Anyone buying a 2011 iMac when they know they can push their current setup longer?

[Kendo]

I have $2000 sitting in the bank just ready to be depleted on a base 27" iMac with AppleCare. For the past 2 and a half years I've been using a 15.4" Gateway notebook with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 512MB Radeon HD 2600, and a 250GB HDD. It works fine for my uses and the only games I play are Portal and Counter-Strike: Source.

I know I can use this setup for 2 more years and save $2000 but I've been wanting an iMac since December 2010. I forced myself to skip out on the July 2010 version knowing that the iMacs were in mid-cycle. Now that the day is finally here, dare I say that I'm a little hesitant.

One argument I have for keeping my current setup is that since I am sick of viewing the Internet on a 15.4" screen, I can spend $200 and get a 24" monitor while keeping the other $1800 in the bank. And then when I finally am ready to buy an iMac, there might be a redesign or maybe even a SSD as standard by then.

The argument I have against it is that although $2000 is a lot of money, I will only feel that hurt during the initial purchase. So if I choose to sell it in a year, I can get a huge portion of my money back since they retain such a good resale value. Or I can sell it and spend a few hundred more and get the next refresh. That way I can enjoy the iMac for the next few years and still feel like I haven't lost much money.

Anyone else in the same predicament as me?

 

[Benz63amg]

after a year you'll be lucky to get $1500 out of your $2000 iMac. the replay value is not good at all, i have a 2008 iMac and people want to give me 600 for it on craigslist. the value drops by alot.

 

[moneyman118]

after a year you'll be lucky to get $1500 out of your $2000 iMac. the replay value is not good at all, i have a 2008 iMac and people want to give me 600 for it on craigslist. the value drops by alot.

Do you think you could get 75% of the retail price a year later of a Dell Inspiron One 2305 Touch Screen Computer? I highly doubt it.

I sell my iMac every update. I lose $100 or so dollars everytime. It's a hobby. Best case scenario you have a 24" iMac with a 3.06 C2D. Thats not even present in the current base model. Technology changes fast and if you dont upgrade often you end up getting 30% of the retail price 3 years later.

 

[drpotter2807]

I'm on a 2 year old gateway laptop. I use it mostly for Photoshop and Lightroom, and then uploading those photos to various sites. I had to quit surfing on it because it was becoming PAINFULLY slow browsing- despite repeated attempts to clean and repair and de-malware, etc. Most of the time is runs PS ok... but occasionally it still hangs up... and then its really iffy if I can upload.

Luckily my new ipad2 has helped with the surfing problem. I CAN keep going on like this for a while.. but I DON'T WANT to. So as soon as I am financially ready ( hopefully next 4 weeks) I will be getting my first mac.

So kinda in your same situation. Its hard to justify in some ways... but I keep telling myself the same thing... resale value!

 

[Kendo]

after a year you'll be lucky to get $1500 out of your $2000 iMac. the replay value is not good at all, i have a 2008 iMac and people want to give me 600 for it on craigslist. the value drops by alot.

Can anyone else offer their opinion on this as well? I get a $100 discount on the iMac by purchasing it through my company discount so this should cover part of the depreciation. I was hoping it would only drop in value by $350 total so that I would only lose $250.

I'm on a 2 year old gateway laptop. I use it mostly for Photoshop and Lightroom, and then uploading those photos to various sites. I had to quit surfing on it because it was becoming PAINFULLY slow browsing- despite repeated attempts to clean and repair and de-malware, etc. Most of the time is runs PS ok... but occasionally it still hangs up... and then its really iffy if I can upload.

You should reformat it so it runs brand spanking new. Don't just do a software cleanup but a complete restoration. It will run the same as if you purchased it for the first time.

 

[Benz63amg]

what is there to confim? go on craiglist and check how much the 2007/2008 imacs go for, they lose alot of value.

 

[moneyman118]

what is there to confim? go on craiglist and check how much the 2007/2008 imacs go for, they lose alot of value.

Because technology has changed since then. It's not just new enclosures with the same old engines inside. Compare the resell value of a dell from 2007/2008 untill now and I'm willing to bet the Mac is worth more.

 

[daneoni]

after a year you'll be lucky to get $1500 out of your $2000 iMac. the replay value is not good at all, i have a 2008 iMac and people want to give me 600 for it on craigslist. the value drops by alot.

So true. This was one of the major reasons i left the iMac product line and switched to a MBP+ACD setup.

