What computer to buy for $1150? (PC or Mac)

[Gasu E.]

I think I see where you are coming from. You are 14 and have some ambitious projects in front of you. I remember what my now 18-year old son was like 4 years ago!

I'll validate: Go for the G4 laptop and cash. I think the cash is a high priority for you right now.

 

[iMpathetic]

I think I see where you are coming from. You are 14 and have some ambitious projects in front of you. I remember what my now 18-year old son was like 4 years ago!

I'll validate: Go for the G4 laptop and cash. I think the cash is a high priority for you right now.

You know what, I think I will. I can then pick up a 22" Scepre LCD to go with it for $225!

Yay!

What was your son like 4 years ago? What did he do?

 

[Sesshi]

You'll need a monitor lying around, but the Dell XPS 630 has a Q6600 and two 8800GT's for ~$1200, including one year's on-site warranty I believe. A helluva better machine than the iMac, and even better than the Pro for most entertainment uses.

 

[iMpathetic]

You'll need a monitor lying around, but the Dell XPS 630 has a Q6600 and two 8800GT's for ~$1200, including one year's on-site warranty I believe. A helluva better machine than the iMac, and even better than the Pro for most entertainment uses.

Holy mother of a son of a Jesus- I may check that out!

However, I think I'm at peace with the PB and the E248WFP I found. Comes right out to 1150 shipped.

 

[kumbaya]

Off topic, but I think to the point...?

Just to chip in, I would agree with your plan to get the G4 laptop.

it's a great computer and you'll still get many years of good use out of it - check it out carefully, you may want to invest in a new hard drive and/or a good backup solution to ensure optimal usage going forward.

I would look to put the cash you now have into projects where you know a lot about the area. IMHO you don't know the values of various computer systems, so trading in this area does not look promising to achieve your objective.

Quite useful would be to work backwards: you now have a great laptop for high school, you just need to generate the cash for the car renovations + insurance + fuel + running costs. Take that total, and work backwards to what you have now.

For example if it will cost you $5,000 to renovate +++ and you now have $500, and you decide to make cash by trading in an area where you can get a 25% profit each time you flip a deal, then you need to make 11 deals to get you to $5,821 as illustrated below:

500
625 1
781 2
977 3
1,221 4
1,526 5
1,907 6
2,384 7
2,980 8
3,725 9
4,657 10
5,821 11

However, I would suggest you do not risk all your capital in every deal. Lay away 50% of your profits from each deal into the 'Car Fund' which you never touch. So, in the illustration above, you invest $500, make 25% return which is $125. Out of this, you put $63 into the Car Fund, and now have $563 to play with.

The balance you invest into your next trade. Don't worry if sometimes you get a 15% return, sometimes you will get a 35% return to make up for it.

This way, after 21 deals, you will have put $5,432 into your Car Fund, and still have $5,932 in trading capital.

I would advise you read Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens by Robert Kiyosaki. A very useful investment!

Hope this helps, and good luck, entrepreneur!

 

[iMpathetic]

Just to chip in, I would agree with your plan to get the G4 laptop.

it's a great computer and you'll still get many years of good use out of it - check it out carefully, you may want to invest in a new hard drive and/or a good backup solution to ensure optimal usage going forward.

I would look to put the cash you now have into projects where you know a lot about the area. IMHO you don't know the values of various computer systems, so trading in this area does not look promising to achieve your objective.

Quite useful would be to work backwards: you now have a great laptop for high school, you just need to generate the cash for the car renovations + insurance + fuel + running costs. Take that total, and work backwards to what you have now.

For example if it will cost you $5,000 to renovate +++ and you now have $500, and you decide to make cash by trading in an area where you can get a 25% profit each time you flip a deal, then you need to make 11 deals to get you to $5,821 as illustrated below:

500
625 1
781 2
977 3
1,221 4
1,526 5
1,907 6
2,384 7
2,980 8
3,725 9
4,657 10
5,821 11

However, I would suggest you do not risk all your capital in every deal. Lay away 50% of your profits from each deal into the 'Car Fund' which you never touch. So, in the illustration above, you invest $500, make 25% return which is $125. Out of this, you put $63 into the Car Fund, and now have $563 to play with.

The balance you invest into your next trade. Don't worry if sometimes you get a 15% return, sometimes you will get a 35% return to make up for it.

This way, after 21 deals, you will have put $5,432 into your Car Fund, and still have $5,932 in trading capital.

I would advise you read Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens by Robert Kiyosaki. A very useful investment!

Hope this helps, and good luck, entrepreneur!

Thank you so, so much for such a thoughtful post. My mother has advised me to do the same with the capital.

I actually read that book cover to cover when I was nine. That book actually inspired me to do all of this computer selling/trading stuff when I reread it a year ago.

As for the hard drive/backup solution, I'm rocking a three-year-old Seagate 200GB backup disk. There are cloned images of every hard drive I have on there, and it's still got 30GB free.

The PB I'm looking at has a brand new hard drive and battery.

 

[Sesshi]

Holy mother of a son of a Jesus- I may check that out!

However, I think I'm at peace with the PB and the E248WFP I found. Comes right out to 1150 shipped.

Seems I lied. It's just one 8800GT for $1249. Still - you can always chuck another one in later. Something you can't do on the Pro.

 

[iMpathetic]

Seems I lied. It's just one 8800GT for $1249. Still - you can always chuck another one in later. Something you can't do on the Pro.

All right, I wasn't going to buy that anyway.

