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Should I sell my iMac every year to always have newest model?

If you make your living using your mac, and the productivity increase of the new model more than outweighed its cost, then yes. Otherwise, no; keep using it until it no longer meets your needs.

My needs are simple, so a 20" 2.16 c2d white imac was working just fine. I recently got the base 27" iMac mostly due to the increased ram (vmware would gobble up it's 3 gigs), gorgeous display (and the ability to run two more) and thunderbolt. The white iMac is going to an employee whom I'm trying to wean off of windows.
 
I say why not if that is what you like to do.

Many people spend hundreds, if not thousands a year on movies, dining out, smoking, drinking......

If this is your thing, do it! Just don't break the bank and become one of those people who failed to pay their mortgage and helped drive our economy into the ground that we now get to bail out.
 
I found it very nice to upgrade MBPs every year until my company started providing them. Selling before a refresh I usually only lost a few hundred dollars which I chalked up to my fee for using it for 10-15 months. That said, it is more difficult to accomplish with iMac systems just based on the inconvenience of their size. It can be done. Just more of a hassle for you. I also find this works better on stock entry or mid level systems since the market who can afford the ultimate version is smaller and if they can afford it, they tend to buy new.

Enjoy your new system. Even 2 years in you'll find it retains it's value well.

Cheers,
 
sgfernandez said:
I just bought my first iMac this month and I absolutely love it! It has a slight yellow tinge (that I had to "look" for to even see) but it's very hard to notice so it doesn't bother me much. Despite that, I've noticed that some people choose to buy a new computer every year just to always have the latest model. My question is, is that really necessary? And is it economical? I know that iMacs have a high resale value usually, but in the long run, is it more costly to purchase a new one every 4 or 5 years or so or buy every year by selling your old one? Is the resale value really that high where you would only need a couple hundred dollars extra to buy a new one? I've just been curious about this lately, and any opinions or advice are welcome!
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To each their own...

Is it necessary? Probably not
Is it economical? No

Folks that do this have the disposable income and/or are enthusiasts.

You're going to lose more than a few hundy in the process of buying/selling quick.

Computers are consumables...they are not investments.
 
Ha ha! What a pretentious question;) JK

Unless its a redesign, its not worth it.

IMHO, MBP's have been far too stagnant over the past 2 years. They've made some great improvements to CPU + GPU (at least in the 15" in regards to GPU options)...but their HORRENDOUS decision not to increase screen res has really pissed me off.
Why does a 13 MBA releases in Oct get a 1400x900 display and the 2011 13 MBP get stuck with the archaic 1280x800? Pure rubbish.

When Apple does a redesign...I think well be pleasantly surprised, and your desire to upgrade will be well founded. Stay well friend!
 
I think there are a lot of people who like to get a new computer every year, if you can afford it there is nothing wrong with it. I don't think that you can justify it on a cost basis though. Even though many will try.
 
I usually plan on replacing it every 3 years. That's been my experience with PC's. A mac mini would be sooner and hopefully my iMac might take me to 4 years.

If you do high end gaming then every 1.5 years (and you'd be on a pc).
Just surfing? 5+ years.
 
NutsNGum said:
How on earth did you manage to get just shy of a grand for that?!
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because that iMac is already 3 years old heading towards 4 depending when he originally bought it .. 2008 2009 2010 2011 thats a great deal to get near a grand for that , i would not give more then £500 for it and if its the one with the 8800 gpu not even half that,
a high resale value does not mean you get still a grand after 5 years usage , just think about a 3 year old iMac has lost about £250 in the first another £250 in the second and another £250 in the third year ,after that it will really drop as no apple care left , full risc to get a iMac that breaks down within a month which is not unusual after 3 years and with now many overclockers and self declared Mac technicians doing DIY repairs on the run

i mean i would not even touch one who had been upgraded with a ssd by someone i dont know if he ever had opend any computer before, and that sort of stuff brings the once high resale value of iMac's down
i mean i would pay more for a untouched never opened and still working iMac G4 20" then for a 2010 iMac i7 that had DIY upgrades by someone who found out how to use a screwdriver from google
 
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I got an MBP last July and I plan on selling it after Lion comes out to get an iMac. I figure it shouldn't cost me anything (or not much, at least) because it'll come with Lion, the latest version of iLife, a bigger hard drive, more RAM, etc (all things I want to change)...
 
