which mac would hold value?

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Hi all,

now here is an enviable predicament.

my company will buy me a computer, but it needs to be purchased by the end of June.

I currently own a tibook .867ghz (own outright) and a dual 1.8Ghz powermac (ownership uncertain). the tibook works well, but shows its age occasionally. the powermac is great, but it is uncertain if i own it or if another company does.

this new computer i will unequivocally own and will be for my home use.

I would love a Mac Pro when it comes out, but it will not by the deadline. I was planning on waiting for Merom for the MBP since my current lappie is just fine, and i don't use it too much over the summer anyway, save for the interwebs.

so, as i see it, here are my choices:

1) get the current MBP and be happy with it.
2) get the current Powermac and be happy with it (least appealing).
3) get something that could then be quickly, even immediately, resold for little to no loss, and use that money in a few months to get either the new MBP or MP.

3 is where i would like the best advice. I have up to 2500 to spend, but need not spend it all on one computer, the difference can be spent on other periphrials i know i need. At the moment, it seems like the Macbook might hold its value best, as it is unlikely to see a significant revision before the others are released, right?

any thoughts on my wonderful dilemna would be much appreciated.

cheers,

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[mmmcheese]

If you want an MBP...get an MBP...

 

[yankeefan24]

I have to say that either the MacBook or the Mac mini would hold their value longest. Both were recently released, and are less likely to be updated in August at WWDC. Any thing is possible though. No one knows if they will surprise us all and switch everything in August. I would say either the MacBook or Mac mini.

P.S. I have never sold any computer ever in my life (I have a big attic), and I am only using "in theory" methods of my prediction, and nothing based off of market patterns and such.

-yankee

 

[twistedlegato]

The MBP would be the best value for you..

 

[XNine]

Looking at computers on ebay, I've found Powermacs to hold value the longest only because they are the most upgradable. Some G4's still go for about 800 bucks, which isn't bad at all.

I don't know whether to purchase a MBP or a new Powermac when they come out, only because I've never owned a laptop...

 

[EvilDoc]

I would get what ever is the most expensive. if the company is going to buy it why not. Then you can resell it and get whatever it is you really want. You need to milk this situation. Thats what i would do, but then again i am evil.

 

[j26]

Get all the peripherals you want and see what's left over for the computer. Then you can slot in whatever you ultimately end up getting into the setup.

 

[gman71882]

What about the possibility of getting the INTEL iMAC - you would be able to resell that at a good value because the Proccessor will be swapable with the New Merom/Conroe CPU's that are about to come out.

If you wanted to upgrade yourself then you could... or you could just sell the computer and get yourself the Mac PRO when it comes out.

I dont feel that the Macbook Pro will hold its value as well because the CPU is soldered to the Motherboard and cant be changed as easily!!

 

[thumb]

What about the possibility of getting the INTEL iMAC - you would be able to resell that at a good value because the Proccessor will be swapable with the New Merom/Conroe CPU's that are about to come out.

If you wanted to upgrade yourself then you could... or you could just sell the computer and get yourself the Mac PRO when it comes out.

I dont feel that the Macbook Pro will hold its value as well because the CPU is soldered to the Motherboard and cant be changed as easily!!

good point, i hadn't considered that. i knew the mini was swappable, but not the imac. i guess i reallly should pay more attention to apples whole lineup, not just the pro.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Get a Core Solo Mini until the Mac Pro is out. Those will be flying off the shelves when Merom upgrades are ready!

 

[balamw]

good point, i hadn't considered that. i knew the mini was swappable, but not the imac. i guess i reallly should pay more attention to apples whole lineup, not just the pro.

Remember too that for ~$2500 you can get both a stock 17" iMac and 13.3" MacBook!

Personally I think the 20" iMac is the best value in Macs right now...

B

 

[thumb]

hmm, now i am thinking about getting a mini, a dell monitor, and a macbook.

as an educator, i also get a free nano!! i am just loving this.

24" monitor: $850
mini: $579 + $90 1GB RAM +$99 for wireless keyboard and mouse.
basic macbook: $1049

$2667

i guess this means i end up paying for the nano myself, oh well.

any thoughts? with this set up, as I see it, i will keep the monitor no matter what. I will turn around and sell the macbook unopened a.s.a.p., giving me $1000 towards the MBP or MP. I will use the mini as my home desktop until until i decide on MBP or MP, and if MBP, I will probably keep mini, esp. with processor upgrade.

a couple of questions:

will the Mini and my tibook play nice with the dell 2407?
the one graphics intensive thing i do is digital photography. will the mini be able to handle aperture and photoshop?
when the new merom chip comes out, will it actually be rather simple to pop it in (sockets and all).

thanks

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