Should I sell my PB 867?

[minchman]

What do you think? Should I sell my 15" PB 867mhz? It's been my primary machine for 6 years now, and I absolutely love it. But it's getting a little dated, and I need a bit more power for graduate school.

Here are the possible situations:

I can possibly sell my laptop for $400.

I can get a brand new blackbook (albeit 2.16ghz - mid 2007), for $999.

OR... I can get a brand new MBP (2.2ghz - current model), for $1699 (EDU pricing).

OR... I can wait for new MBPs to come out (but doing this will mean the value of my PB will depreciate). But this may also mean the current MBPs would be on clearance.

I'd like to know what some of you might do in this situation. THANKS for any input. HELP!

 

[heatmiser]

Any computer on the market now will be in the same condition (performance-wise) five or six years from now. I'd get a refurbished Macbook or MBP and sell the Powerbook.

Waiting and planning on buying clearance MBPs won't work, because Apple doesn't decrease prices; they just move current models into the refurbished section. So if you want a current MBP, you might as well save yourself the wait and get one from the refurbished section now. Ditto for Macbooks; you can buy current models for a few hundred less in the refurb section.

 

[xraydoc]

If your doing mainly office/text stuff, the MacBook is a fantastic machine. If you need 3D work, then you pretty much need to go with the MacBook Pro.
And if the 13.3" screen size is an issue for you on the MacBook, consider a cheap desktop display to connect it to when your home.

 

[mkrishnan]

While you're considering selling it, get ifixit.com to quote you... I got I think $375 for a first gen iBook G4/800 a few months ago, and since they pay shipping costs and there are no transaction fees and things, I thought it was a pretty good deal. From quote to check was very pain-free. They had actually quoted me more on it earlier but I wasn't ready to sell.

Also will give you an idea of a floor value to sell privately for, since you'll know you could get that much.

 

[minchman]

Hey thanks for all the advice,

I will definitely see how much ifixit.com will offer. The laptop is in amazing shape, and I have lots of extras to offer (think 7200 RPM). So you think it's safe to send them your laptop before they issue you the check? No issues at all? That kind of concerns me a bit (but then again, I've never used their service before).

Through my school, I can get the black macbook 2.16 GHZ (last year's model) for $999, or I can get the white macbook 2.2 GHZ Santa Rosa for $1050. Which do you think is a better deal? I'm tempted to go with the blackbook, even though it's the discontinued model. Most of the benchmarks indicate negligible differences between the two. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[mkrishnan]

So you think it's safe to send them your laptop before they issue you the check? No issues at all?

No, that totally makes sense... I wouldn't have used them, except I knew people who had positive experiences with them. Also they have a strong reputation in Apple repair... I think they do it in part to get spare parts (although I suspect they re-sell some of the computers also). I had a good experience with it.