So you are interested in buying a pre-loved computer? Good for you and the planet. 🙂

There are many companies who sell refurbished machines – TierOne and BackMarket are probably the most well known. Below is a list of suppliers taken from a basic web search for refurbished computers.

A selection of resellers of refurbished computers

We strongly recommend you upgrade the warranty to 3 years (circa £60) as you get peace of mind should anything go “pop”. If your pre-loved purchase does fail then they will either fix it under warranty or give you a comparable computer as a replacement. It is therefore a MUST to have a good backup plan as any replacement computer will not have any of your documents on it! A good starting point for back ups is installing OneDrive and get it to sync your important documents to the cloud.

“Big news” – Windows 10 goes End-of-Life on 14 October 2025

Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. After this date, Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes. This means any vulnerabilities and issues will not be fixed.

So with Windows 10 heading towards the sunset, people will be looking to upgrade to Windows 11.

Windows 11 – minimum requirements

Windows 11 has basic requirements, one of which is that it needs at least an 8th Generation CPU. So be careful when looking for refurbished computers, the cheapest deals will most probably have incompatible processors for Windows 11.
You can easily tell the CPU generation for Intel processors by the model number. Let’s take the Intel i9 10885h processor; the first two digits are 10 meaning 10th Gen CPU. So an Intel i7-1185G7 is an 11th Gen and an Intel i5-8265U is an 8th Gen.
Here are the complete listings of supported CPUs from Microsoft:

But, do you even need Microsoft Windows?

Opting for Linux over Windows would mean you could purchase a laptop with a CPU older than 8th Gen, instantly saving a few more pounds. Linux is open-source and free to use, eliminating the need for costly licenses and offering some great flexibility. Linux is known for its robust security features, reducing (but not eliminating!) the risk of malware and viruses. With a wide range of distributions (take a look at Ubuntu and Pop!_OS) available you can select one that best fits your needs. There is a strong global community offering support and systems receive continual improvements.

Final checklist for buying refurbished

  • At least 8th Gen CPU (recommended 10th Gen or higher) for Microsoft Windows
    • Linux will run on older CPUs but check your favourite Linux distribution for compatibility
  • At least 16GB RAM for Microsoft Windows (8GB Apple macOS “M class processors”)
  • Get 3 years warranty – protects your pre-loved investment
  • Solid State Drives (SSD, NVMe) – 256GB minimum (recommend 512GB)
  • If you want to do any gaming on a laptop then a dedicated graphics card will give the best experience