G5 Power Mac to Intel Mac Pro - a buying strategy

[ccroo]

Dear Foks:

What do you folks think of this strategy?

I sell my G5 Dual 2.0 PowerMac and 20" Cinema Display on ebay for around $2000.

I use that to buy a $1500 (edu) 2.0 Duo Core Intel iMac.

That leaves me with $500 bucks to put in the bank.

The Intel iMac will hold it's value better than my G5.

When time comes to but a new "Mac Pro" I will be able to realize more cash selling my Intel iMac than if I had stuck with my lovely G5 PowerMac.

That money (plus the $500 from the display) goes to my eventual Mac Pro purchase.

Does that make sense?

R

 

[generik]

I doubt people are that stupid, the prices for G5s now probably already takes into consideration that these are superceded machines. Plus I doubt that iMac will go for that much used as well, Apple's resale may be good, but as things go even if you bought it brand new and put it on ebay expect to knock a couple hundred off just for the buyer's trouble of getting it from you.

 

[Chrispy]

You are probably going to lose more money selling two machines vs selling one. Just wait it out and sell your G5 when the macpro comes out. Or, you could keep your G5 as it probably does everything you need (considering an iMac would be enough for you) and let the MacPro settle in. Who knows what issues may pop-up with those.

 

[generik]

Ever thought of sitting the first round of Mac Pros out?

My rationale?

Your PM is currently the lowest end Powermac in the range. Since you are not one who is constantly keeping abreast of the latest hardware releases, why suddenly start now? If some talk about the MacPros are correct these are most likely going to be the next generation of Pentium 4s in Powermac skins, that's all.

 

[Foxglove9]

Won't work out. For one, you didn't add tax into your imac purchase plus any add-ons like ram, etc... Then also since we're only about a month or 2 from the mac pro's release, why go through all that trouble in the first place.

It's not worth it really unless you plan on holding out on a macpro until next year and decide from there. Because yeah G5's will probably decrease a bit in value by next year, more so than usual. Still sounds like a lot of trouble for marginal performance gain.

 

[ccroo]

Value over time

All the options you folks point out are under consideration.

I am trying to avoid this scenario:

Photoshop for Intel Macs arrives.

My 60 lbs 2.0 Dual G5 -- value $????

My 2.0 Intel iMac --- value $????

The only thing going for our PM G5's right now is that they run Photoshop. Once Photoshop is Universal, will they have any resale value at all?

And how long can we expect Apple to support PPC chips? 2 years?

So I hold on to my G5 until the next Photoshop release nears, at which point it's worth very little, I suspect, or I sell it now while it still has its "runs-Photoshop" appeal. In the interim I get a machine that will do comparatively better holding its value in a post Photoshop-for-Intel-Mac-world. When I'm ready to buy a Mac Pro I might have a little more cash on hand selling my iMac than I would selling the G5.

Right?

(My 2.0 was not bottom of the line when I bought it. )

R

Raoul

 

[dex22]

I'm confused. Intel Mac pros aren't going to stop PowerMacs running Photoshop.

Anyway, the basis of your original post was whether people agreed that it would be a good idea to sell the powermac and lock in the value before the intel Macs are released.

I don't think you'll be locking in much value. The resale price of your G5 may fall by $50-$100, but most of the loss has already been factored in to the selling prices. Each time you sell a mac, you're paying shipping fees, and you're taking a small but not negligible risk of being ripped off. Maybe 5% risk?

Therefore, if *I* were *you* (which I'm not) I'd hold onto my G5 and wait to see what the Powermac replacement offers when it's released.

 

[Cross]

It is a good question I want to know as well how long they plan on supportiing the PowerPC line. I have heard lots of numbers all over the place.

However I think your idea is not bad but I am not 100% sure. The G5 Desktops were always something I felt would hold value but the new iMac might not be a bad idea...

In the end i would decide to buy the new iMac and sell the G5 but thats just me.

 

[generik]

Hmm.. so it wasn't even the PCI-express model?

The resale prices on those are really going to hurt *right now* instead of by next year. At the moment I am actually comtemplating trying to get a Dual 2.0 at a local auction meet and selling my Core Duo Mini, if the price on the dual 2.0 is right. Better storage, better graphics, expandable and if all that can be had for $400-500 more than the Mini more joy to me.

Ultimately it depends on what you really want, what matters to you. You certainly did raise a good point as to what will happen to G5 resales value once PS goes universal, well prices for them can only go down, but what alternatives do you have? Build a hackintosh just so you can keep working in the meantime while having your money squirreled away?

 

[Chrispy]

Also keep in mind that the iMacs are due for an update soon. If you went out and bought an Intel iMac now and then they were updated you would take a hit on resale value.

 

[tristan]

Yeah, the Core 2 Duo CPUs are going to come out, Leopard is going to come out, etc. And its always possible the iMac could be redesigned. And you're going to have to put in a bunch of RAM that won't resell well.

But actually I think you have a good strategy, I would just space it out - hold on to the iMac for 12-18 months. Could you do that?

Also I think the value of the G5s won't plummet until Adobe CS2 goes universal, because until then they're still the fastest photoshop machines around.

 

[generik]

Yeah, the Core 2 Duo CPUs are going to come out, Leopard is going to come out, etc. And its always possible the iMac could be redesigned. And you're going to have to put in a bunch of RAM that won't resell well.

Reselling ram? But I thought the first Core 2s will be using the same memory as the earlier Core?

Also I think the value of the G5s won't plummet until Adobe CS2 goes universal, because until then they're still the fastest photoshop machines around.

Yeah, that'd also be a good strategy, you just wait for the iMac bump, then suffer a few months until CS3 is released, then sell the iMac and get a MacPro. Meanwhile you'd have squirreled more money away in your secret MacPro fund and perhaps can even afford a top end model