Is it worth refurbishing a gifted gaming laptop, or is it beyond help?

I want to preface this by saying I know very little about gaming laptops/computers. The laptop says it’s a: Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK 15.6 Inch FHD Laptop (6th Generation Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD + 8 GB SSD) NVIDIA Gaming GeForce GTX 960M, then has inside Crucial 8GB Single DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) SODIMM 204-Pin Laptop

(Included entire title because I don’t know what the phrases mean lol).

I’ve been wanting to play a few games during downtime, so my friend gave me their old gaming laptop they don’t use anymore. While I’m thankful for the gift (donation is probably the better word), it’s in horrible condition. Some of the keys are missing, and the monitor lid is disconnected. The keyboard and base area is pretty separated, and there’s a random wire somewhere. Besides that, I believe everything is okay? I’ve only had it a few weeks and it runs well enough for what I need it for (just steam and bluestacks), and the only actual issue that I notice (albeit someone inexperienced) is aesthetic-wise/cleanliness (and most likely the shelf life of the computer, but once again I just am going off of knowledge of how it should “look”).

I play a couple hours a week (right now it’s just Fear and Hunger Termina) and don’t see it worthwhile to buy a new laptop with all points considered (broke college student lol). I attached some photos for context, and would appreciate comments/recommendations/advice. And I wanna reiterate that it was given to me this way, I had no part in the destruction of this poor machine. These pictures were also from before I cleaned it, but honestly I’m afraid to even go ‘crazy’ and de-sanitize it all because I don’t know what of this I can ‘touch’

This computer is too old to invest money into for refurbishment. If it meets your needs, then that’s great.

Zephyr said:
This computer is too old to invest money into for refurbishment. If it meets your needs, then that’s great.

That’s what I thought. I’m not familiar with the lifespan of laptops, but even though it’s a 2017 model, it seems to have been misused.

Thanks!

@Jai
Gaming laptops generally have a shorter lifespan because they run hotter than standard ones. Many consider 5 years a decent run for a gaming laptop.

Zephyr said:
@Jai
Gaming laptops generally have a shorter lifespan because they run hotter than standard ones. Many consider 5 years a decent run for a gaming laptop.

That makes sense! Thank you again :slight_smile:

@Jai
Prioritize build quality, then GPU longevity, and then CPU.

Zephyr said:
@Jai
Gaming laptops generally have a shorter lifespan because they run hotter than standard ones. Many consider 5 years a decent run for a gaming laptop.

The CPU actually runs hotter, sometimes reaching 95 Celsius. Video cards usually stay below 80-85 Celsius.

@Jai
This thing is a dinosaur. Not worth keeping.

@Jai
8 years is practically new for a car, but for a laptop, it’s probably only good for web browsing.

Bryce said:
@Jai
8 years is practically new for a car, but for a laptop, it’s probably only good for web browsing.

8 years is practically new for a car.

No, it’s not. But I agree about laptops.

@Barrett
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :smiley:

Bryce said:
@Barrett
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :smiley:

That’s not just my opinion; it’s reality. But you’re welcome.

Barrett said:

Bryce said:
@Barrett
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :smiley:

That’s not just my opinion; it’s reality. But you’re welcome.

Okay, no need to get defensive over my comment lol.

You could detach the screen and turn it into a desktop setup with an external monitor.

Unless you want it to remain a laptop, then good luck!

Wylie said:
You could detach the screen and turn it into a desktop setup with an external monitor.

Unless you want it to remain a laptop, then good luck!

This made me think it’s probably not worth it. I’ll look for a new one. Thank you!

@Jai
I thought this was a modern laptop until I saw the specs, LMAO.

In this case, I would turn it into a local server for media or host a Minecraft server like I do.

You’re better off buying a new one. You could reuse the drive.

The images look bad.

Morgan said:
The images look bad.

It is :cry:. It’s embarrassing to use, but I didn’t know if I was just being picky since it does everything I need.

Jai said:

Morgan said:
The images look bad.

It is :cry:. It’s embarrassing to use, but I didn’t know if I was just being picky since it does everything I need.

If you can repair it, it might be worth it. You could also give it a deep cleaning.