If you had $500 for an Apple notebook...

Hey guys. If you had to $500 to buy an Apple notebook, what would you get, and where?

I was looking at some Mac Mini mods but I do not have enough skill to do anything like that. The plus sides for this, if there was an actual guide for it, would be the 1.83 GHz C2D and Leopard. This Mac Mini can be had for $460 shipped - also includes a gig of RAM and 80 GB hard disk.

I was thinking about getting the EEE and sticking Leopard on there, after a much-needed 2GB RAM upgrade. How would that work out?

I prefer Powerbooks, and would like to stay away from iBooks pretty much.

Thanks.

 

It would work out very badly. OS X runs like a POS on anything but a mac.

 

Please note that discussion of installing Leopard on non-Apple hardware is not allowed here, so please refrain from asking any questions about that in particular.

Suffice to say, if you're interested in OS X, it's going to work out better both from a legal standpoint and a stability and usability standpoint to use an actual Apple machine.

At $500, your options for Apple hardware are going to be kind of limited. The thing is, they hold their value fairly well, even fairly old hardware.

I think it would be wise to get some sort of Intel-based system (since you would be able to use any Intel-based apps coming out, as well as Parallels, dual-booting Windows, etc.), but I don't think even the original MacBooks have gotten to the $500 range on the used market.... I just looked through eBay for you and the stuff in the $500 range seems to primarily be broken systems being sold for parts, etc.

It seems like the possibilities improve if you get to the $750-850 range.

Finding any sort of modern PowerBook even is probably going to be tough; something like the PowerBook G4 12" model would be worth considering, but even those still fetch a fair amount on the open market, and they aren't even Intel-based.

If you're looking for a MacBook Pro over a MacBook, $500 will not really be enough either.

 

save up more and get a refurb MB. or, just try yourself with the mini upgrades. try www.ifixit.com they might have the guides you need.

==edit==

nvm looks like they only have guides for ipods and notebooks.

 

that $500 limit is pushing it. You're probably looking at an older powerbook for that kind of money. Here is one http://www.dvwarehouse.com/categories/128_553/page1/sort5a.html for $549

You might also check out http://lowendmac.com. They have all sorts of online deals for older and current apple products. It's worth a look if you are looking for a bargain.

-J

 

I don't know. It seems like such a large step backwards, especially considering the value that the Mac mini has.

If it were up to you, would you get a G4 at <1 GHz or a C2D at 1.86 GHz for the same price? Not to mention 2x to 4x more RAM. And the mini is brand new...

It just is not mobile!

Ahh, sorry about that Leopard on other hardware stuff.

 

Yeah, it would be a large step backwards; I think it makes sense to get an Intel-based machine.

The thing is, you have an easy time finding a Mac mini in your price range because the Mac minis were intended to be close to that price range even new.

Finding any sort of PowerBook, or especially any sort of MacBook Pro for $500 will really be difficult (as I mentioned, you can't even really find a good original Core Duo MacBook for $500, unless it has something wrong with it and is being sold for parts).

Generally speaking, Apple laptops hold their value quite well, which is why even fairly old hardware will still go for a significant amount.

If you can save up a bit more to get your options up to the $750-800 range, I think your options for a portable Intel-based Mac will expand quite a bit.

-Zadillo

 

Personally, if I was faced with the choice I'd get a Mac Mini. Also the starting price of a mini is still $600, without a screen, at base specs (80gb, and 1gb RAM). $500 is just not enough for a decent working Apple notebook.

 

If I had $500 to spend on an Apple notebook......I Wouldn't, because they're overpriced. $500 might get you an MBP Box, but that's it.

 

This isn't really contributing or helping answer Maximos' question.

I hope this made you feel better though.

-Zadillo

 

The thing is, I do not want to spent $800 on the thing. I plan on keeping it for 2 years, so I do not want to put that much money into it.

 

Fair enough; at this point, I think you are going to need to wait a year or two at least for the possibility of original used MacBooks to hit that $500 price range them.

The only thing I can is that the higher price of used Apple hardware can be a benefit for you as well. Although it means having to pay more initially, even for used hardware, it does also mean that in 2 years when you decide to sell it, you still might be able to recoup a fair amount of your investment.

 

That is true...essentially, if I were to buy a $1200 MBP today, how much would it sell for in those 2 years?

 

That one is tough to say, but just looking at the used prices of the oldest MacBook Pros on the market now, that they are still holding as much value as they are (selling starting in the $1000-1200 range), I suspect even in 2 years, you would probably not be too hard pressed to get in the $700-800 range for it.

This is just a guess though; it really is hard to predict now how the prices of Apple hardware on the used market will change as newer hardware continus to come out.

 

I would get a mini but obviously that depends on your needs. You can't exactly pick up your mini and throw it in your messenger bag. The speed and architecture difference is just too much in my opinion.