 

[Benz63amg]

its not only that the technology changed too, people are scared to buy used iMacs on ebay or craigslist(including me) because they think that since someone is selling it then there is something wrong with it. If it still got the warranty then you are somewhat okay but still it would be a hassle to carry a used iMac to the apple store and for what? for trying to save a few hundres buying used.. i dont think its worth it.

Buying refurb from Apple directly is a different store cuz u get full warranty and you know it was tested and everything.

 

[kfscoll]

Absolutely. I have a late '09 27" Core i7 iMac right now that's nowhere near EOL but I'm looking forward to Thunderbolt on the iMac (my MBP has it), the performance of Sandy Bridge, and a built-in SSD. Judging by recent eBay completed sales, I should be able to get $1700 or so for my current iMac (especially since I have AppleCare for it through next year) and, given the military discount I'll get on a new machine, I should only be out about $800 when I buy a new top-of-the-line iMac with a pre-installed SSD. The value of my current iMac isn't going to get any higher, so now's a great time for an upgrade.

 

[trip1ex]

I'd say you could easily lose $500 selling it in a year. But there's also a good chance to do better.

Just depends on what the new models are like and when you sell your old one, and how long you are willing to hold out for top dollar. And sometimes you just get lucky and find the right buyer.

I've had good luck selling my iMacs but have always stuck to the low end ones. I figure the depreciation hit in dollars is less and there's bigger demand for the low end because of the lower pricepoint. Sold my early 2009 20" iMac for $899 a few days. Paid around $1000 new. But had to pay Amazon fees and upgraded the hard drive myself to 1TB and ram to 4gb. So I lost around $250 after 2 years. My biggest loss, but also longest time I kept an iMac and there was no warranty.

I think it helps if you can get rid of your old imac when there is still some warranty left on it and before the new models come out. Of course this an ideal and not always or usually practical.

If you go on EBAy you can see what imacs have been selling for. Subtract 10% for fees and that's what you would get worst case.

You could dip your toe in the water. Get a monitor and a Mac Mini. You definitely wouldn't take a big hit on a Mini one year later if you got a decent discount to start with.

 

[archer75]

Push my current setup? Which one? I have like 5 computers in this house and one is a great gaming rig and the others are fine for HD video and web surfing. Another is a server.

But I could always use another high end desktop.

 

[xkmxkmxlmx]

I can no doubt get more life out of my mid 2007 imac. It still handles most tasks I throw at it quit nice with just a little hiccup here and there.

But I want to do some gaming and stuff (portal 2 and a couple others). My iMac can't even handle Portal 1, sadly. So instead of investing a few hundred on an xbox or something, I figure I will use that money to upgrade. Plus, I have some gift cards I am itching to use.

Plus the screen resolution on the newest 27" compared to mine almost feels like night and day.

So, I will most likely upgrade on this refresh.

 

[ctsoxfan]

Can anyone else offer their opinion on this as well? I get a $100 discount on the iMac by purchasing it through my company discount so this should cover part of the depreciation. I was hoping it would only drop in value by $350 total so that I would only lose $250.

Why don't you look at it from the perspective of someone who might buy your now "outdated" and used iMac? If I can pay a few hundred more dollars and get a brand new one that has the latest specs, why would anyone buy your old one unless it was worth their while?

When I sell my old tech, I am just happy to get whatever I can get for it. Anything is better than putting in the closet to collect dust. If I am that worried about a few hundred bucks, then I shouldn't be buying a $2,000+ computer.

 

[ball4lyfe]

after a year you'll be lucky to get $1500 out of your $2000 iMac. the replay value is not good at all, i have a 2008 iMac and people want to give me 600 for it on craigslist. the value drops by alot.

I sold my 2006 iMac 24" with a little dead pixel in the center for $625 just couple weeks ago. It was very easy getting rid of it like many other macs I sold in the last few years (I tend to replace my MBP every 2 years or so) and you should definitely be able to sell your 08 (if it is a 24" one) for at least $800...

 

[Benz63amg]

who said my imac is 24 inches? its 20 inches.

 

[rittchard]

I'm in the same situation in the sense that I can certainly push any of my current setups longer (PC and 2 year old iMac). But I'm probably still going to go for a new one assuming the specs look right.

Frankly it sounds kind of bizarre to me to make an assessment to buy predicated on resale value. If you really want the new version and have the available funds without breaking the bank, just go for it. You can play games with the numbers and/or wait all you want, but in reality you are just fooling with yourself mentally to either justify a purchase (or not). If you really want to play a numbers game, why not also calculate the net worth of having the new iMac to you per day and then factor that into the equation? I realize it's a lot of money but if it makes you happy, shouldn't you weight that as well?

