I can't help but want... Another r2 :o !! What's a fair price ?

After a brief stint with an r2 after selling my MacBook pro I must say I was fairly impressed. I returned it since the r3 was around the corner and then had both a 3d and then a 6970 version. I guess it took me this long to finally realize and come to accept the fact that I really don't need top of the line CPUs or gpus. I play some wow and TFT and mostly browse the web and watch movies with occasional wmm projects.

So, now that I've sold my recent r3 I was looking to pocket as much $$ as possible and go with perhaps an m11x or base m14x. Then I thought about the m 17x r2 and was surprised that there was almost no reason not to want one again except for price. I miss the cold aluminum feel of the exterior which was a simple powdercoat away from covering any dings or scratches that cone about. I liked the soft touch but couldnt help but be almost paranoid about nicking or scratching the finish every time I used it. The i7 2720 seemed no faster for what I do compared to the old 3.06 c2d I had in my Mbp 17. So CPU is a non factor for me. Same goes for gpu.

It all comes down to price really. I figure since the r2 is dated and unavailable maybe I could pick one up for cheap. I wouldn't even mind a base CPU and single card as long as it has the rgb 1920x1200. The trackpad was garbage compared to the r3 but I'm always plugged in with a g9 anyways. I wouldnt feel bad about sata 3 and just pick up a cheap sata 2 ssd for the snappiness.

So.. What do you guys think is a fair price for an m17x r2 with the following specs :

I740 qm
4gb ram
Single 5870
1920x1200 rgb
Any STD Dell hdd

???

 

I'd say around $1200

Your best price guide is always ebay, look what similar systems sell for. I'd also check the Dell outlet in the US as they always have some great deals especially for R2 machines. You would probably get more for your $ that way plus you get a warranty.

 

I have seen them go for 1500 sometimes less from the outlet.

 

for that config you should find something between 1200 and 1800 (that's what i saw on ebay)

 

I JUST bought (as in, last week) a Dell Outlet R2 with the following specs:

Lunar Silver
RGB
920XM
XFire 5870m
8GB RAM
320 7,2kRPM HDD
Basic Dell Half Mini card

I paid $2000.

I would NOT buy an R2 for $1800 with the 740QM. You can definitely get a better deal.

 

I bought the computer in my sig factory brand new from an ebay reseller for $1499. It had the i5 540m though. I had a i7 820qm just lying around so I threw that in instead.

 

Thanks for the input guys glad to see I wasn't far off from what I was expecting to pay. I definitely don't mind an older CPU or i5 etc I figured I would just put a config up to see what people thought and to see If I'm far off. $2k for that setup (the 920xm) is decent since it was soo soo pricey like that new but well beyond my budget for my replacement. The CPU alone was like $1k so without that CPU it might be in my ballpark for sure.

eBay in my opinion is a good reference to see what people are 'wanting' for their systems. I've been ebaying for 10 years or so and have the experience to know that generally people won't get what they are asking especially electronics like laptops and usually settle for a little less after the 2nd or 3rd listing.

 

What i do on ebay is i bookmark the auctions that don't have a buy it now price and see what they sell for at the end, the dealers on ebay ask way too much for laptops, private listings are the best ones to look at especially ones without stock photos. Private sellers can ask too much as well, you can usually tell when their asking too much as the listing ends with no bids and you will quite often see it appear the week after for a few hundred dollars less.

I'd still say that the Dell outlet is the best option as you get a years at home warranty thrown in which is worth its weight in gold compared to a laptop from a private seller that has no warranty, sometimes private listings have some remaining warranty left, i'd want at least a year.