So, just a speedy update here: I have $1190 cash to spend. In ten or so minutes, someone will come by. He has:

1.92GHz PowerBook G4 (rare upgrade thing)
2GB RAM
100GB HD
SD
CS3

You think $1k's a good price for that?

 

[marioblackman23]

while i commend you for being so young and motivated towards your "business" it just seems strange that you would be backtracking. Your selling a perfectly good macbook for an older powerpc mac. I Figure this is a decision you probably would regret as this computer may not last as long and you would have to sell it for alot less than you would have been able to sell a macbook for. and i mean yeah the powerbook looks cooler than the macbook but choosing style over performance is not a wise choice. (Just My Opinion)

 

[diamond3]

I'm still trying to figure out why you would want to go to a PPC PB. Yes, it is upgraded and everything else, but there have been people letting MBP with 2 processors a bigger hard drive that is an intel processor for just a few hundred more.

I'm trying to figure out what you need the PB over your mb for?
You say you want to get involved with video and photography. You're current macbook will outperform the pb in almost every task. The only major difference if possible that I could see the PB having is if you decide to use motion and shake. I would stick with your current computer until you get further into it and then trade it in and get a MBP.

Also, you might be saying you aren't losing money in the deal, however, if you buy a PB most likely it will depreciate faster. It sounds like you've been doing this though for a while, so I may be wrong.

 

[iMpathetic]

I'm still trying to figure out why you would want to go to a PPC PB. Yes, it is upgraded and everything else, but there have been people letting MBP with 2 processors a bigger hard drive that is an intel processor for just a few hundred more.

I'm trying to figure out what you need the PB over your mb for?
You say you want to get involved with video and photography. You're current macbook will outperform the pb in almost every task. The only major difference if possible that I could see the PB having is if you decide to use motion and shake. I would stick with your current computer until you get further into it and then trade it in and get a MBP.

Also, you might be saying you aren't losing money in the deal, however, if you buy a PB most likely it will depreciate faster. It sounds like you've been doing this though for a while, so I may be wrong.

Well, instead of a MB and nothing, I now have an almost new 1.67GHz PowerBook with CS3 and $400 instead of the MB. Since I know absolutely nothing on the subject, I figured a dedicated graphics card would help me.

 

[Jpoon]

First of all, it isn't a brand new Mac. I bought it used three weeks ago, for a trade of items worth $950. I will not be losing money on this sale, I will be gaining it. There's a time and a place for lectures, and that place is college.

Second, anything with a slant that I am spoiled or something is just plain wrong. My parents didn't even give me a computer. I had to mow lawns all summer to afford an iBook. The money and computers I get are earned, through and through.

Third, I want to get into things like video and photography, in addition to the writing job I have at Low End Mac and my Craigslist dealings. That's why I want a MBP, for the dedicated video card. I don't even want a new one, just a Core Duo. I prefer the look of the MBP.

Anyway, if someone could give me their opinion as to which option is best, I am kinda undecided here.

Well, if you can afford to live without being portable for a couple months, *or however long it takes for this suggestion* IF YOU can legitimately sell that Macbook for that amount, just save for a MBP, since that's what you want clearly from the way you're talking.

Save up, and get a refurb if all you need it for is the dedicated graphics. Really though, speaking as a person who did video editing throughout high-school... I don't think you're going to require a dedicated GPU. And a MBP is a lot more powerful than your Macbook lol... So, like everyone else, I'm a bit confused as to why you're opting for a MBP when you already have a perfectly functioning machine.

Please, for the sake of staying sane: make up your mind on what you want. If you really think you need something for video editing and graphics intensive whatever, then go for the MBP and you'll be set until college. But don't keep doing the whole trade systems thing. I've been there with different things, but it always ends up with you finding yourself unhappy.

Find some content in what you have :3!

 

[eXan]

Since I know absolutely nothing on the subject, I figured a dedicated graphics card would help me.

You dont need GPU for iMovie, Final Cut Studio (except Motion and Color), all Adobe apps, its quite handy in Aperture.

You should have researched the subject before making any purchases...

Unwise decision you've made, really.

 

[heatmiser]

You dont need GPU for iMovie, Final Cut Studio (except Motion and Color), all Adobe apps, its quite handy in Aperture.

You should have researched the subject before making any purchases...

Unwise decision you've made, really.

Yup; but pretty much everyone said this was a bad idea from the start. Perhaps it'll be a learning experience. Perhaps not. :^)

 

[iMpathetic]

Yup; but pretty much everyone said this was a bad idea from the start. Perhaps it'll be a learning experience. Perhaps not. :^)

Everyone, I agree that it sounds/sounded like a ad idea. The truth is, I am very happy with what I've done. I absolutely adore my new 15" 1.67GHz Powerbook. Not only does it seem fast enough for me so far, but I have almost four hundred dollars to spare.

Someone has emailed me and offered me a 24" BenQ LCD for $250 if I sell a gaming PC for him. This gives me, if I do decide to buy it, a nice, portable desktop with 1920x1200 resolution, and $150. I'll probably save the $150 towards car repairs.

The car thing just seems soooo far off, ya know? I've really got to learn to take it seriously.

 

[ncavs10]

get a mac. this is a mac forum and you can run windows on a mac if you need.

 

[iMpathetic]

get a mac. this is a mac forum and you can run windows on a mac if you need.

While it is indeed a Mac forum, running windows on a Mac isn't always a great idea.

The truth is, there are simply better values on the dark side. I wouldn't be getting a PC for Windows, I'd be getting it for value. Sometimes, I don't have a choice.

*looks at his Powerbook which he got anyway*