[KStrawn]

What is the cheapest you can get a refurbished Intel Mac for? Yes, Intel, I want to be able to upgrade its OS if possible.

This for when I do get birthday money (on April 14th I will be 17). My mother would not just want a Mac, but NEEDS a Mac (graphic designer) and I personally want to prep for college with one (My fellow classmates in college will laugh at me if I don't have one).

[smax013]

KStrawn, on 01 February 2010 - 05:23 PM, said:

What is the cheapest you can get a refurbished Intel Mac for? Yes, Intel, I want to be able to upgrade its OS if possible.

This for when I do get birthday money (on April 14th I will be 17). My mother would not just want a Mac, but NEEDS a Mac (graphic designer) and I personally want to prep for college with one (My fellow classmates in college will laugh at me if I don't have one).

You can look for yourself...assuming you are talking about a refurbished Mac from Apple and not a used Mac from the likes of eBay:

http://store.apple.c...mco=MTM3NjYyMjI

Cheapest refurbished Mac available right now is a $999 21.5" iMac with a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. They currently do not have any refurbished Mac Minis or MacBooks (they do have MacBook Pros, but they will be more expensive than that iMac above), but you can keep checking back.

Of course, you can get a base new Mac Mini with a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for $599. You would need to add a monitor and keyboard/mouse to it.

If you are talking used, then you will likely find Intel based Macs of various "flavors" on eBay that can get around $500 or lower, depending on the model.

[asiafish]

smax013, on 01 February 2010 - 10:14 PM, said:

KStrawn, on 01 February 2010 - 05:23 PM, said:

What is the cheapest you can get a refurbished Intel Mac for? Yes, Intel, I want to be able to upgrade its OS if possible.

This for when I do get birthday money (on April 14th I will be 17). My mother would not just want a Mac, but NEEDS a Mac (graphic designer) and I personally want to prep for college with one (My fellow classmates in college will laugh at me if I don't have one).

You can look for yourself...assuming you are talking about a refurbished Mac from Apple and not a used Mac from the likes of eBay:

http://store.apple.c...mco=MTM3NjYyMjI

Cheapest refurbished Mac available right now is a $999 21.5" iMac with a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. They currently do not have any refurbished Mac Minis or MacBooks (they do have MacBook Pros, but they will be more expensive than that iMac above), but you can keep checking back.

Of course, you can get a base new Mac Mini with a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for $599. You would need to add a monitor and keyboard/mouse to it.

If you are talking used, then you will likely find Intel based Macs of various "flavors" on eBay that can get around $500 or lower, depending on the model.

Apple always has a decent selection of refurbished Macs, though you can also find non-Apple-refurbs at a number of reputable dealers. I'd recommend you take a look at Low End Mac (www.lowendmac.com) which has price trackers for new, refurbished and used Macs and links to many dealers. Wegener Media has done well by two of the authors there in the past.

Refurbs from Apple tend to save about 10~20% off the price of brand-new, depending on the model you are buying and whether it is the current model or the immediate past generation. My MacBook Pro (current model) was 20% off retail price, and it arrived looking absolutely like-new and based on checks using Coconut Battery I learned that this particular MacBook Pro was only 1 week old and had 0 cycles on its battery when I got it. Its a significant discount, as I paid $1989 for a machine that would otherwise cost $2349 (15" 2.8 GHz $2299 with $50 antiglare option).

[quackadilly]

KStrawn, on 01 February 2010 - 05:23 PM, said:

What is the cheapest you can get a refurbished Intel Mac for? Yes, Intel, I want to be able to upgrade its OS if possible.

This for when I do get birthday money (on April 14th I will be 17). My mother would not just want a Mac, but NEEDS a Mac (graphic designer) and I personally want to prep for college with one (My fellow classmates in college will laugh at me if I don't have one).

If you're looking for a cheap Mac, there's always the mini.

HERE is a link to the certified refurbished Macs straight from Apple.



The 21" iMac looks rather appealing at $999 . . . $200 off the regular price.

[asiafish]

quackadilly, on 02 February 2010 - 09:05 AM, said:

KStrawn, on 01 February 2010 - 05:23 PM, said:

What is the cheapest you can get a refurbished Intel Mac for? Yes, Intel, I want to be able to upgrade its OS if possible.

This for when I do get birthday money (on April 14th I will be 17). My mother would not just want a Mac, but NEEDS a Mac (graphic designer) and I personally want to prep for college with one (My fellow classmates in college will laugh at me if I don't have one).

If you're looking for a cheap Mac, there's always the mini.

HERE is a link to the certified refurbished Macs straight from Apple.



The 21" iMac looks rather appealing at $999 . . . $200 off the regular price.

If you are looking at desktops, keep in mind that the latest iMacs have 16:9 display ratios while the immediate past generation has 16:10. The new ones are better for movies, but the old ones are better for working on documents (less vertical scrolling).

[KStrawn]

Any refurb Macs with an older OS on them (say, Tiger) that are also Intel? How about old ones that aren't refurb? I would love to know. I could easily upgrade the OS if I wanted to - with a separate price. Yes, I would be willing to get the Box Set and upgrade a three-year-old Mac.

[smax013]

KStrawn, on 03 February 2010 - 09:32 PM, said:

Any refurb Macs with an older OS on them (say, Tiger) that are also Intel? How about old ones that aren't refurb? I would love to know. I could easily upgrade the OS if I wanted to - with a separate price. Yes, I would be willing to get the Box Set and upgrade a three-year-old Mac.

