How much would you pay for this G5 iMac?

[gazfocus]

I have been offered a 20" G5 iMac with the following specs:

250 gig drive, 2 gig of RAM. 2Ghz, Wired White Keyboard and Wired Mouse. (it's the model before the iSight models)

I've been asked what I'd offer, but I'm really not sure. What's it worth?

Is £300 a good price?

(sorry if this is the wrong place to post this)

 

[tuxtpenguin]

http://www.mac2sell.net/

This website seems to estimate how much an older Mac is worth.

 

[flyinmac]

I have been offered a 20" G5 iMac with the following specs:

250 gig drive, 2 gig of RAM. 2Ghz, Wired White Keyboard and Wired Mouse. (it's the model before the iSight models)

I've been asked what I'd offer, but I'm really not sure. What's it worth?

Is £300 a good price?

(sorry if this is the wrong place to post this)

That is way too much. As I recall, the british pound is worth twice as much (or perhaps slightly more) than the U.S. Dollar. And, that would make it roughly $600 U.S. Dollars.

I wouldn't spend half that on a G5 of any kind. I've owned a few (iMac G5 systems), and they spent so much time in the repair shop that I just finally dumped them for a huge loss to get them out of the house.

I couldn't get them out of the house fast enough. I sold them for the best price I could get (which was significantly less than I paid for them). I purchased them new, and they spent their first 6 months in the repair shop about 80% of the time. I just finally gave up and dumped them.

A G5 is worth less than any G4 to me. Offer them about $50 or 25 pounds and see. That's still more than I think they're worth.

Realistically, just from a technology standpoint, you don't want to spend much money on any PowerPC system.

No matter what the system, I wouldn't spend more than about $150 to $200 on a PowerPC system (the older it is, the less I'd pay). That would translate into roughly 75 to 100 British pounds.

 

[gazfocus]

Thanks flyinmac but you're forgetting that Apple stuff costs more in UK than the US, so I dont think that's a fair comparison.

 

[Satori]

I have been offered a 20" G5 iMac with the following specs:

250 gig drive, 2 gig of RAM. 2Ghz, Wired White Keyboard and Wired Mouse. (it's the model before the iSight models)

I've been asked what I'd offer, but I'm really not sure. What's it worth?

Is £300 a good price?

(sorry if this is the wrong place to post this)

It is a pretty good price in terms of market value, but I agree with flyinmac that these were not very good machines. It is the most flaky Mac system I have ever used (and I once had a Mac IIci!). Tiger would have at least one kernal panic a day on the G5!

 

[willed]

I'd say around £200 for a system which is perfectly useable such as that, although I'll admit that's a guesstimate. Comparisons with US prices don't really work because of the exchange rate being so crazy at the moment and the fact that Apple kit costs more here to start with. I'd see how much a comparable system goes for on eBay to get a better idea.

 

[flyinmac]

Thanks flyinmac but you're forgetting that Apple stuff costs more in UK than the US, so I dont think that's a fair comparison.

Yes, you are correct. But, still, I'd go for a refurbed Intel system first. Even if it's a mini or something like that.

If you must go with older, I'd seriously give more thought to a G4 than a G5. I've got several G4's here that are still very capable and are not really much slower than the new Intel systems for daily tasks.

My G4 Mac Mini keeps up quite well when compared to my Mac Pro 2.66 GHz. The only time I really feel a difference is when I'm working with iMovie HD (not iMovie '08 - that's a joke), and with iDVD. Honestly, the largest difference in performance is with iDVD.

For daily uses, if you had both systems set up identically, and had the computers hidden to where I couldn't see anything but the keyboard and monitor, I would have a hard time "feeling" the difference.

If your needs are beyond the abilities of a G4, then you really should go Intel. There were just too many issues with the G5's (both the iMacs and with the PowerMacs).

 

[gazfocus]

Yes, you are correct. But, still, I'd go for a refurbed Intel system first. Even if it's a mini or something like that.

If you must go with older, I'd seriously give more thought to a G4 than a G5. I've got several G4's here that are still very capable and are not really much slower than the new Intel systems for daily tasks.

My G4 Mac Mini keeps up quite well when compared to my Mac Pro 2.66 GHz. The only time I really feel a difference is when I'm working with iMovie HD (not iMovie '08 - that's a joke), and with iDVD. Honestly, the largest difference in performance is with iDVD.

For daily uses, if you had both systems set up identically, and had the computers hidden to where I couldn't see anything but the keyboard and monitor, I would have a hard time "feeling" the difference.

If your needs are beyond the abilities of a G4, then you really should go Intel. There were just too many issues with the G5's (both the iMacs and with the PowerMacs).

You do have a couple of good points. Personally, it wouldn't be powerful enough for me. I'm gonna be buying a new Mac Pro when I move house next month, but this purchase is intended for my 16 year old brother who doesn't do anything other than play cd's, youtube, msn, etc. but he likes the design.

I think a Core Duo would be out of my price range to be honest.

 

[flyinmac]

You do have a couple of good points. Personally, it wouldn't be powerful enough for me. I'm gonna be buying a new Mac Pro when I move house next month, but this purchase is intended for my 16 year old brother who doesn't do anything other than play cd's, youtube, msn, etc. but he likes the design.

I think a Core Duo would be out of my price range to be honest.

For those uses, he probably wouldn't see any performance difference between the G5 and the G4. Get him a mini G4.

For those uses, I wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between my Mac Pro and my 1.25 GHz Mini G4.

Stock a G4 Mini with 1 GB of RAM, and you should be good. The memory for it is pretty cheap.

A Mini G4 can take up as little space as an iMac G5. Just put an LCD screen on a small stand over the G4.