Anyone want to sell their old mac?

[Bloo Ice]

Hi. I've been reading around here, and even have a few posts..mainly about buying advice. I want to get a mac. I'd mainly use it for listening to music, browsing the web, email, word processing, and a little bit of video editing. I'm not looking for a new system, because, I just don't have that kind of money. I'd like to be able to run OS X, preferably Tiger, but I could live without Tiger. I wouldn't want anything less than a G3 iMac DV model, but I don't want to spend more than $100 USD. I already have a 19" Sony CRT so I could use a powermac too. My question to you all: Does anyone have one they don't really want anymore, and don't mind letting it go for peaunuts?

Thanks all!!!

 

[wdlove]

I hope that you will be successful. You will be very pleased with a Mac. Have you looked at eBay?

 

[Bloo Ice]

I hope to get a good one, when I do get one. I've looked on eBay a lot, but I never get one, always figure that in the next few days there will be a better deal, but never find one. From browsing this forum, I know a lot of you upgrade constantly, [mainly from the 'Post yoru mac' posts], and just thought that some of you just don't really need the money, nor ask for it...but maybe I'm wrong. I'm getting ready to buy a car, so my computer budget just doesn't stretch far. I figure if I don't get a nice used one, then by the end of the year I'll just buy a mini, but I'm very impatient and thats why I'm here

 

[freiheit]

$100 won't get you very much in the PC market and it certainly won't get you much in the Mac market, unless you're looking for a really, really, really old system. Macs tend to keep their value better than PCs. The best value for someone who wants to do some work with digital video is the Mac mini which starts at $499. With that you get the newest version of OSX, you get the 1 year warranty and 90 days installation support which you won't get with a used Mac, and it's powerful enough to handle most tasks for the foreseeable future.

If that is truly out of your price range, then Ebay is probably your best bet (as others have recommended) and I wish you the best. I got my Mac (G4 PowerMac) on Ebay and am quite happy -- but I also paid more than $1500 for it. As I say, Macs do tend to keep their value.

 

[Bloo Ice]

I know. I just wondered if someone here had one they don't want anymore and don't want much $$ for. I know I got some old PCs around here I'd give away....[I can't make any $ off them on eBay...lol]

 

[spinne1]

The only system you can get on ebay that fits your bill is probably the Blue & White G3. However, if you do get it, you also need to upgrade the RAM, probably get a processor upgrade, get an ADB keyboard (the Apple Extended Keyboard II to be specific--I've never found a better keyboard), with an ADB mouse (you can still use ADB on the Blue & White G3). You can use your 19" monitor (CRTs are BETTER than LCDs as far as I'm concerned. The picture is brighter and clearer. Why the mass switch over just to have a smaller desk footprint is beyond me.) You also want at least the 400Mhz model and also you must get the Rev. 2 motherboard.

Now, if you are patient, you may find a system that has most of the required upgrades already. You will have no trouble running Panther or Tiger. As for video editing, you'll need a PCI card for getting video in and out. Ebay again.

 

[ITASOR]

I would get a G3 iMac DV like you said. I user in the MR marketplace is selling a GREAT one for $250. You won't beat that anywhere!

EDIT: it's going for $200 NOT 250. They'll even include a CD-RW ext. drive for only $25.

I'm very tempted to buy this myself...

 

[jimsowden]

What you probably want is a B&W g3, the first machine that will still run tiger. They go for around what you're looking to spend if you can find a deal.

 

[Bloo Ice]

I'm just holdin out here...like discussed in a previous thread, I'd rather get one from someone here...who took good care of it [like I would], not off of eBay where you have no idea where it came from. Who knows, maybe someone here will just give me one..................we can all dream

 

[Mechcozmo]

To make it worth it, get a Mini... a B&W G3 needs some TLC to run Tiger decently. Might as well get a Mini or an older eMac...

 

[spinne1]

To make it worth it, get a Mini... a B&W G3 needs some TLC to run Tiger decently. Might as well get a Mini or an older eMac...

Sound advice, but there is a big cost difference between a properly equipped mini (with enough ram) and a B & W G3, and he said he wants to spend $100. A mini with enough ram will cost well over $600, plus either taxes or shipping or both. He can get a B & W G3 with shipping for $100 or under if he is careful and patient. HUGE difference if you are basically broke. As for being afraid of ebay....if you are careful and check out the sellers carefully, no problem. As long as a computer works, is sold by an honest seller who packs well and fully discloses the condition and what items are included, and as long as the computer is not smoke damaged or tainted, then you have no worries buying off ebay. Now if you eschew ebay because you hoped someone here would just send you a relatively recent Mac for free, then I think you will not be happy with your outcome. While it is possible for someone to give you a computer (I have a 7300 I am prepared to give away right now), getting one with real value is another thing altogether. ("Getting one with real value is another thing" says the group in unison)

Yes, you could run Panther on a 7300, and pretty well (with a G4/450 card, that is, and at least 512mb ram, using XPostFacto), but I don't think you would be happy with the experience. The video performance with .wmv files for example is hideous. Most everything else is useable.

So, do you want to test out the Mac experience CHEAP, or do you want to do it right? If do it right, then save and get something a bit newer and more expensive, like a mini (as Mechcozmo suggests), or a used G4 or G5 PowerMac (which would be my suggestion--why? because there is more upgrade possibilities, and thus more life potential in a PowerMac, and because you get the most computing power per dollar with a tower). If cheap is still king, consider the B & W G3, or any other old Mac newer than that.

 

[deebster]

G3 B & W Macs have USB AND ADB ports. Either connection for a mouse or keyboard will work fine.

You can overclock them easily too. My mum's is a 300 clocked to 350 and runs Panther on 256 MB pretty well. Sure, she only basically uses Mail and Safari, with a bit of iTunes, but it does that great.

However, if you can then get a Rev 2. The Rev 1 is problematic on hard drives and has non-bootable firewire.

Check out xlr8yourmac for plenty of reports on these issues.

Good luck mate. If you persevere then something will turn up

 

[Mechcozmo]

Sound advice, but there is a big cost difference between a properly equipped mini (with enough ram) and a B & W G3, and he said he wants to spend $100. A mini with enough ram will cost well over $600, plus either taxes or shipping or both. He can get a B & W G3 with shipping for $100 or under if he is careful and patient.

Very true. But for 4 times the cost of a B&W you can get way more than 4 times the performance. And yes, you can upgrade the B&W which will make the experience better but that will take a fair bit more cash.

So you have my advice, get the Mini even if it means waiting a bit longer. You won't regret it.

 

[cubist]

I suggest getting a B&W for about $100 and then getting used SD-RAM from PC users or a flea market for vilrtually nothing. Load up on RAM, that's the key to good Mac OS X performance. Don't upgrade anything else, you're good to go.

 

[kwajaln]

Both of my Macs are less than a year old, so (sorry) but I am not interested in selling either one of them.