Need OS X capable Mac for under $400

I wouldn't go any lower than a slot loading iMac G3 400 mhz. I've seen these selling under $400 on ebay. You may want to consider buying extra RAM since these machines only come with 128mb. You can get 256mb for $44 at www.dealram.com

You can find a lot of good deals on Macs all over the web, or even your local newspaper ads. If your area has a buy sell and trade classified ad line, check that out too. I often see many used Macs in for around $400. (Original iMacs for as low as $300!) Plus, most of them have usually been upgraded a bit. So you should be able to get a basic computer with at least 128 RAM(although 256 would be better). I recommend a slot loading iMac(as Stogieman mentioned), they have faster boards and will probably be more efficient at the tasks your mothers friend is looking for. (Dealing with photos, ect.) Also, if she is looking for fun ways to edit pictures, but doesn't want to put out tons of cash...purchase a Wacom tablet(it is bundled with Painter Classic, and it has surprisingly good photo editing tools)...or just purchase the software standalone. (London Drugs). Well, whatever the desicion, good luck!

I'm using a iMac DV+ G3 450/384mb. It runs OS X just fine (no Quartz Extreme, but otherwise does everything you'd want).

I LOVE this machine ... but am looking to upgrade after the next eMac rev because I really do use several programs that could benefit from a G4 and would like a 17" monitor. When I sell it, I could meet the $300 requirement (since it'd otherwise just be sitting around doing nothing) which is CHEAP for this machine (check eBay et al ... they go for more than that).

But, aside from my particular machine ... I'd say that most DV series iMacs will be acceptable to run OS X (in fact, there is a thread in the iMac forum about it right now). Just make sure to have enough ram. The original iMacs or earliest G3s would probably be a little sketchy, IMHO.

But for that much, and if all you want to do is download photos from a digital camera, get a decent PC. 800 MHz Pentium III with a 17" flat screen monitor for $399 on eBay.

A Bondi Blue (233MHz) or "Four Color" (333MHz) tray-load iMac will run OS X ok. Though, I'd say a slot-load (350Mhz+) would be a more desireable system and will probably be less quirky. You should be able to find a tray loader for about $300 and a slot-load for roughly $400, depending on CPU speed, RAM, and features.

Another option is to look for an older clamshell iBook (300MHz) or Lombard (Bronze 333MHz)) Powerbook. Those can be had for $250-400, again, depending on features, RAM, condition, etc..

Yet another option is a B&W Powermac G3, I've seen some of those go for around $300-400 (same conditions and variables as stated above).

On any of the above, consider 256MB of RAM and an 8GB HD as the bare minimum. Of course, as always, more is better.

I would avoid a beige G3 or Wallstreet PB (much less any older system). They can't run 10.3 without considerable help, and really never ran 10.2 as well as most would like. Stick with the systems I outlined above and you should be good to go.

Ewwww... you said the "P" word.

Dont go for a PC. You wont be getting your moneys worth. For the amount of anger and resentment you go through simply installing drivers for the digital camera...you will have regretted purchasing it. Definetly go for the Mac. I personally recommend an ibook(clamshell), as their considerably cheap in price, and are perfect for running OS X. Their all very durable. Again, good luck in your final desicion, let us know what you have purchased in the end!

True ... but $399 is getting toward the upper end of his price range. Plus, judging from olePigeon's posts that I've read ... he'd be happier being able to recommend a Mac.

Either way, if you go Mac, olePigeon .. it appears that a consensus is developing about what the minimum truly useable config is: DV series iMac. These machines absolutely RULE. Silent, fast (enough) and with all the "modern" connectivity (Firewire, 100bt, etc).

Yes, but then I run into a few problems. One, she'd have to get a virus protector, anti-spyware protector, and run litterally hundreds of megabytes of software updates for her PC. She is not the type of person who'll keep her software compltely up-to-date. Given the number of updates for Windows and their considerable size she is definately not going to keep her software up and running over a 56k dialup.

Two, I don't know how to troubleshoot Windows. Given that Debbie (my mom's friend) is completely oblivious in the workings of computers, telling her to reinstall an OS (muchless Windows) is completely out of the question. I'm not going to drive 2 hours to her house every time she needs to reinstall it (over another few hours) because a DLL messed up somewhere or a protection error.

I understand that she could get a technically better PC for the same amount of money, but it's the support for the product. I'm not call-support nor do I want to be one every weekend.

Other than that, thanks for the suggestion.

I have a Bronze-key PowerBook G3 and it runs OS X fairly well. You could probably pick one up on eBay fairly cheap, but you'd want to buy Panther for it, which would be another $129.

Personally, I would not buy a $400 Mac. It just isn't worth the money. While TCO for Macs may be lower, the initial output for a usable system is not.

