03-27-2009, 12:18 AM

I've never been a Mac owner, though I've thought about it for a long time. To be honest, it's the price point that has always killed me, that and I normally just build my own pc. I stopped by a local shop today (like a pawn shop, but they get most of their stuff from closeouts and liquidations) and they had a used 17" iMac G5 for $329.99. They didn't have a mouse for it, but I used mine and played around with it for a bit, and it ran good (they said they had one on order). The only thing I couldn't check was the airport (though it is there but there was no signal to latch on to) and the optical drive (since I didn't have anything to check it with, and I didn't think to just pop in a dvd), though it is listed as being a dvd burner. My question is is the $329.99 a good price for it? I know it is a 3-4 year old model, and it looks like the white rubber is yellowing (possibly from a smoker home?). It is "unlocked" since I basically went through it today and saw the specs (1.80 ghz, OS 10.8.4, 512mb ram, airport, wifi, super dvd burner, 180gig HDD). I wouldn't have thought about it as much today if my only computer (a non-Mac laptop) didn't decide to have powering issues today. I was surpised to find that my usb Logitech optical mouse worked fine on it, and it had 2 button controls. The last time i really played with a mac was years ago, a G3 I think, but my voice director uses G4s since protools is better on it. I'm a voice actor, so I have been around macs for years (since my voice director swears by them) but have never really had one to play with.

Any input would be great.

03-27-2009, 12:28 AM

Others may say different but I feel it's a pretty good deal. If you do purchase it I would upgrade the RAM (that machine should take 2GB) and install the latest updates to OSX 10.4 which is named Tiger. You have 10.4.8 and Tiger is at 10.4.11. You just hook up to the internet and run Software Update by clicking on the Apple in the upper left corner.

For that price you get a 1.8Ghz G5 and a 17" flat panel display. It would be a good way to use a Mac and see if you like it and OSX without spending a fortune. I use the 20" model with the iSight camera with similar specs daily and it never lets me down.

The Lowest cost new Mac is the Mini at $599 and you still need a monitor and other things.

For the price I think it's a fair deal.

03-27-2009, 12:41 AM

would the 512 ram be ok for a while? I don't really game (though I have someone convincing me to try WarCrack), and would mainly use it as a net and video watching computer. Though I might dabble in video editing with it.

Another dumb question. Most likely this will just be the base system and keyboard (granted they don't get the mouse in or give me a discount for not having the mouse). Is there a restoration cd/dvd I can burn off?

03-27-2009, 07:54 PM

Went and got that iMac today. I was actually wrong on the specs. It is a 2.0ghz, has the Superdrive DL drive in it, and has 10.4.11 (Tiger already installed). It did NOT come with a restore disk and the superdrive has issues playing burnt dvd roms (which is a huuuuuuuuuuge deal breaker for me). So, I'm going to take it back in the morning when I get off of work (granted it's not raining). It did have 18 gig worth of music on it already, but most of it is in my opinion crap I'd never listen to. Airport works on it fine, though it does open up windows a lot slower then my laptop (because of the Ram probably). I guess I'll just get a mac later, since this one was too good to be true.

03-27-2009, 07:59 PM

That sounds like the last 17" iMac G5 which also has the iSight Camera. Good machine. If you had the DVD that came with it I would say reinstall and give it another chance.

Strike that. There was a 17" 2.0Ghz. The one I was talking about was a 1.9 Ghz. Still it's a capable machine. Sounds like it needs a reinstall. You can replace the Superdrive from OWC for $89.

03-27-2009, 09:36 PM

only got base and keyboard, with Bluetooth mouse in route to shop. This was merely a "it's a **** good deal, and my laptop is acting funny, so it would be a cheap replacement system" type setup, so I'm not wanting to sink more money into it.

It was the model without the iSight camera in it.