How not to get fleeced when buying a laptop

Normally in these articles I cover cybersecurity and everything around it. Today we'll look at a different slice of IT — hardware. Specifically, buying used PCs and laptops.

How to pick a machine

Always decide based on what you'll use the computer for. There are countless right options for any given task, so I'll try to give general guidance on what to look for.

Office work — if you mostly work in Office apps or similar, look for the cheapest machine you can find that still has an SSD. These days you don't want HDDs for anything other than backups you rarely open.
Video or audio work — for editing video and audio, CPU performance matters most (especially in Adobe). If you have the option, invest in a Mac. For audio it's almost always better, and for video it's at least as good. Macs also objectively have the best trackpads on the market.
Graphic design and 3D modelling — for these you'll need to invest in a stronger GPU. Modern modelling, design, and rendering anywhere outside Adobe Premiere needs reasonably strong cards — I'd recommend Nvidia GTX 1660 Super or higher.

What to watch out for

The main thing is not to get ripped off. As I've said many times, if something sounds too good to be true, it isn't true. Now to specifics. If you're picking a Mac, check the battery's "cycle count" — how many times the battery has been theoretically discharged and recharged. Ideal is around 100; consider anything over 300 only if the price is genuinely good. It's also important that the seller unlocks the laptop and resets it to factory state. For other machines it's harder to gauge, but the basics: check Task Manager that the components match the listing. If you're handy and not afraid to open the machine after purchase, do it — most older PCs have never been cleaned, and a simple cleaning of fans and heatsinks can really help reliability.