I've had my Powerbook G4 since 2004... It is getting quite tough to find new Apps that work without the intel chipset and albeit I am now buying a new iMac, but this goes to show how long an Apple product can last.
 
qzxyu said:
I've had my Powerbook G4 since 2004... It is getting quite tough to find new Apps that work without the intel chipset and albeit I am now buying a new iMac, but this goes to show how long an Apple product can last.
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my TAM (Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh) from 1997 works still like new like it did when it left apple but those are PPC Mac's from the days when apple did care more about quality components and not so much about keeping the price competitive
i mean the TAM did cost when bought new in 1997 real money not peanuts like today ,..which says it all , it was even deilvered with a limousine direct from cupertino , and not with a van from some courier company.
Mine has a G3 upgrade and runs OSX Tiger too and has a feature future iMac's lag , a proper TV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Anniversary_Macintosh

and before someone is asking "no it is not for sale not for any offer "
 
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Well I put it on EBay twice; the first time for 5 days and even though it had 70 watchers no one bid on it.

So I waited a few days then relisted it again for the same starting bid and again 5 days and for some reason the bidding went crazy in the last 10 minutes.

I guess it's just luck of the draw how many people are looking at that time for that product.
Put it this way I wasn't complaining. :D

NutsNGum said:
How on earth did you manage to get just shy of a grand for that?!
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I've recently updated the iMacs in the art department at work; previously we had G5 towers but they were getting a bit unreliable at starting etc. so we've now got duo-core iMacs.

I also had an original G3 tan tower from about 1997 which was my original Mac here. It has been turned on/off every day for the past 13 odd years and it has never missed a beat, though for the past 5 years it has only been used for scanning.

This is the same machine that I used to bubble wrap up, stick in a suitcase and lug around China with a 20" CRT monitor for my work as a designer.
Trust me, that's a lot of weight and considering it went in the hold and was presumably chucked around, I'm surprised it survived one trip let alone a dozen or more.

Unfortunately earlier this year I was off sick with a chest infection and in my absence, IT decided that I didn't need that old clunky Mac anymore and shoved it in a skip.

Not a good end for such a reliable companion that worked so well for so long.

I almost shed a tear. :rolleyes:


MacHamster68 said:
my TAM (Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh) from 1997 works still like new like it did when it left apple but those are PPC Mac's from the days when apple did care more about quality components and not so much about keeping the price competitive
i mean the TAM did cost when bought new in 1997 real money not peanuts like today ..which says it all , it was even deilvered with a limousine direct from cupertino , and not with a van from some courier company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Anniversary_Macintosh

and before someone is asking "no it is not for sale not for any offer "
Click to expand...
 
thats normal , i would cry too , those who jucked it away must be the most unsensible persons on earth thats like shoving the granny in the grave, only because she was sleeping
 
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I am really enjoying this thread about buying a new Mac~~lots of good info. I'm pretty sure, though, that I would probably be the winner of the "How old is your Mac" contest. The one I have is the oldest (I think) MacBook Pro out there, from 2006, bought it on Ebay in 2008~~Intel Core Duo, Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz, Bus Speed: 667 MHz, original all-aluminum keyboard, etc. And that's the *newest* one we have~~my kids use 2 Powerbooks and a G5. I'm not sure we should even be seen in polite company with computers that old.

Seriously, though~~I've decided for a variety of reasons, that maybe it's time to upgrade. The only question is: when? Would it be worth it to wait until September, when the new ones usually come out? And does anybody have any ideas on what will be different with the new ones? And maybe I should start a new thread altogether so I don't hijack this one. Would love to hear some thoughts.
 