The cheapest Macbooks I have seen were on my local craigslist for the 1.83/60gb model for like $750 but you never know whether those are a scam or not. That might be another thing worth looking into though.

 

$500 is really tight for an Apple notebook...are you sure you can't shell out a bit more?

 

Ummm... how about the iPod Touch?
It runs OS X, according to Steve Jobs.

 

If you search long enough on Craigslist and eBay, and are willing to throw in another $150, you can get a Macbook. You've gotta really look though...

I think you might be right about the Mini being a good option though, because it's really a good deal. You're also not paying the extra money that laptops fetch.

 

I really need something mobile though...I am considering an iBook for cheap, is that a good option?

I might just ditch the whole Apple thing and go with Windows...seems like you get burned down at this segment badly.

 

It depends on your needs exactly. The big downside to an iBook is going to be the fact that it is a PowerPC chip, so you can't run any software that requires an Intel-based Mac, nor can you dual-boot Windows, etc.

I guess it really depends on what your needs/priorities are. If you're just looking for a cheap way to mess around with OS X, an iBook would probably be adequate..... but if you're looking for something that could be your primary laptop, a MacBook would be a much better option, as you could also run Windows on it, etc.

I wouldn't say that you get "burned" at this segment, just that Macs still hold their value fairly well, so if you're hoping to get something somewhat modern for $500, you're going to be out of luck, and you would be better off with some $500 Acer or Asus or Dell.

-Zadillo

 

I wouldn't call burned...its just that Macs hold their value, as zadillo noted. Whereas with Dells they basically nose dive in cost...

The iBook's not bad to try out Mac OS X. Although yeah, there really isn't a Mac for the cheap segment.

 

I agree (to an extent)... and I think it's mainly because used mid-range PCs have to compete with brand new low-end/budget PCs... whereas Apple doesn't sell any budget Macs... except maybe the Mini... certainly not any budget Mac laptops though.

In any case, $500 really does go a lot farther in the Windows or Linux worlds.

 

The Eee runs Linux and is much more efficient than Windows, give it a RAM upgrade and it should be a good compromise. Heck, you can find YouTube videos of people who have managed to run Far Cry on their Eees, it's a good little machine.

Getting a Mac at that price isn't realistic.

 

I've used an Eee (briefly). The first thing you'd notice is... it is small. It's smaller than I realized. The screen's really small, and the keyboard is too small to do much typing on comfortably. If this is to be your main computer, I'd recommend a full-size laptop instead. You can always put Linux on it if you want, and performance-wise it'll run circles around the Eee. But as a secondary, ultra-ultra-portable computer, the Eee is great.

 

Mac's maintain their value because they are so expensive in the first place. PC's nosedive in cost because better, faster Windows based laptops are available for 3/5th of the Mac price.

In any case, for you, I would go for a Windows laptop despite your desire for the "Mac Experience". I picked up an iBook G4 for free and it ran like crap running modern applications and I ended up selling it for $250, a ripoff and a half. My physics teacher used an iBook as well and it constantly crashed doing basic tasks like Powerpoint.

 

Well of course it ran slow during modern applications. It's an old notebook. It's like saying "I picked up a laptop with the a GMA 950 and it ran CoD4 like CRAP!" Well of course it did.

As for crashing, not a big issue anymore. The only times my MBP has crashed on me was when I was doing things in Vista

 

I just bought a 17" Powerbook G4 1.33GHz 1.5GB Ram(Perfect Condition, no scratch, battery 60% health) from Ebay with $630(Includes $30 shipping).

According to my experience, you can always get a 15" 1.25GHz Powerbook G4 in perfect condition with $500.

Price vary by $200 more. Such low prices emerge every 3 days or so.

 

Uh huh. Ok, let's just take a few looks at laptops to compare.

Macbook base model (2.0GHz core2duo, 80GB, 1GB, Combo, 13" screen); $1099

Dell XPS base model (1.66GHz core2duo, 120GB, 1GB, 13.3" screen); $999.

To match the processor with the Dell, you pay $1199. It has more RAM and a bigger drive, but it's not the huge "3/5th" price difference.

I hate to say it, but you come off as a complete troll.

 

Actually, a 2.0 Ghz processor on the 1330 is only $100, $1099 is your total, with more HD space, and the ability to burn DVD's.

Compare any variation of a Macbook to any Dell system and the price difference is staggering. Then my 3/5th estimate becomes an underestimate. Did some playing around with the prices and got a Macbook pro for $1999 and an 1530 for $1474 with a gig more ram, 130gb more harddrive space, and a non crippled 8600GT.

IMO my 1520 cost $1000 and it has double almost everything the base Macbook pro has.

Sorry but I meant to link Powerpoint to "Modern Application". Even web-browsing was slow. Clearly a cheap iBook isn't for him.

Let's stay on topic. I don't know why Mac fans needs to defend their honor with every critique. It's about the guy's future laptop, not PC vs Mac.

