I hope its okay to post this in this particular forum - I am not too sure where a good place would be, since I am asking about opinions on selling, not buying. Although buying is related...

I have an opportunity to upgrade (with family help) to a new Intel Power Mac (dunno which yet) - but the catch is I have to sell my baby, my G5 to do it.

Here's her stats:
- Rev.A dual 1.8 G5 (8 RAM slots rather than 4)
- 2.5 GB RAM
- 150 GB HD, internal
- 120 GB HD, internal
- ATI Radeon 9600 Pro (most 1.8s only came with the Nvidia)
- a failing optical drive (PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D)
- came with Panther, would come with Tiger installed & discs

Any ballparks on what I can expect to get from selling this?

She's in good condition - the only thing that has ever had problems is the optical drive, which was previously replaced under warranty (the replacement is the same make as the original and is beginning to fail in the same way). I dust her out periodically so she's been kept clean and I tend to leave her running; no problems with the harddrives or the RAM. A very stable, un-quirky machine.

I am REALLY hesitant about selling this computer because its been THE best (i.e. fastest, smartest, prettiest, most reliable, stable, obedient, etc ) computer anyone in my entire family and friends network has ever owned. I do graphics work with it and figured if it ever starts to run a little slow I can toss in some more RAM (plenty of room for it with the 8 slots).

With 2.5 GB and the dual processors, she's plenty fast for me. I wouldn't be upgrading because of speed -- just that I know all machines have a life span and also if I want to keep up with Adobe stuff I will need to upgrade soon. And if I can provide half the cost of the new computer (funded via sale of this machine) I can get the other half paid for me -- sweet deal, right?

I checked eBay and saw other 1.8s for anywhere between $550 (with damaged case) to $1000. I was hoping for about $900 but am not sure if this is realistic.

Ideas?

I would keep it awhile yet. Like you said, it's plenty fast enough for what you do. You can still use classic with it also.

Normally I would, too - there's a rush, though, because this is pretty much a one-time deal for me to get this kind of help in getting a new Mac.

You're right, though - Classic! Mostly I just have old games that would need that - but still... *sighs* Mebbe I just shouldn't get new-mac-greedy and bide my time til I can afford a new one on my own.

I know it must be tempting .. being able to upgrade your Mac but the trade-off needs to be taken into consideration too ... your Rev A Dual 1.8 G5 sound like it's been a real faithful workhorse for you. I can see your reluctance to let it go ... it'd be a real shame for you to have to sell it IMHO.

The failing Optical Drive is nothing and one you replace it it'll be as good as new again ...

If anything the whole timing is wrong and you should wait a bit longer ... you're on the right track when you thing about not getting all "New-Mac-Greedy" .... or "NMG" as it's going to be now know as ...

Howls: Did you know that you can search eBay for items and see what things actually sold for? Once you search for something, you can check the "Completed Listings" button and see past auctions; prices in green sold while those in red didn't. This generally provides a good sense of what you can expect if you sell an item, though there are many variables.

Sounds like you have a sweet opportunity to upgrade and, if it were me, I would. The days of the Power PC are over and while it works fine right now, every upgrade just moves farther beyond its abilities if you want/need to stay current with something as CPU-intensive as CS3...

I had looked on eBay at current auctions but didn't know about past auctions - thanks for the tip; I will check it out.

I think normally I might wait out the lifespan of this computer but like I said, financially, this is a one-time sort of deal and the longer I wait, the less I can sell the G5 for, though if I had the money to spare I would keep it - I would love to have one set up for media and games (the G5 - games in Classic) and one set up for my graphics work.

ARRRGH!

Does anyone ever see someone coming up with a way to run Classic apps on Leopard in the future - just because they figured out a way to do it, not because it was something really needed?

Hi Howls,

could be that my memory is playing tricks with me here, but I seem to remember there was an app that you could use to virtually run Classic stuff on. I think it was called SheepShaver.... yeah, here you go:
http://sheepshaver.cebix.net/#info

As far as the choice you face goes, I thought I could detect a little shift towards going with the new in your last post, I'd say go for it. The Intel Macs are amazing, and as CJR says you will get more productivity from CS3 and the like with a new Mac. In fact I would be happy to bet you will be seriously impressed how far things have come on since the G5 days.

mic

Hi,

Have Leopard but not using it. Still using Tiger because of some Classic applications I want to keep using. Does SheepShaver really work? And how do you get it? Cost? Use it? Some details if you have any please. Thanks.

As far as this subject, keep your Mac. The price for it is not worth giving it up in my opinion. I try to follow the rule: "If it aint broke, don't fix it". Sounds like it does all you want.

Okay, to further muck up the (enviable) decision you face, Howls, here's the opposite point of view to consider, i.e. why you should keep your G5.

