Help me make a decision: buy New or used?

matvei

Hello there AIers,



I'm a student (low cash flow) but need to replace my ailing powerbook 540c that I use to complement my iMac DVSE400.



The powerbook is used during the whole weekend, as I am working and not at home, and i basically use it as a wordprocessing (Wordperfect) and internet station (iCab), since i've got access to the place's network.



The powerbook is dying, would need some power thingy resoldering if I am right and maybe a keyboard replacement. Now, I paid 400$ close to 3 years ago for it (along with a stupid 300$ for 2 new batteries). This leaves me with:



Options:



1) pay something like 100-150$ to have the PB repaired, hope it keeps running reliably.



2)get a used powerbook (maybe a PPC 2400) for about 300$, hope it runs reliably.



3)get a new ibook for about 1500$



I could (maybe should) sell my iMac for this but (feeling real ridiculous about this) I just love it so much! It's been to most reliable machine i've ever used and It still feels fresh and new to me...



Any insight ?



What are your views on used machines? My powerbook was great, and if I hadn't bought those batteries, would be a great deal...



Thanks

the rootwitch

Get the iBook and never look back.

matvei

Just to add in:



Doesn't anyone else feel uncomfortable with a laptop as your only computer?



Maybe I'm too used to having a desktop, but I don't like the idea of having "my whole life to go" close to being "my whole life gone 'cause i've been unlucky (or stupid)"...



Having such a powerfull laptop (actually faster that my desktop) would throw me off a bit, what is the use of the desktop then?

eman

[quote]Originally posted by Matvei:

<strong>Just to add in:



Doesn't anyone else feel uncomfortable with a laptop as your only computer?



Maybe I'm too used to having a desktop, but I don't like the idea of having "my whole life to go" close to being "my whole life gone 'cause i've been unlucky (or stupid)"...



Having such a powerfull laptop (actually faster that my desktop) would throw me off a bit, what is the use of the desktop then?</strong><hr></blockquote>



Before I got my iBook in JUne my main computer was an iBook. Now my only computer (gave my iMac to my brother inlaw) is my iBook and I don't regret getting it one bit. It really is a great machine and will serve you very well and now that the iBooks are 100 MHz faster and have a faster system bus than mine they're even a better buy. Go for the iBook and you'll never look back.

logan cale

My main computers have been laptops for several years and I find it way better than a desktop. For most things. Rendering video and stuff. But, yeah, laptops rule. Just get an external monitor.

noahj

Depends on how important the money issue is. If it is the most important factor it would almost make sense to get the machine repaired, except fo the increased likelyhood of failure later. If you get another machine, get the iBook, get the student discount (you are in college right?) and pay less than 1500 for a mchine with a warranty, some cool engineering and everything you need in a machine.

matvei

I should gather the strength to sell the iMac then?



It feels like selling a child! (That's so geeky...)



Anyone with ideas about justifying the iMac in this situation? aside from backup...

eman

[quote]Originally posted by Matvei:

<strong>I should gather the strength to sell the iMac then?



It feels like selling a child! (That's so geeky...)



Anyone with ideas about justifying the iMac in this situation? aside from backup...</strong><hr></blockquote>



Sell the iBook unless you have the money to afford the iBook without selling the iMac. I think it's always good to have a spare machine around.

x704

I'd suggest getting the iBook & selling the iMac as long as your not really a big 3D gamer (which would make the iMac a poor choice anyway).



You'll probably want an external monitor, you can probably pick up a used 17" one in good shape for around $100. Additionally I'd suggest a backup external Firewire drive. It'll provide you with a way to backup your data & be used as a quick boot disk if something were to happen to your internal drive. Additionally it's possible that you could loose (unlikely) or have the ibook stolen (unlikely if your careful) & so it'd be a life saver to have all your data backed up onto your Fire Wire drive siting back at home (of course you'd have to get a new computer but ... at least you wouldn't have lost all your documents/settings/apps).

matvei

I'm not a gamer at all (although CIV3 wil probably change this...).



Anyone going the dual desktop-laptop route?



Students, what's your setup?



Help me justify keeping the iMac...



Decisions, decisions...



