with refurbished products, they were bought and then returned to the dealer for some reason, then re-sold again.

For basic everyday tasks such as e-mail and word processing that $170 one will work fine, I had a Dell of similar specifications that worked great like that for years.