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Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 6th, 2007, 10:13 am
by lawson89
Ok, bad news is my wife's office PC just died. Good news is she has agreed to a Mac replacement. Bad news is it must fit in the <500 range given that this would be what a replacement generic PC would cost (actually a generic piece o crap would cost even less than $500 but I didn't let her know that !)
Used is ok, she can re-use her monitor and mouse.
Any advice from the group ?
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 7th, 2007, 4:46 am
by Shanghai
At that price, the two options that come to mind would be a) a used/on sale Mac mini b) a used PowerMac G4. Both would allow her to keep monitor, mouse and keyboard.
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 9th, 2007, 2:05 am
by chasm
At that price, there's only really two options:
1. A $499 basic Intel mac mini. Should be good enough for her, since it's a heck of a lot more capable than most $500 PCs *I've* ever seen!
2. A used mac, try to find an first-gen Intel iMac or around that time period. If you're sure that ALL she's going to do on it is "the basics," a late-gen PPC Mac should be acceptable.
Or you COULD try this ...
"Honey, you are very valuable to me and I really don't mind spending more than $500 on you. You are WORTH IT!"
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 9th, 2007, 1:36 pm
by lawson89
Ha ! Good advice, I should see if she goes for that !
Anyhoo, I think catching a mac mini refurb is the best idea for going forward. Looks like the Apple Store has them occasionally for $499.
Thanks
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 10th, 2007, 2:25 pm
by Turboladdade
Definitely try to find Intel and Dual Core if you can.
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 11th, 2007, 8:31 am
by Shanghai
Ooh yeah. If you want to go Intel Mac mini, make sure it's a dual-core. I've heard that the Core Solo's performance is very poor in comparison, and the difference in price is minor.
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 19th, 2007, 11:27 pm
by mrkramer
get a refurb core duo mac mini, I got the 1.83 for about $500 a few weeks ago, and if you don't care about the DVD burner a slower core duo would work equally well.
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 19th, 2007, 11:29 pm
by Turboladdade
mrkramer wrote:get a refurb core duo mac mini, I got the 1.83 for about $500 a few weeks ago, and if you don't care about the DVD burner a slower core duo would work equally well.
I think I may have even seen lower prices. I was considering a Mac Mini as a spare computer for guests to use, or as a backup. I ended up really cheapening out and getting an iMac G3 instead.
Re: Best sub $500 consumer Mac
Posted: December 19th, 2007, 11:32 pm
by mrkramer
D wrote:mrkramer wrote:get a refurb core duo mac mini, I got the 1.83 for about $500 a few weeks ago, and if you don't care about the DVD burner a slower core duo would work equally well.
I think I may have even seen lower prices. I was considering a Mac Mini as a spare computer for guests to use, or as a backup. I ended up really cheapening out and getting an iMac G3 instead.
The slower core duos I think are in the low $400s at Apple's refurb site; as far as I know that is the best price out there for a Mac other than used.