I'd personally get a decent PC like this:

http://cart.bcentral.com/ShoppingCa...Warranty&quan=1

and a separate monitor. I think your mom's friend would be better served by it than by a three-year-old Mac. If you want to go with a Mac, get her a refurbished eMac.

Rev 2 Blue and White G3.

iMacs are great but if something dies it will be too costly to fix. With a B/W most of the parts are stock and cheap to replace. It can be upgraded as she needs things, RAM, CD burner, new HDD, etc.., and again ALL STOCK parts. No batteries to replace, built in FW and USB, and PCI slots, and as G5s are produced the G3 & G4 ZIFs to upgade this machine get cheaper.

I think you can score one for about $250-300

That's my though too.. It definately won't be as 'friendly', but if something like the power supply blows it won't be so hard to fix.

From what i see a ~400-450 would be cheap too <- but then there's the hassle of getting the monitor >_>

A 450 dv imac will work great. Just keep an eye on the hard drive as any computer nearing 3 years old can likely have that go out :|

The man asks for a Mac under $400, and you offer him a PC for $399. Bravo, bravo.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...item=2776838987

Take it home for $250 plus shipping. Its prob a Rev A. But you can pick up an Adaptec 2930 SCSI card cheap and use a faster SCSI drive than the built in IDE.

The more I think about it the iMac is a bad deal. It costs just as much and is harder to fix. The prices for upgrades is higher and since you are doing tech support for her the easy open case of the G3 would make your life easier. Plus she has a monitor from her PC. None of the iMacs are going to come with Panther anyway so the cost of the OS, should you choose to go that route of buying, is the same no matter which machine you get.

Look around but I am sure you can find similar B/Ws for about the same price that has more of the things you want.

^^

That's not a bad deal there. Just pick up a cheap 20 GB 7200 RPM hard drive, and then another 256 MB PC100 RAM chip and you're set.

I'd go with the iMacs suggested earlier. Realize that any PowerMac will require you to get a separate montior (unless her current monitor is good enough).

get her a freakin PC. $300 dollars can get her a freakin' powerhouse!!!


bite the bullet man! she's poor! let her use the software that comes with the comp and set her up with some of the better PC programs.


beggars can't be choosers! if you get her an old mac � a year from now she'll be suffering just as much as she is now!

if i was in this woman's situation � i would rather go with the PC rather than an old slow mac.

I don't think this woman cares about speed more than if it can do the job. We bought my inlaws an old slow Blue and White G3 for $500 (Canadian dollars), and they couldn't be happier. They wouldn't be as happy with a brand new 2.4GHz Celeron that we could have bought with the $500.

Wouldn't they also need an OS?

DRM

She can borrow that

macofalltrades.com 350Mhz for 300

Scroll up a little more and read the part about how this woman is completely inept in regards to computers and how support will be nearly impossible. If (nay, WHEN) something goes wrong with Windows, 2 hour drives to reinstall the OS are not acceptable terms. Not to mention trying to keep her OS and virus software up-to-date over a dialup connection. NOT gonna happen.

Also, as hayesk pointed out, if she's been working on a 90MHz Pentium all this time without a clue that she probably needed a new computer v. just an upgrade, "speed" is probably not her top priority. Her priority is a fast and efficient way of getting her photos off her camera and making greeting cards. I can't think of a better computer for the job than a Mac.

since that PC has been working just fine for her � a new PC will serve the job even better. she already knows enough to use a PC so why force her to learn macs on her own?

when upgrading from a 90mhz computer to a much more modern machine � Even i know it's a paradigm shift. A 90mhz machine is pentium pro territory...compared with her getting FANTASTIC value for her 300 bucks! with today's great values.

also, when she needs simple help or has basic questions: she can ask most anybody she knows who has a PC. if you get her a mac, she only knows 1 person.

If the customer is poor and doesn't care much for computers, being a sheep can work to their advantage

I would second the idea of a Bronze Lombard Powerbook (G3 333MHz). I have one as a second laptop and Panther runs wonderfully on it. I personally wouldn't sell mine, but I'm sure you could get one on e-bay. It has USB and a biult in 56K modem and Panther has iPhoto.

I am the person whe knows. She lives in Grass Valley, the town is less than a 5 mile radius. The only person who does PC repair up there (and I'm not kidding) is a highschool student, and he charges $20/hour.

However, I suppose I can ask her to ask around her work or whatever to find someone who'd be willing to spend 3 hours of their weekend afternoon installing Windows for her every time there's a problem. I'm sure they'd be thrilled.

look, i don't kknow the situation as well as you but don't act like OSX is some sort of miracle OS that never has problems. installing OSX on an older mac is gonna bring about some problems.

i was thinking she has a son or nephew she can call to ask how to change her desktop and etc. With a Mac...there's only you for ever and ever

Panther runs like a DREAM on a Bondi w/ 160 RAM, installed it on two identical machines.

