Recommendations for used Mac

[kerpow]

I love my PB and unfortunately my wife, who initially took no interest in "those weird Apple computers", is beginning to love it as well. As I do work at home in the evening sometimes I can't really be sharing mine. Thats why we moved to 2 computers in the first place.

She currently has a 2ghz Xeon Compaq Presario laptop that, aside from being extremely bulky, does the job. I've taken the memory up to 512mb and put in a wireless card so from a hardware point of view there's no faulting it despite being almost 2 years old. But, the usual issues of crashing and spyware, that I am obviously immune to, is getting her down.

My question is, what could I sell it for and replace it with? She uses it for web browsing and iPod and thats about it, but would want to stick with wifi. I'm guessing I could get around £300 for the Wintel. What would you recommend for a strictly web browsing user? I looked on ebay and there wasn't much, G3 iBook with 128mb RAM was about average (wouldn't run Tiger, might not have Airport). Macs hold their value so well it seems barely worth buying a used one.

Of course I could weather the storm and get myself a MacIntel next year and give her mine

 

[wdlove]

You would be smart to wait for the Rev. B of the Intel Mac. Just a smart move regarding bugs and compatibility issues.

Is cost an issue? I would prefer to stay away from eBay for a purchase. My recommendation would be the Apple refurb store, Savings. That way you are getting a one year warranty and the availability of purchasing AppleCare.

An iBook would work very nicely for your wife.

 

[aquajet]

Quite often prices on ebay for used Macs are grossly inflated. For example, people are often willing to pay more for a late-model iMac G4 on ebay than a refurb G5 directly from Apple.

Quite frankly I would be very cautious buying an older Mac laptop such as an iBook G3 on ebay. The newest G3s are nearly 2 years old, and you should assume that the computer will need a new battery, which can add another $100+ to your cost.

You should take a look at the Apple refurb store if you're looking for something cheap. Refurbished 12" iBook G4s with CD-ROM can be had for $699. That computer is more than adequate for a "strictly web browsing user."

 

[Coca-Cola]

I agree. The "Special Deals" section of apple is a great place to shop. The refurbished iBooks are an awesome deal. Best of all your software will be up to date. You won't have to go out and buy "Tiger".

 

[kerpow]

Interesting to hear your thoughts on ebay. However, I would think a refurb model would be out of my price range. As I said, I can sell the 2ghz Compaq laptop and use the money to buy a Mac but would could I get for that price. I would want it to be able to run Tiger and have an airport card. I really can't afford to be spending any extra money right now.

 

[chucknorris]

Interesting to hear your thoughts on ebay. However, I would think a refurb model would be out of my price range. As I said, I can sell the 2ghz Compaq laptop and use the money to buy a Mac but would could I get for that price. I would want it to be able to run Tiger and have an airport card. I really can't afford to be spending any extra money right now.

You could try Wegener Media. They have some pretty attractive deals, depending on what you're in the market for.

 

[kerpow]

You could try Wegener Media. They have some pretty attractive deals, depending on what you're in the market for.

Thank-you, that is exactly what I was looking for.