First, I tend to upgrade programs I use all the time right away, but I haven't upgraded my office computers yet to CS3 because A) We're still using non-Intel Macs and B) I don't feel any urgency to do so. So ask yourself this question: Will upgrading to CS3 significantly improve whatever it is you do right now with CS2 or whatever flavor of Adobe's stuff you're using? Fact is, if I wasn't a tech-geek that always lusts after the latest n' greatest, there's little that would prevent me from publishing a magazine every month using the Macs we had in 1998 with whatever era-appropriate software/peripherals we were using back then. Photoshop and Illustrator are amazing, but to me, 90% of their usefulness hasn't changed for years; now, each major upgrade (expensive in itself) only adds quicker ways to do specialized stuff via filters and other non-essential niceties, etc., or pays for some of Adobe's stupid bloated nonsense, like Bridge, access to its stock images, etc. In other words, there's really no compelling reason for me to upgrade from CS2 to 3.

Second, there's a lot to be said for holding onto something that's proven reliable. I have the same G5 you have (with the stock vid card) but mine was a piece of $&#! the moment I bought it, experiencing constant kernel panics that I couldn't fix. I dumped it after almost a year and moved on but would likely still be using it if it had played nice with me because, again, while it's cool to use the latest stuff, using that PPC G5 right now wouldn't significantly prohibit me from doing pretty much everything I can do right now on my old iMac.

Anyway, your decision might just boil down to want vs. need right now, driven by this limited-time offer. I'd hate for you to upgrade and somehow regret that down the road.

edfrmva1, Check out the links at the top of the page Mic's link points to. I believe many of the details are listed on those pages.


Hi Howls,
I know it must be a tough decision for you and one I can relate to as I too, am putting an ol' friend up for sale. Although, I don't think I'll be getting as much on the resale as I would on a comparable Apple computer. I've put a lot of time and effort into keeping it up to date and in as good working condition as can be expected for a PC, but I tend to side with Mic and CJR and see the Intel Macs as a quantum leap in where technology needs to go - to computers that are fast and at the same time more energy efficient. If I were in your shoes, I'd more than likely go for the new Mac.

Chris

Okay, I've had some time to think about it and I have also recently discovered that my current occupation may be coming to a close - which means I'll be getting the opportunity to become a bit more mobile.

SO I am now of the mind to keep my G5, she'll be home-base, and get a laptop. I would like to do some summer work at a remote lodge (housekeeping - very un-graphic designery, I want to escape the desk job for a year before diving back in) and then when I get a new GD job, they'll provide the computer anyway so that gives me time before I honestly feel I need a new tower.

What d'yall think?

Now the is do I get a souped up, memory maxed, top-of-the-line MB or a bottom-of-the-line MBP?

• I don't need a lot of HD space
• I don't need a lot of ports
• I don't care about the optical drive
• I DO work in Photoshop and Illustrator for fun, often both simultaneously
• My files can be several hundred MB in size
• I do little things for fun in GarageBand
• I would mostly be hooking up to monitor for actual work so screen size doesn't matter

I think I am talking myself into a black MB that I can afford to max out the RAM for; I am only worried that it will bog down quickly in a big Photoshop file. But I suppose any laptop for me would only be a stepping stone to tide me over til I get a new tower.... And I have never used anything much faster than my G5 so would I really notice the diff between a MB and a MBP?

La la la... don't mind the crazy girl in the corner who likes to play "which-Mac" games with her already made-up-her-mind self.

If you don't need the DVD burner, get the entry level model MacBook and put a 200GB 7200 RPM drive ($139.99 from Newegg.com) in it, along with 4G of third-party RAM ($90.00 from Omni w/MacOSG dicount). You will have a screaming MacBook with performance close to your PM G5.

Also, you can buy a cheep external enclosure to put the stock HD in. Then you will end up with a nice external hard drive to boot (from).

Bmer, you are crazy-smart.



What's "PM"?

Okay, using your upgrade methods, here's the pricing for the following laptops:

2.1gHz MB: $1330
2.4gHz MB: $1530
black MB: $1730
2.4gHz 15" MBP: $2270 (taking into consideration the different RAM @ $130)

My budget is around $2000 - obviously the more I save, the more goodies I can get (new iPod? nice carry case? more G5 RAM? new Wacom tablet? Dvorak key cover?) .

On second thought, DVD burning might not be bad - I do that a lot, plus, the next MB up has an increase in GHz.

So the red ones are my options, I think. MB = more accessories, MBP = bigger screen, better graphics card. But no toys. Argh! Oh, but I do prefer the MB keyboard. Looks like it may be the 2nd MB.

PM G5 = Power Mac G5

*smacks forehead* duh!