Cheap Mini?

[munckee]

I've been leaning toward the idea of picking up a cheap Mini in the near future for BASIC use (running itunes, web surfing, general backup machine).

Anyone know if/when I might be able to pick one up in the $200-250 range? Refurb/used is fine, but I haven't seen either in that range yet via casual searching. Obviously, I'm talking bare bones, first gen, 1.25 model, but for what I want its plenty.

 

[Eidorian]

I haven't seen the 1.25 GHz (256 MB) go for under $399 yet.

http://www.lowendmac.com/deals/mini.html

Apple had a $379 model but I never saw it on the refurb page. I'm just holding out for CompUSA to have a sale. Or I'll just hunt one down in store.

 

[jsw]

I'm sure they're out there, but at that price you'll need to jump as soon as you see them. People might be upgrading to the Intel version and undervaluing their older minis. However, I think that even the mini you mentioned is probably still actually worth more than what you're looking to pay.

 

[Eidorian]

http://www.betamacs.com/

$149 for a 450 MHz AGP Power Mac G4. I know I want one. Shipping is going to be hell though.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

It will probably be a few months yet before G4 Minis get that cheap....maybe the end of this summer. Once most apps are universal and all the hardware is Intel the PPC Macs will probably drop in value significantly.

 

[Eidorian]

It will probably be a few months yet before G4 Minis get that cheap....maybe the end of this summer. Once most apps are universal and all the hardware is Intel the PPC Macs will probably drop in value significantly.

Yeah, I'm holding out on a cheap Mini to get for my brother. Summer, sheesh I wanted to get it on spring break next week.

 

[turbopants]

Check out craigslist.org, and pick the city nearest to you, and see if anyone is selling a mini. You can probably find someone in town that has one for about $300-$325. And you can pick it up and try it before you buy.

 

[munckee]

Kinda what I figured. Might have to wait until summer or so.

Been checking CL. Glanced over ebay, but the prices are absurd. Not in a huge rush given that I'm waiting until the end of the month to buy a monitor (in hopes that Dell's prices will drop), so I couldn't actually run the thing quite yet anyway.

If anyone sees a cheap one (that they aren't planning to jump at), drop me a line

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Right now the only decent Macs you'll get for under $300 that can multitask in OS X with acceptable performance would be a used Cube or G4 tower...with 512MB+ RAM they are good for basic computing and more expandable than the Mini, though if you aren't careful you can go way overboard with upgrades (look at my G4 in sig ).

If you shop around, you could pick up a Sawtooth G4 tower and new LCD display for a total cost of maybe $400, then sell the Sawtooth when the Mini gets cheap.

 

[Eidorian]

Right now the only decent Macs you'll get for under $300 that can multitask in OS X with acceptable performance would be a used Cube or G4 tower...with 512MB+ RAM they are good for basic computing and more expandable than the Mini, though if you aren't careful you can go way overboard with upgrades (look at my G4 in sig ).

I'm thinking about selling my brother's B&W G3 and getting him an AGP G4 from that site. I have a Radeon 7500 AGP and an old Super Drive just for it too.

Still, I don't trust it very much if they're selling for that low. Any help on if it's a scam or not?

 

[DougTheImpaler]

I've bought from BetaMacs before, they've been good to me.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Those prices are way low....they may be legit but their return policy is crap. I'd avoid them, but I don't know much about them so it's your choice.

Most bigger legit vendors like DV Warehouse charge higher prices but are more likely to have useful customer service in the event of a problem. Bear in mind too that if you were to buy a used G4 you'd need a 512MB stick of RAM to get decent performance.

I bought my G4 from Mac of All Trades. They have the lowest prices for what I would consider a legit vendor, although they have some quirks. For instance, they seal the computer with a sticker and if that sticker is removed you void their warranty, so technically you can't physically inspect the machine internally (or add upgrades) until the warranty runs out. I ignored the sticker and broke it open to throw upgrades in. I ordered a dual 533 with 256MB RAM, a DVD ROM and a GeForce 2MX; what they actually sent me was a dual 533 with 512MB RAM, a CD-ROM and a Radeon 7500. That was actually a better spec overall but I was a little wary of the fact that they didn't deliver exactly what I ordered - maybe it could have gone the other way and I would have got a downgrade. Still, they have low, low prices. They just don't have the same level of service as the big resellers like PowerMax (who charge insane prices) do.

 

[Eidorian]

Oh I checked it out. The actual cart and order forms are frames.

http://www.marketworks.com/awstore/macguy10

I was about to pay for the Power Mac and I was on my PayPal page. I checked the specifications of the Mac and it was listed as PCI. I killed my order right there. It's AGP on his page but when you're going to pay it's a PCI Mac. I guess macguy10 is dumping the PCI models on us.

I have two B&W G3's. His lower end Rev. A (Rage 128, 512 MB, Panther) and my suped up Rev. B (Radeon, 1 GB RAM, Tiger, SuperDrive)

I'll just have my brother use my suped up machine. I have some Zip discs to copy over his user files. I'll sell his machine for $100 and save up for a Mini.