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Did I make a stupid purchase?

TheSpaz

TheSpaz

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jun 20, 2005
7,032
1
Okay, so I bought a used Mac mini from eBay. Here are the specs.

Mac mini G4 1.25GHz 512MB RAM, 40GB HDD: $325

Then I needed a keyboard and mouse. I already had a keyboard, so the Mighty Mouse was $49.

Then I decided that 40GB isn't going to be enough storage, so I went to Staples and picked up a 160GB PATA drive. I also wanted 1GB of RAM, so I picked up a PNY stick at Staples as well: 160GB PATA $99, 1GB of RAM $89.

I also needed a Monitor. Hanns.G 15" 1440 x 900: $179

It just hit me last night, that all of these upgrades and add-ons I was getting... come pretty much standard in the $599 Mac mini Intel. So for about $75 more, I could have gotten a faster, newer Mac mini Intel, but with an 80GB HDD instead.

Also, the G4 Mac mini I got does not have a Wifi card or IR sensor for remote.

I feel like I'm gonna be sick... heh. What should I do? Did I make a bad choice?
 
Personally I would NOT have made that purchase, and got a low end used Mac Mini which would have been faster and came with everything. That's what I did, I found a 1.66 CD Mac Mini here in the Marketplace for $435 w/ 2gb ram etc. Plus when Snow Leopard comes out, chances are you won't be able to upgrade if they drop PowerPC support.

But since you already bought everything, enjoy your purchase :)
 
Well, it wasn't a stupid purchase. Just short sighted. You might consider cutting your losses and dumping the Mac Mini back on E-Bay. Then, as Andrew pointed out, purchasing a newer generation Mini used or new.
 
see, I'm in two minds about this....

Sure, if snow leopard drops PPC support, your forced to upgrade.

But if that happens, at least your upgrading to the latest 24 core CPU or whatever it is that's out when it finally comes.

Sure you've spent as much as a new mac; but you'd have still wanted that extra drive space, monitor and Ram wouldn't you?

quit worrying, start enjoying.

Its a shame your in the US - I've a mini mac wireless card that I bought in error from ebay lying in my drawer at work!
 
Jiff Lemon said:
see, I'm in two minds about this....

Sure, if snow leopard drops PPC support, your forced to upgrade.

But if that happens, at least your upgrading to the latest 24 core CPU or whatever it is that's out when it finally comes.

Sure you've spent as much as a new mac; but you'd have still wanted that extra drive space, monitor and Ram wouldn't you?

quit worrying, start enjoying.

Its a shame your in the US - I've a mini mac wireless card that I bought in error from ebay lying in my drawer at work!
Click to expand...

As you can see in my signature, I've got all the power I need with a Mac Pro, but I wanted the Mini as a cheap recording computer I can put in my jam room because I'm not going to lug my Mac Pro around. It's just a shame that I didn't think it through harder before I purchased the G4 version. It's funny how add-ons and upgrades can sneak up on you and you think you're getting a good deal, when actually you're not. It wasn't until after I purchased the G4 Mini, that I realized I wanted more RAM and drive space... then last night I was checking out Apple's site and I noticed that the Intel Mac pretty much has all that (plus infrared and wifi) with a nice Intel Core 2 processor. Sucks to be me I guess. Still, this Mini will be fine for what I wanna use it for, it's just a shame that I didn't get the faster, newer machine for ALMOST the same cost.
 
Don't sell your mini, instead return all the stuff that you bought after.

You got a reasonable price for your G4 mini - that is not the problem. The problem is what you spent afterward. First of all, don't buy the Mighty mouse. Pick up a nice Logitech mouse for $10. Likewise, don't waste money on the 2.5" HDD. Just live with your 40GB for now. Wait til Thankgiving sale to buy an external drive. You get a lot more GB/$. Likewise, you don't need your RAM now. Wait for a big sale.

Finally, never buy RAM from a consumer electronic store. When you are ready to buy, go to specialized PC stores, or online store like newegg. They sell RAM for a lot less. You should be able to get 1GB RAM for half the price you paid.
 
I'm with Silverblack. If you're going bargain, you gotta go bargain.

Also, I would not have bought the G4 mini. Intel minis (even single core) have gigabit ethernet, which will make transferring your data to your mac pro ten times faster.
 
silverblack said:
Don't sell your mini, instead return all the stuff that you bought after.

You got a reasonable price for your G4 mini - that is not the problem. The problem is what you spent afterward. First of all, don't buy the Mighty mouse. Pick up a nice Logitech mouse for $10. Likewise, don't waste money on the 2.5" HDD. Just live with your 40GB for now. Wait til Thankgiving sale to buy an external drive. You get a lot more GB/$. Likewise, you don't need your RAM now. Wait for a big sale.

Finally, never buy RAM from a consumer electronic store. When you are ready to buy, go to specialized PC stores, or online store like newegg. They sell RAM for a lot less. You should be able to get 1GB RAM for half the price you paid.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty anal about accessories... they must be Apple brand to match the rest of the Apple stuff. However, I was not going to buy an Apple display for it, those things cost a TON. I don't want an external drive because I'd rather have the portability of an internal drive (meaning, one less thing to bring with me). I know that buying RAM online is cheaper, but I am an impatient shopper... I see it, and I must have it now... it's a bad habit, but it's how I am. Thinking about it now... I got exactly what I paid for... so thinking about it that way... it doesn't seem like I got a bad deal at all... I just went crazy on the accessories and extras (like you said) and I probably still would have ended up upgrading a new Mac mini anyways with 2GB of RAM and a bigger hard drive.... hehe. Plus, I got the experience of opening the mini myself and checkin' out it's insides.... I feel emotionally connected to it now. I'm not hurting for money, so I'll just keep what I have and enjoy it like others have stated. Next time though, I'll do the math before I dive into a purchase like this again.
 
Yea, but you'd still have had to buy the mouse. And the Monitor. And the external drive...

I think you made a decent enough choice. I have a G4 Mini and I'm using it right now, it's not that bad!
 
It would be hard to recommend buying a non Intel-based machine at this point, but if it does what you need it to, great. Otherwise...
 
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