 

[ascii42]

I definitely could push my old G5 another year or so, since I also have a Vaio from 2008 that's still pretty good. But I'm starting to think: "Why?"

 

[trip1ex]

I'm in the same situation in the sense that I can certainly push any of my current setups longer (PC and 2 year old iMac). But I'm probably still going to go for a new one assuming the specs look right.

Frankly it sounds kind of bizarre to me to make an assessment to buy predicated on resale value. If you really want the new version and have the available funds without breaking the bank, just go for it. You can play games with the numbers and/or wait all you want, but in reality you are just fooling with yourself mentally to either justify a purchase (or not). If you really want to play a numbers game, why not also calculate the net worth of having the new iMac to you per day and then factor that into the equation? I realize it's a lot of money but if it makes you happy, shouldn't you weight that as well?

Resale value factors into the whole "having available funds without breaking the bank" thing though.

 

[DisMyMac]

Nope, I'm buying it because I need it, and because I think it will be the last Mac that doesn't need to be jailbroken like an iPhone. I see Apple rapidly becoming a Pay-Per-View/On Demand/Netflix service that requires subscriptions, invades privacy, and restricts everything you do on it.

I also have a religious suspicion that their devices have been prophesied, and they will ultimately fail humanity.

 

[mackage]

I have $2000 sitting in the bank just ready to be depleted on a base 27" iMac with AppleCare. For the past 2 and a half years I've been using a 15.4" Gateway notebook with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 512MB Radeon HD 2600, and a 250GB HDD. It works fine for my uses and the only games I play are Portal and Counter-Strike: Source.

I know I can use this setup for 2 more years and save $2000 but I've been wanting an iMac since December 2010. I forced myself to skip out on the July 2010 version knowing that the iMacs were in mid-cycle. Now that the day is finally here, dare I say that I'm a little hesitant.

One argument I have for keeping my current setup is that since I am sick of viewing the Internet on a 15.4" screen, I can spend $200 and get a 24" monitor while keeping the other $1800 in the bank. And then when I finally am ready to buy an iMac, there might be a redesign or maybe even a SSD as standard by then.

The argument I have against it is that although $2000 is a lot of money, I will only feel that hurt during the initial purchase. So if I choose to sell it in a year, I can get a huge portion of my money back since they retain such a good resale value. Or I can sell it and spend a few hundred more and get the next refresh. That way I can enjoy the iMac for the next few years and still feel like I haven't lost much money.

Anyone else in the same predicament as me?

If you are hung up on spending the money, then don't do it. It is a lot of money, but for me it's well worth it for the experience and quality that you get. We all could get by on a Gateway laptop but we choose not to. If the money is worth more to you then don't buy one, or buy a used or refurbished one.

 

[FrankySavvy]

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As with all computers bro, technology depreciates extremely fast...except an iMac is like Toyota and Honda...It will hold it's value alot better then a Chevy, Ford or Dodge or in this case a Dell, HP or Asus. Your 2008 iMac is three years old now...that's pretty old in Computer age.

 

[MrWillie]

Nope, I'm buying it because I need it, and because I think it will be the last Mac that doesn't need to be jailbroken like an iPhone. I see Apple rapidly becoming a Pay-Per-View/On Demand/Netflix service that requires subscriptions, invades of privacy, and restricts everything you do on it.

I also have a religious suspicion that their devices have been prophesied, and they will ultimately fail humanity.

Why do you feel like that?

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As with all computers bro, technology depreciates extremely fast...except an iMac is like Toyota and Honda...It will hold it's value alot better then a Chevy, Ford or Dodge or in this case a Dell, HP or Asus. Your 2008 iMac is three years old now...that's pretty old in Computer age.

But his 08 iMac is probably the $1100 model too. (He said it was the 20 inch).

 

[DisMyMac]

Why do you feel like that?

2001 (the movie). Arthur C. Clarke was frequently pained not to tell what he knew about aliens and their plan for the earth. He adapted his novel to tell the story as best he could in the 1968 movie, that technology will turn against us in biblical ways. He knew frightening stuff that he couldn't say publicly.

Then there are lots of weak inferences about Apple being an antichrist, about iPhones and a cashless society... their logo representing the first sin, the price of the Apple-1 ($666). Every example is laughable, but still...