How much should I pay for a used 24" iMac?

I know there are more than a few Apple users in the forum, so I want their opinion. If you're an Apple hater, don't bother posting. Seriously, every time you guys flame 'MAC' you just look stupid.

The computer is for me to mess around with OSX until I decide to get a Mac Pro and then it's going to my mom. I'd rather it be 2.8GHz or faster (C2D). Memory and hard drive don't really matter, I could probably save money by getting a lesser speced iMac and installing such parts myself. I'd really rather have the aluminum model, but the plastic fantastic would work for a good price.

Depends how old and if it has AppleCare or not.

How much you SHOULD pay and how much you WILL pay are two separate issues when it comes to used Apple goods. Apple users as a whole stupidly overestimate the value of their used goods, but since they all do it it creates a false bottom in the market.

I would say take the number you think you should pay and add about 25% to it and that's what someone will actually sell it to you for.

I bet there are still people out there trying to sell G5 Macs for $1000+. And probably others buying them.

I might suggest keeping an eye on the dealnews website; I was able to spot a deal on the MacBook I currently own for $800 at Microcenter (which was about $150 below any other deals at the time).

Unfortunately, as Soul Assassin mentioned, Mac's tend not to lose much of their value.

http://www.refurb.me scroll down to the iMac section and pick one out that is available. This website monitors Apple refurbs for you and they typically come with a price reduction. They all come with 1 year warranty and you can buy apple care for them if you like. This is how I bought my Macbook Pro a little while ago, I saved like 15% from retail and it's worked perfectly thus far. I will be buying Applecare before my year of warranty ends on it.

iMacs don't seem to have the same ridiculous prices used as say, a Power Mac or Mac Pro. People still want $4,000 in some cases for their twin dual core 2.66GHz Mac Pros. That's just stupid.

On a side note, I hate how Apple/Apple users express how many cores a computer has. Two dual cores? That's two dual cores, not a quad core. Two quad cores? That's dual quads, not an eight core. I'm guessing they'll do the same thing with Gulftown processors (Twelve core!).

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Originally Posted by Nater

iMacs don't seem to have the same ridiculous prices used as say, a Power Mac or Mac Pro. People still want $4,000 in some cases for their twin dual core 2.66GHz Mac Pros. That's just stupid.

On a side note, I hate how Apple/Apple users express how many cores a computer has. Two dual cores? That's two dual cores, not a quad core. Two quad cores? That's dual quads, not an eight core. I'm guessing they'll do the same thing with Gulftown processors (Twelve core!).

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umm.. I would have to agree with the apple people.

wouldn't it make sense if you have two dual core isn't it still 4 cores all together? so 2x quad core is 8 cores.


As long as they don't do anything stupid like some of the Criagslist people pitch:

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12ghz PC! Quad core Intel Q9500

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or

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Wii with 4 games, Wii Sports, tennis, baseball, bowling, golf,

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Just keep in mind that repairs on an out of warranty iMac start at about $800 to replace the logic board. PSU is $150. Those are pretty much the only two repairs they do.

It's the number of cores per package, by the number of packages. No one ever called a dual CPU system a 'dual core' back in 2000 did they?

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Originally Posted by Nater

It's the number of cores per package, by the number of packages. No one ever called a dual CPU system a 'dual core' back in 2000 did they?

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No, but the architectures were different. I see what your saying, but most people aren't going to be able to ever understand the differences between CPU architectures and how they work with the memory controller. 8-core instead of Dual Quad-core is just easier to explain.