Matvei



BTW: thanks to all who replied.

serrano

i've got a b&w g3 400 oc'ed to 450/13gig/256Ram/4xBurner/Radeon 32mb/17'inch apple studio display



i am in college.

i love this machine, and it pains me when i start checking out similar machines to find a price to sell it for, why? because after 1 quarter of college i can see how much an ibook would help me. taking notes in class, writing papers wherever i am whenever i want, being able to get out of the loudass dorms to find a place to write, write papers or do research while at my girlfriends house, when i go home for a weekend or break, airport!! slap a base station in my room and type while in bed, leech off the mac airport networks around campus - your life to go.

after i got my hands on one at our campus apple store i just realized how much sense it made.



i'd say sell what you got and buy an ibook - i've heard nothing but good things, people love these little books-and for a student it makes perfect sense, at least for me.



but with all these lcd imac rumors i've been torn! yeah, i'd like a g5 ghz- but me thinks it'd be outta my price range. . .

cdhostage

Get the iBook. It will feel incredibly refreshing to hav esolid new hardware under your fingertips. Keep the old one thouguh. That might be a valuable antique someday.

ender

I don't know how to advise you, but I'll tell you what I've done. Maybe you can glean something useful from it.



I got a DP G4/500 a year ago last July (right when they came out). I loaded it up with RAM, put another 30 GB drive in it, got an AGP Radeon and PCI Rage Pro for dual 17" monitors. I put in an UltraSCSI card for a backup hard drive and a burner I had lying around (from the old 604e days).



After I got everything set up and going, it was great. However, I was still missing something. I am away from home frequently, traveling a lot. Both driving and flying. I often was in a hotel with an internet connection, but no machine. I too am a college student (I don't live in the dorms) and we have a wireless network in the buildings where the classes are held. My computer science (Java 2 programming) class was being taught in a lab of Pentium II 300s, and I couldn't stand it.



I got a Ti PB G4 500 last January and it has seen equal use as my desktop. (incidentally, it had a cosmetic defect and Apple just replaced it with a Ti PB 667. Thanks Apple.)



I am frequently thankful that I have a capable desktop AND a capable laptop. They really aren't substitutes for each other. Both have very excellent and specialized uses.



I guess if it is possible, you should keep both the iMac and the iBook (you'll probably get shafted if you sell the iMac anyway). You will not regret it.



-Ender

matvei

That's just the thing... It's still such a great machine that I'd never get what it's worth for it. Not what I paid, but what I feel it's worth.

If it was slow or unreliable, i'd have no problem selling it, but it's just a perfect desktop for me... I know I need a portable but I was always able to rationalize it by having the powerbook be an "antique".

If I bought a 2400c, i'd never feel so distressed about wasting an iMac on my desk... It would truly be a companion.

God! I never had this feeling about my PCs (i'm a mac convert 1999). After 2 years, I was looking forward to getting rid of them!

Damn you Apple for building such great machines...

nav3

You could always keep your iMac, and buy a used rev 1 iBook for cheap on ebay.

I'm looking into getting one, because the prices are not bad at all.

powerdoc

Don't waste your money for the reparation of an old computer.

i have a G3 300 powerbook , he is quite fine i paid it some 5000$ three years ago, and do you know what ? for 1500 $ the new i book is far better in any tasks, at the exception fo the screen wich is a little smaller

eman

I still say you're just better off getting a new iBook (or maybe a 500MHz iBook) and if you can keep the iMac then keep it, otherwise sel it.

matvei

I'd love a tangerine iBook! The price is a bit too close to the new ones though...



How would you feel about using a 2400 today? I keep hearing about GLOD problems, trackpad problems, IO problems, etc...



How reliable are they?



Are airport cards cardbus only? Can ou find a 16bit one?



What was your setup Escher? Didn't you have an iMac and a comet?



I need to decide this week...

g4dude

Airport cards aren't cardbus. They are internal. they fit under the iBook's keyboard. But it is easy to find 2400's w/ cardbus enabled

hewligan

Well, I am in the same dilema. My Pismo died about 2 months ago and I decided to not get her fixed (£350 UK minimum fee to get her fixed, perhaps up to £500 depending on what was wrong). I sold her for parts, raising about £160, and now I have the same problem as you:



1. Buy an iBook 600/128/15/DVD for £1200 after discounts (I am a student too)

2. Buy a second hand powerbook (3400 or 1400) for £200-£300

3. Buy a PC laptop for about £800 (I know, I know!)

4. Do nothing.



Now, money is very tight, but having a laptop would help me do my research (I am a MSc. student writing my thesis), so it is almost impossible to survive without a laptop. I need to get something. My girlfriend keeps pushing me to get the iBook because she knows it would make me happy, but it is all about the money.



I haven't made up my mind yet.



Hewligan

matvei

Hew: Why aren't you considering the 2400? I think it would be the best non-ibook(dual) fit as a companion computer. You do have a desktop, right?



As for the airport, I was just talking about the 802.11b technology. The orinoco or other lucenty type cards were what I meant. Are those cardbus as far a you can tell? I should check their website...