 

I may have polished off that 22oz 10% alky beer at a fast rate and killed braincells, but I don't see a 2.0GHz XPS listed on Dell's site for $1099.

It's not so much about defending honour as much as it is correcting people that seem hellbent on saying "Macs suck".

As you can see I'm not a Mac only guy (Look at my sig, it's a Panasonic), but I give Apple credit where it's due. The MacPro (Towers, not MacBook Pros) are a great value for what you get, as long as you upgrade RAM third party. The MacMini is a great deal too actually, and the MacBook isn't too bad either.

See, the thing is, when Apple releases hardware, they release the best at the time. Can you find a faster processor than the 3.2GHz Quad that they put two of in the new MacPro?

When they released the new MacBook months ago, could you find a 2.2GHz Core2Duo for a similar price?

As for the topic, it'll be HARD to find an intel based Mac laptop for $500 without damage. Most (Hell, all) of the intel Macs are still higher spec than the lower end PCs from any manufacture.

If you want a $500 intel based portable Mac, you'll need to find somebody that is hard up, or moving somewhere that laptops are banned.

 

Right well ok? Doesnt every dell fan do that to?

Anyway the mbp is great value. I mean its nice and thin compared to lets say the inspirons. A nice illuminated keyboard, and to top it all off a magsafe power adapter.

 

$999+$100=$1099 go to the dell website.

Yeah they are called servers . I really don't get what your trying to say here. If your trying in any way to say that Apple makes affordable computers, your way off base.

No...they really don't.

Regardless, MBP is a good laptop. I actually recommended one to a friend (rich friend) for college and he got it. I never said it was a bad laptop. Only thing I was talking about was the iBook. It's funny how you guys came to such drastic conclusions and started defending all Apple products.

 

Correct, because Dell sells laptops differently than Apple.

The 2.0ghz C2D is a $100 upgrade on the $999 base model.

The $1,199 model has more RAM, a bigger hard drive, GeForce 8400M GS, a better battery, and one more year of home service in addition to the 2.0ghz CPU.

 

Guys, cool off. I asked for a good deal on an Apple laptop, not to see a flame war going on.

Now, to address what is going on:

What was the speed/amount of RAM on that? Just wondering - sounds like you may have just been underspec'd.

Thanks for that insight. I was more looking at 12"...the prices on those are BLAZING. Horrible.

In any case, I have not really made up my mind as to what to do.

Thanks for all your great insight though guys, keep it coming!

 

Alright guys, let's keep the thread on topic! Thanks everyone .

 

OK guys, let's say I've got $800. What does that get me? I am hoping for a MBP, but that is a far stretch, I imagine.

 

Maybe a broken MBP, lol. $800 will get you a used powerbook, or maybe even a low end macbook if you are lucky.

 

There's no way $800 will get you a MBP... maybe a real old PowerBook, but that's it. It will definitely get you an iBook... maybe a low end MacBook.

 

Man, this is depressing, lol.

Oh well, I will get myself a Gateway tablet that has specs that will utterly destroy any of those for the same price

 

You can get a MacBook at that price for sure if you look.

Why are you only allowing $800 for a Mac, but you'll drop $2000 on a PC?

Either way, remember that Craigslist can be your friend. If you're close enough to Detroit, you can get one at a deal usually. People here are trying to pawn their stuff so they can afford to move out, and nobody here has the money to buy them, so the prices go down.

 

How am I dropping $2k on a PC? My desktop right now cost $1200. If I had that much over again, I'd hit up a MBP. Then again, it would not seem the best idea to do, considering sooner or later the MB and MBP are bound to get multitouch touchpads.

I think $2k combined worth of computing is a lot of cash.

 

Not really. That tablets specs is pretty much the lowest of the low of what's available right now. Unless you're comparing it to something from 1-2 years ago. Tablet PCs in general are very weak, and you can get an inspiron with better specs for $200 less than Gateways $800 model.

 

You said you'd get a Gateway (Tablet even!) that could blow away the specs for the same price, assuming you were talking about the MacBook Pro price, because at your price range, $800 is not going to buy you a laptop with the processor speed or video card that the MacBook Pro has. You'll be looking at a $1500 minimum to match the specs I'm afraid.

 

Hmm...there was an oppurtunity for a Gateway refurb tablet for $700.
It had a 1.8 GHz C2D, 2GB RAM, 80GB HD, DVD-RW, Wacom Digitizer, etc.

It really was an incredible deal. I should have gotten it, but alas, it was bought before I got a chance

 

Great example of how you can get a sub $800 Macbook.

Craigslist in Los Angeles has a listing for a white MacBook that was dropped and cracked the screen for $150. You can score a new LCD for under $250 on eBay, spend $30 on tools, and have a working Macbook.

If it's still for sale when I fly in tomorrow, I might pick it up myself.