~Toughbooktalk~

I have noticed that most people are concerned with the amount of hours on Toughbooks they are interested in buying. Maybe I am looking at the situation wrong, but the overall condition of the unit is more important to me than the hours.

Given a choice between a unit with deep scrapes, dents, missing or bent doors, etc that has between 1000 and 2000 hours on it and a unit that is in really nice shape, very little scratches, all covers and doors that has 10,000+ hours, I would take the 10,000+ hour unit. Why? Because, to me, the first unit with low hrs had a hard life and the second one was looked after. I feel there would be more problems from the unit that was no looked after. Shock loads on pcb's, and the electronic components on them, from drops, bangs, etc takes more life out of the unit that running up the hours.

Interested in what other members think about hours versus condition.

Thank you.

Morgan

I go case by case myself. There are some that will tell you that high hour Toughbooks mean that you are that much closer to having worn out capacitors. Of course the screens start to dim over time if you have a CFL display. But I have had high hour Toughbooks that spent their life in a port replicator and never saw action... Only time in the dock. Their keyboards look to never have been touched.

I have had 2,000 hour Toughbooks that were so worn I have had to use for parts... And 10,000 hour Toughbooks that look brand new.

I agree... Hours mean nothing. It is just overall wear. Even still, I'd rather have a beat up Toughbook that has seen some rounds in the ring than a Dell!

Toughbook wrote:Of course the screens start to dim over time if you have a CFL display.

That's my biggest concern affecting most older units I play with. LED backlit displays are a great solution. When I'm looking for a deal, I would buy a high-hour (2000 hrs +) CF-19 Mk3 because it has an LED display but not a high-hour Mk2 or Mk1 because they are CFL. In my experience even lower hour CF-74's seem especially prone to dim or yellow CFL displays.

Teo's solution is a great fix. For around $50 and a few hours... It is money well spent. I need to finish mine up today.

Yes, I can see how the backlighting would be something to consider on high hour units.

My thoughts as well, Rick. Has anyone checked Digikey to see what they offer? May be more money, but if you can get the gear in a few days, as compared to weeks, well worth the extra money.

Thanks for the replies.