Any refurbished computers from Apple will most likely have Snow Leopard (10.6) on them. There is a slight chance you might be able to get one with Leopard (10.5), but I rather doubt it. Keep in mind that refurbished computers are relatively new computers that were returned due to problems, refurbished (i.e. checked out by Apple, fixed, etc), and then set to be sold as refurbished units. Since all current new Macs have Snow Leopard and have since this past Fall, it is highly unlikely that Apple will have any refurbished units that original came with anything other than Snow Leopard. So, even if Apple does NOT automatically upgrade a Leopard shipped computer to Snow Leopard when they refurbish them, your odds of getting a refurbished unit that originally would have just Leopard on it are very slim.

I cannot speak to other "refurbished" shops...but it is likely the same.

Used computers are another matter. You could easily find used Intel based Macs that will be sold with Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard on them. Just be aware that many people sell used Macs WITHOUT OS discs, even though technically they should be doing so. Thus, many times when you buy a used Mac (or Windows computer) it might not come with any install discs for the OS or programs that come with it. For any used Macs, technically any such pre-installed programs that come with the Mac but do not have the original install discs with the license keys are "pirated"...this is because you cannot have it installed and the original owner still have it installed without violating the license.

[KStrawn]

smax013, on 03 February 2010 - 09:43 PM, said:

KStrawn, on 03 February 2010 - 09:32 PM, said:

Any refurb Macs with an older OS on them (say, Tiger) that are also Intel? How about old ones that aren't refurb? I would love to know. I could easily upgrade the OS if I wanted to - with a separate price. Yes, I would be willing to get the Box Set and upgrade a three-year-old Mac.

Any refurbished computers from Apple will most likely have Snow Leopard (10.6) on them. There is a slight chance you might be able to get one with Leopard (10.5), but I rather doubt it. Keep in mind that refurbished computers are relatively new computers that were returned due to problems, refurbished (i.e. checked out by Apple, fixed, etc), and then set to be sold as refurbished units. Since all current new Macs have Snow Leopard and have since this past Fall, it is highly unlikely that Apple will have any refurbished units that original came with anything other than Snow Leopard. So, even if Apple does NOT automatically upgrade a Leopard shipped computer to Snow Leopard when they refurbish them, your odds of getting a refurbished unit that originally would have just Leopard on it are very slim.

I cannot speak to other "refurbished" shops...but it is likely the same.

Used computers are another matter. You could easily find used Intel based Macs that will be sold with Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard on them. Just be aware that many people sell used Macs WITHOUT OS discs, even though technically they should be doing so. Thus, many times when you buy a used Mac (or Windows computer) it might not come with any install discs for the OS or programs that come with it. For any used Macs, technically any such pre-installed programs that come with the Mac but do not have the original install discs with the license keys are "pirated"...this is because you cannot have it installed and the original owner still have it installed without violating the license.

I would go with the used option and get an OS disc separately - that's what I wanted to do in the first place.

In other words, I would, even if it originally has Tiger, clean-install Snow Leopard on it via the Box Set. It's my mother that needs a Mac more - and needs an up-to-date OS.

[smax013]

KStrawn, on 03 February 2010 - 09:50 PM, said:

I would go with the used option and get an OS disc separately - that's what I wanted to do in the first place.

In other words, I would, even if it originally has Tiger, clean-install Snow Leopard on it via the Box Set. It's my mother that needs a Mac more - and needs an up-to-date OS.

Just make sure the Mac you get can run Snow Leopard...because you can no longer get either Leopard or Tiger from Apple. You might still find some "new" Retail box licenses of Leopard through some stores, but if you really want Leopard or Tiger install discs, you will likely have to buy them used. And if you do so, BE VERY CAREFUL as many such used Mac OS install discs are the "restore" discs from specific Mac models that people are trying to sell rather than the "retail" install discs. Such discs will generally only work with the model of Mac that they original shipped with for installing the OS. Thus, if you buy used Mac OS install discs, make sure that they are either "retail" install discs or the "restore" disc that works with that particular Mac.

[KStrawn]

smax013, on 03 February 2010 - 09:57 PM, said:

KStrawn, on 03 February 2010 - 09:50 PM, said:

I would go with the used option and get an OS disc separately - that's what I wanted to do in the first place.

In other words, I would, even if it originally has Tiger, clean-install Snow Leopard on it via the Box Set. It's my mother that needs a Mac more - and needs an up-to-date OS.

Just make sure the Mac you get can run Snow Leopard...because you can no longer get either Leopard or Tiger from Apple. You might still find some "new" Retail box licenses of Leopard through some stores, but if you really want Leopard or Tiger install discs, you will likely have to buy them used. And if you do so, BE VERY CAREFUL as many such used Mac OS install discs are the "restore" discs from specific Mac models that people are trying to sell rather than the "retail" install discs. Such discs will generally only work with the model of Mac that they original shipped with for installing the OS. Thus, if you buy used Mac OS install discs, make sure that they are either "retail" install discs or the "restore" disc that works with that particular Mac.

The Mac OS isn't like Windows Vista, so I've heard. As far as I know, it can perform on older systems just fine. And so if I get a system about three years old that has an Intel processor, I would probably be all set to run Snow Leopard on the old system.

[smax013]

KStrawn, on 03 February 2010 - 10:02 PM, said:

The Mac OS isn't like Windows Vista, so I've heard. As far as I know, it can perform on older systems just fine. And so if I get a system about three years old that has an Intel processor, I would probably be all set to run Snow Leopard on the old system.

Yes, Snow Leopard should work with any Intel based Mac. You might not gain all the benefits (for example, if I recall correctly, the Intel Core Duo in my first generation MacBook Pro is NOT a 64 bit processor, thus I cannot get any advantages from the 64 bit side of Snow Leopard on it), however.