Toughbook you can recommend.

It all started when I met an old college buddy in a food court in one of our malls here. My eyes automatically caught its attention on a unique laptop he was tinkering. I curiously asked (as it was my first time to see such unique laptop) what type of computer was that... Then the next thing I knew, I fell in love with toughbook.

I asked him where he got that nice looking machine, and he said that I can purchase it in surplus as the brand new unit will surely drain the bank account. So I wandered and wandered where I can find a toughbook, and to make the story short, I ended up in this forum.

Now, I believe I landed in a community where I can get some info. I am looking for toughbook with the following use:

Good processor to do complex programming, and decent graphics,
Hi speed Internet,
Hi speed USB transfer,
Built in GPS to check my teenage boy location via online, I hate to stalk, but sure it pays to know where he is,
Good battery,
At least 256 gb hard disk,
4 mb RAM isf there is,
Good condition, as I live a continent across and it hurts to send the toughbook back and forth for a problem.

Any idea what model is suitable and where can I buy that I can have a peace of mind?

Thanks in advance.

 

How good of graphics do you need? It looks like you will be leaning toward the CF-31 or CF-52 maybe a 51 Mk3 depending on how good the graphics need to be. If your need for graphics is on the lower end your options open up a lot more.

 

It might not necessarily drain your bank. We have STEAL deals on LOADED CF-31's... Toughbook 31 | CF-31JPL2R1M - $3099 - Rugged Depot - i7/dedicated GPU, GPS, emmisive keyboard

I also have these CF-52's with HD screeens and dedicated GPU's: Toughbook 52 | CF-52MLBBD1M - Rugged Depot

My number is in my signature.

 

Graphics that I will be running should be decent enough to accommodate the use of CorelDraw or adobe illustrator.

 

The GPU in the CF-52's I have are half decent. That big 15.4" screen with 1920x1200 res will be AWESOME with drawing apps.

The CF-31's screen is only 1024 x 768.

 

Rob,

Do you think I can find a good deal of the refurbished ones? I can go as far as $600.00, No need to get the latest.

By the way, I mean factory refurbish or authorize toughbook refurbish store.

 

On used CF-52's with ATI card, but when looking remember not all CF-52's have a dedicated card.

Mk1 2.0 core2duo, HD2300
Mk2 2.4 core2duo, HD3650
MK3 - ATI 5650
Mk4 ATI 6750
Mk5 ATI 7750

Well Rob works for Authorized dealer also.

 

You're not going to find a factory refurb for less than $1100 - $1200. Sorry. Factory refurbs are basically NEW units that were only turned on a few times for demo'ing.

 

Indeed. You'll find my company to be one of the LARGEST dealers in the US. We're actually right on the Panasonic website: Panasonic Buy Refurbished Products

 

Ok, I get it. So $600.00+ ads in the net claiming refurbished toughbooks are actually from unauthorized outlet.

Do you ship to international customers too?

 

Lots of people format a HDD and clean a laptop and call it "refurbished"
Rob is a good seller........

 

Good point. How do you refurbrish an LCD. Or a used battery, or anything else.

Go into ebay and read the definition of refurbrish. Then shop with people that don't claim to do it. Or those like Rob said that do actually "return the unit to as new condition" read this as factory restore to new condition.

Little pet peeve there. Caught me at a bad moment shopping for an LCD.

What I do is return the unit to turnkey operation...You open the box, charge the battery with the included power supply and turn it on and it works.....No No it "goes to work" with no issues.

 

Very simple. You don't.

Generally speaking, I like CF-52 a lot and would recommend it. Might get one (again) myself...

 

Thank you for the kind words Shawn!

I must also re-iterate: Panasonic Refurb and USED are 2 completely different things!!

Factory refurbs, a lot of time are actually new. If they DO have hours on them it's always low (Less than 500). These units were turned on and left running for demos at trade shows and PD's, etc etc. They have never been used, sold back and sold out. They haven't been broken and fixed and sold either.

USED units are exactly that: USED. While I cannot speak for others, we (Rugged Depot) work the heck out of them before we re-sell them. A lot of times we replace the keyboard, battery, port covers, etc etc so that it's in tip top shape. We then sell MOST units with a 90 day warranty too. My price on USED units WILL be higher than what you can find on eBay. We don't sell the bottom of the barrel crap.

Thanks!

 

I'll recommend the Fully Rugged Panasonic CF-19MK3 and above. Its good on travelling or on day to day machine coz it lighter than the CF-30, 31, 52 and etc.


ohlip

 

+1 for a 19 if you want a relative light machine, but do get an emmissive keyboard.
The 31 has a bigger screen and a little bit more umph, but that isn't such a big difference anymore.

 

Yes, we do ship international. We get a CRAZY good price with Fedex so it's not even expensive!