Look at your uses, decide if it's worth it, and make priorities.

1. What do you actually do on your computer? Are you a casual web-browserer, music listener, ect.? Or are you a video editor/music creator/gamer? If you're the first, you can make a computer run a looooong time before you'll really need to upgrade.

2. If you're buying non-bto models, and reselling each year, I'd figure a loss of about $300 (depends on how much you decide to sell for) Is that worth it?

3. Priorities: Every year I get the newest iPhone model. Why? Because it benefits me in great ways. My iPhone is my notetaker, GPS, my life-line for a lot of tasks for work. If I can make things better and quicker for myself (with my iPhone) I'll pay the needed cash. I do not however buy a new Mac as soon as the new models come out. This is because the iPhone replacement benefits me more. For every thing I decide to replace annually, I lose money. Decide what you'd rather have. Think of other things you could buy with the money for replacing your Mac, then ask yourself: which would I rather have?

Hope those ideas help, OP!


---
Sent from my second generation, tabular Apple product
 
I am on the 3+ Year cycle.

Every 3+ years I look to see what is available to replace the computer that just went out of Apple Care coverage.

When I see something I like, I get it with Apple Care and it will stay around for at least 3 Years, more or less.

Current iMac Apple Care expired in December 2010.

For me it is time! :D
 
I refresh with each new cycle... one of my clients purchases a new computer of my choice every may - so I either upgrade to the latest version... or get the latest series refresh. it pays me double for every minute I spend shooting rather than on my Mac!
 
If Apple were to offer an upgrade trade in annual program for an upgrade for the ultimate model (e.g. 27" 3.4 2TB) for $1,000 a year I would buy it
 
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You would have to be a true fanboy to upgrade each year. Unless there is architecture change like SB or a big gpu upgrade, your just throwing $$ away
 
After having worked with PC hardware for 15 - 20 odd years the general rule of thumb was to replace the machine every 3 -5 years this is the average life cycle for a PC ... this was based on hardware aging and keeping up to date with games , graphics , os changes etc...

Just being a newbie to mac platform so unsure how quick they used to change or majorly change hardware .. looks like a new series each year but how much of a improvement over last lot ... My 2011 iMac is far better then my old i5 PC rig being sandy bridge , thunderbolt etc...

I expect this gen SB technology would last most users the 3 year mark maybe more .. if you live at the bleeding edge and have the cash do it but normally one year difference in hardware doesn't make a huge performance gain
 
Well, Im new to this "Mac Game" I'll be getting my first Mac OS X machine a 27" iMac this summer. initially I been saying I'd keep it 6-7 years. (This dinosaur a 2005 Dell Dimension E510 is going on 6 years this October) However, with finding out AppleCare only lasts 3 years. I may refresh at that time. I'll have to see how my Mac experience goes and what the new ones have to offer in 3 years time.

I wish i could refresh my iPhone every year but that is impossible economically with no upgrade eligibility. So I go with he upgrade eligibility cycle.
 
No real reason to upgrade every year. Just look at the specs of the new models that come out and decide if the jump is worth the hassle. If you think the leap will help you be more productive, go for it.

I have been running about every 2-3 years. The difference in speed between my old iMac and my new 2011 iMac was nearly double so it was worth it.
 
I usually sell my iMac when there is a significant enough refresh. Last time that was about 2.5 years of use. I just wanted the 27" wide screen and the i7. If not for that my core 2 extreme was still running great. I spent about $2400 on the computer with Apple Care and I got $1,000. I thought my cost per month was excellent and selling at the time was right.

However, I will say this.. I recently got a new Macbook Pro and purchased a Macbook Air in February. I don't need the Air any longer, so I would say I am going to take a $350 loss in just a couple of months. So I wouldn't upgrade every time there is a refresh.

I use my Macs for work, so I always have technology built into my budget. When it makes sense to go new... I do.
 
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