Its a shame you're not OX X "enabled" yourself yet, Pigeon. A DV iMac with its built in microphone is "automagically" configured for audio chat via iChat AV --- be SUPER easy to provide support from 2 hrs away.

Bummer that the budget for this is so tight ... for a few hundred more she could get a refurbed eMac that would probably serve her purposes for YEARS AND YEARS (as opposed to only YEARS with a DV iMac). If she's running a P 90 -- that's what, about 9 years old ??

Agreed .. OS X is easier but not effortless. If she knows much of anything about Windows, that might be an advantage to her getting a PC. If she really knows only the most basic stuff (web browsing, double-click to open files, etc) then OS X will probably be easier than learning whatever new Win OS would be on her new machine.

On a side note: I've installed 10, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 on my older iMac without so much as a hiccup. I think the hard part for a newbie would be conceptualizing how things are arranged (eg. the structure of user folders, that the desktop is actually a folder within your Home folder, etc).

this woman is olePigeon's "client" - let him make the decision of mac or PC for himself. It's his responsibility and decision, not ours.

It looks like he's already made his decision to buy a mac for this woman. And I'm sure he knows her situation best. We haven't even met this woman yet.

Let's respect his decision, yeah? I also second the bronze pb. I had one running OSX 10.2 a while ago and with 384mb ram, it ran it surprisingly well.

I'll echo the Blue & White G3. Check macofalltrades.com

Yet ?? You planning on putting the moves on his friend

She has an 8-year-old daughter. And you're right, OS X isn't a miracle OS; but in the even she has a major problem, reinstalling Mac OS X isn't exactly trivial and is something I know I can guide her through over the phone.

You're also forgetting that she's on dialup internet access. When I first installed Windows on my PC I had almost 100MBs of security patches and software updates. Can you imagine trying to install all those updates over a modem? I'm trying to make this less of a headache for her as well as me.

No offense, I just don't see how so many people can recommend an iMac. What does a slot or tray loading drive cost compared to a full sized 5.25 drive? Then you have a max of 2 RAM slots compared to the 4 on a Powermac. Then let's say the USB or firewire goes out. How easy is that to fix versus just putting in a PCI replacement on a tower.
These are all used machines that will have parts that break. As nice as an AIO is, the easy repair and savings in parts on a tower will out weigh the form factor of the iMac. She has a monitor that works and replacing that would always be cheaper than getting a new CRT for the iMac or a new powerbook screen.

As a new machine with a warranty I think the situation changes. Then I would agree an iMac/eMac would be more than sufficient for their needs. The systems mentioned would be great for anyone in here but as it stands this person is not very comfortable around a computer and getting a computer that has easy access and is more scalable just seems to make more sense.

Most people don't need more than 1 GB of RAM.

And what if the CPU fails on a PowerMac? How often does USB or Firewire break?

Contrary to popular belief, most Macs don't spontaneously break down. Again, if the CPU goes, you're without a Mac either way.


So basically, you're saying a PowerMac is better suited for computer neophytes, and an iMac is better choice for Mac experts?

Come on now. Most people don't need to internally expand a computer beyond RAM. Scalability is not a factor in most people's needs. An iMac is a great choice.

You're also forgetting that OS X has 100s of megs of updates. As I recall, 10.2.7 was over 80MB.

Get her a new Mac with AppleCare or a cheap PC. Either way, she will be better off because at least she will have a warranty and tech support to rely on. If you buy her an old Mac and the thing breaks two months later, you're screwed and out the $400.

No, but I assume that if she was using a P90 that she won't be getting a gig of RAM. And there is a better chance of having sticks of PC100 around, or getting some in the future cheap, rather than having to buy RAM for the iMac. Maybe scrounging a couple 64 meg sticks to add to the one that comes with the unit he buys will be cheaper than buying more RAM from a store.

Yes, if the CPU fails they are in trouble either way. But on the G3 it can be removed and replaced. Have you seen someone do that with the iMac? So with one you are out of a Mac with the other it can be fixed.

And USB and firewire ports do cease to work.

And yes in this case a powermac's life can be extended far longer than the iMac's, making a superior choice for this neophyte who does not upgrade systems every few years like others around here. Almost nothing on the iMac can be fixed if something goes wrong. The PS & down converter, CRT, and onboard USB/FW breaking means replacing the part at a price far higher than the counterpart on a Powermac.

Hey [edit] olePigeon,

I have a Purple 333mhz G3 iMac with 512mb ram, 6gig hdd, origional keybd and mouse (with an adapter since the round shape is a pain) that I'd let go for $250 shipped. You could buy a copy of Panther with the difference over your $400, or I could buy a education version if you throw in the extra $80 or whatever it'd cost. Pather's finder is said to perform MUCH smoother than even Jaguar which I've been using quite happily on a 400mhz B&W G3. PM me if you're interested.

Sorry about the confusion. For some reason I had cheesepuff down as the person who started this thread.