Intel Whitebook 15 Gaming Laptop (Refurb): 15.6" FHD IPS 144Hz, i7-9750H, RTX 2070 Max-Q, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD $649

Anyone else got a window 11 that isn't active??

I got mine a couple days ago. It was stuck in a boot loop and windows needed to be reinstalled. I made a bootable USB Drive and fixed that. They said I could return for refund, but I wanted to try it out first. So I fixed it myself.. The keyboard is different.. but hasn't been a "deal breaker" for me so far. I've done some lite browsing around and played maybe half a dozen rounds of Overwatch on HIGH settings.

In low power mode I was getting like 40 fps. In Performance Mode getting 100-120fps. Seems really well built besides the "different" feeling keyboard. I think I can get used to it, it didn't affect my gaming at all.

The mouse I bought is another story, I will be getting a different one to game with, the button placement is a dealbreaker for me.

Had a 1X8GB Stick of Ram 2666.. I'm going to go grab another one today, and likely throw a 512 NVMe in it as well.

I did contact the seller and they said they'll give me a serial for windows to activate it. So I just have to do that so I can do all the system updates. But the seller has been very responsive to messages, I don't think I waited more than 10-15 minutes for them to get back to me each time I messaged them.

I think this will work out great for me on the road (100 days a year in hotels). Wanted to be able to game and Switch wasn't cutting it. Steam Deck seemed too experimental, not enough software was supported and non-steam applications looked iffy.

Seller has not responded to me and it's been 2 days now. Which method are you using to contact them?

Ebay Messages

Thanks. I finally got through after 3 emails

They just sent me a Windows Key so I can activate it later when I'm home.

I suggest everyone else do the same if your windows says its not activated.

My unit arrived with a WD SN730 SSD which had ~1.5T R/Ws respectively. Updated all drivers & BIOS with Intel® Driver & Support Assistant.

Issues noticed:
1. Touchpad freezes from time to time or is not responsive to actions. Seems fixed after updating the Touchpad firmware. Search "Touchpad Firmware Update for Intel® NUC 9 Extreme Laptop Kits - LAPQC71A and LAPQC71B" to download it from Intel if you're having the same experience.
2. Poor keyboard. Some keys require extra press strength and feel differently. This causes characters missing, I had to go back again and again for the missing letters, or type as hard as smashing the keyboard to make sure all keypresses are honored. Space bar feels weird when not pressing at the center. The layout will take you some time to get used to.
3. Closing lid doesn't turn off the screen. I guess the sensor's bad and it's just unit-specific. Please share if you got the same issue, or if there's a fix for it.

Pros:
1. Screen has a wide viewing angle and good brightness. 144Hz feels smooth when browsing web pages. However, there's no option to switch to a lower refresh rate for saving battery.
2. Touchpad is of top-tier among Windows laptops. Large enough, smooth and responsive.
3. Lightweight. I like the design with no logos & stickers (CPU, GPU).
4. Good performance for the price. Price for laptops with 3060 dropping though.
5. Easy tweaking - CPU undervolting (I set it to -125 for cores, stress tests passed), max charge level & minimum fan speed.

Cons:
1. Super noisy fan. From the control center, it's showing ~5500 rpm but sounds 2x louder than my 2019 Intel MBP on >8000 rpm.
2. Poor speakers. Super low volume even when maxed out, especially when you're gaming with noisy fans. Bad sound quality.
3. Keyboard, as explained above.

TBC:
Battery wear level. Windows Battery Report shows it's at full capacity, I believe it takes some time to calibrate. Windows shows an estimate of 3 hours watching YouTube at ~50% brightness, on Power saving Power Plan with Battery Saver enabled.

My two cents:
Do not buy this unless you're prepared to deal/settle with:
1. Driver/firmware updates. May require a certain level of technical knowledge to do tweaking.
2. Keyboard issue. It's commonly reported by users in this thread.
3. YMMV. You may get heavily used SSD, missing screws, keyboard with keys that don't depress, bad lid sensors, unactivated Windows installation etc. As reported by fellow SDers.
4. Process of returning it.

Get a brand new device from big brands instead for peace of mind. But if you'd like to test out your luck, would be a steal if you got a perfect unit.

Edit: Was asking about product key. Seems OEM installations would show default key anyway. I guess reinstalling Windows will activate itself automatically.