Talk me out of buying a CF-52

So I am looking to replace a 4-year-old Fujitsu, and as others have discovered, almost all notebooks these days have a 16:9 display, many with fairly low resolution. Most also have the 'island/chiclet' keyboards now, which I hate. Some have the glossy screens which I also hate.

Finding something that had a taller screen, better resolution and sensible keyboard led me to the toughbook CF-52, which I hadn't really thought about before. I don't really care about slimness or lightness. The price seems reasonable if I avoid the extras that don't interest me anyway. The basic design is several years old, but the mobo seems pretty up to date. No interest in windows 8 or touchscreen; windows 7 pro is perfect. Would want to load it up on RAM and HD and access for swapping the HD and batteries easily is a huge plus.

My questions:
1. Is there any reason not to get one of these? Any legacy issues or problems? There are a bunch of used ones on ebay which is sometimes a bad sign, but here I assume that's just because they tend to be bulk purchase/workplace machines, rotating out of stock or off lease.
2. Are there vendors to avoid? Is it sensible to buy straight from Panasonic?

Thanks for any insight.

 

Welcome to the Toughbook forum
I have three 52's and love them all...MK1, MK2 and a MK4 (i5). They all run W7 great with 4GB memory. I have 120GB - 240GB SSD installed in all of them and they are fast. Try to find one that is complete because a harddrive caddy will cost you about $100.00

 

I won't try to talk you out of getting one. In fact, I can help you get one. As luck would have it, I have two CF-52s that I was about to put up for sell.

What specs are you looking for in a CF-52?

 

Talk you out of it, you have come to the wrong place. Lol. These are well made semi rugged machines. Panasonic keeps the chassis the same so backward compability with docks will still work. You have two basic machines in each generation or mark. Low spec and high spec. The high spec machines have dedicated ATI video cards as the low spec machines have Intel integrated graphics. What specs are you needing? The current version is running the Intel i series of processors as the slightly older ones are core 2 duo.

 

Yeah, maybe I don't want to be talked out of it that bad. I just wanted to make sure there were no glaring problems, it's harder to find complaints online with non-consumer hardware.

Sorry, should have been more clear, I am looking for a new one with warranty. Definitely core i, at least 8GB, one stick would be nice so I could eventually do 16GB. RAM helps with simulations. No need for TPM or card readers or other stuff.

Ah! I was finding it hard to sort through some of the models with specs and pricing, I didn't realize dedicated graphics was an option. That would help especially when docked and doing CAD.

 

Thank you!

 

Well if you are looking for new then you need to see Rob , he works for rugged depot and is a member of this forum. Here is his number (281)-305-5018

 

~Toughbook Talk~ Toughbook Discussion • View topic - List of Toughbooks with dedicated video cards

There is the link to the video card thread for you to check out.

If you want new with warranty talking with Rob is the way to go.

 

He is also the owner of toughbooktalk (above link)...another Toughbook forum

 

There is one problem with Toughbooks. It a known problem with all models. It is impossible to own just ONE. It is a known addiction.

 

Yeah, it's called Toughbook Fever!

 

Thanks - and that is great to hear, as I'd had Rugged Depot bookmarked as the #1 choice already (but based on nothing but how professional the website looks).

Really appreciate all the info from everyone.

 

Here is the special I have: ~Toughbook Talk~ Toughbook Discussion • View forum - Rugged Depot & Robs Toughbooks B/S/T Forum

I'd HIGHLY suggest a CF-52MLBBD1M

Thanks!