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is this a good deal?

S

Sossity

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 12, 2010
1,360
32
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-Mini-Z0M9-2-7GHZ-Core-i7-2620M-16GB-Radeon-HD6630M-256GB-SSD-SATA3?item=170822244983&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7638095762480949605

I found it on ebay, it one of a few configurations from this seller.

I am looking for desktop mac, without the glare screen of the imac, & the bulk of the mac pro

I will be using it for graphic design, (photoshop, indesign illustrator.) some video editing, & running windows under parallels. I will also be using a wacom tablet.

it is a souped up 2011 mac mac mini. I already have a keyboard & monitor.

does this seller look legit? or should I buy elsewhere?
 
is this one a better price? for what it is?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-Mini-Z0M9-2-7GHZ-Core-i7-2620M-8GB-Radeon-HD6630M-OWC-240GB-SSD-/170789034566?pt=Apple_Desktops&hash=item27c3d1da46

I could then upgrade the ram if the 8gb is not enough, or should i just avoid this seller?

I like the idea of getting the base i7 imac & the parts myself, but am a little uncomfortable with installing these items in it, I read the hard drive is a bit difficult to replace, & trying to reinstall the os.

actually here is a link to when I typed in mac mini i7 ssd drive,

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=mac+mini+i7+ssd

these are the results I got, are any of those any good?

& I got these when I typed in just mac mini i7

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=mac+mini+i7+&_sacat=0&_odkw=mac+mini+i7+ssd&_osacat=0
 
Last edited:
Sossity said:
would those prices be still be better taking shipping & tax costs into account?, I am in California, so I would probably have to pay tax.
Click to expand...

As I don't know the tax laws you have in California, I can't answer that. In Europe most prices include VAT, thus I always forget, that the US does not include them.

Maybe there is an online calculator for taxes or some info on the Newegg site about it.

Btw, the i7 is not that much faster than the i5, thus you could even get the i5 Mac mini via Newegg and save taxes?

Mac Benchmarks by Geekbench
 
Not a great deal, but maybe a decent one

simsaladimbamba said:
The Mac mini with a 2.7 GHz CPU costs 899 USD via Apple (no link, as Apple Online Store is down), 16 GB RAM cost as low as 99 USD via Newegg, and the Crucial SSD can be had for 299 USD via Newegg.
That would make the cost of that Mac mini around 1,300 USD, 300 USD less than what the eBay seller wants.
Click to expand...

With the prices above, which look fair/accurate to me, that means you're basically paying $300 for the service to to the upgrade. It was also mentioned that replacing the HDD in a mini isn't trivial. It's certainly doable, but it's not exactly easy and may require that you get a special tool or two from somebody like iFixit.com. Just factor in how comfortable you are doing the work yourself, how much your time is worth to you, and all the shipping and tax for all those components. That should bring that $300 difference down a little bit and you can decide if the convenience is worth it to you. Also, if you haven't already, check completed listings on ebay and see if that seller's price is in line with other souped-up-mac resellers.
 
thanks all for the replies, I think it might be best for me to buy with a solid state drive already installed, & maybe upgrade ram myself if need be, I read that ram is a little easier to do.

what would be best for me? i7 quad core intel graphics? or i7 dual core with AMD graphics?

I use adobe design premimium, virtual machine paralles, running windows XP pro, & some video editing.
 
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