Buying a Used Mac

You now know how to sell your Mac, but what if you want to buy one?

There's an old saying, "buyer beware." The careful shopper knows how to spot a good deal, but the untrained buyer can be easily taken advantage of. This applies when purchasing a used Mac. If you know what to look for, you should get a good deal. If you have no idea what you really want, you may spend more than you have to.

First, you need to decide what type of computer you want. You probably want something with a PowerPC processor, which allows you to run many modern programs such as Microsoft Office 2001. I will cover buying 68K machines in a future column.

PowerPC machines start out at 60 MHz and go all the way up to 733 MHz. If you plan to use this machine for word processing, occasional email, and perhaps some light web surfing, anything from a 6100/60 to a 7200/120 would work well. If you will be doing a lot of web browsing and want to play a few MP3s while you are at it, you may want something over 120 MHz such as a Performa 6360 or 6400, which run from 160 MHz to 200 MHz.

If you will be doing a bit of graphic design, you probably want something based on the 604 or G3 processors. For light Photoshop work, a 7300 series machine (7300, 7500, 7600) works very well. For more extensive work and the ability to add many PCI cards, you may want a Power Macintosh 8500, 8600, 9500, or 9600. If you want even more speed, a G3 is probably the way to go. A 233 MHz desktop machine can now be had for as little as $450, and RAM can cost as little as $80 for a 256 MB DIMM.

Then you have to learn how to read computer ads.

You might see an ad in the paper for a Power Macintosh 7200 that looks something like this:

Power Macintosh 7200/90, 32/500, OS 8.1, works great, $100

First of all, you know that this is a Power Macintosh 7200. The number after the "/" indicates the speed. This 7200 happens to be 90 MHz. The next figures are the RAM and hard drive. This machine has 32 MB of RAM and a 500 MB hard drive (RAM/hard drive). It is running Mac OS 8.1, which was standard in 1997/98.

How do you know how much a computer is worth? And would you prefer a 7100/80 or a 7200/75?

Well, to determine how much a computer might be worth, there are a few factors to look at. A Performa 6360 might be worth $135 with 32 MB of RAM, but with 16 MB, it might only be worth $100. An 8100/80 might be worth $75 with 16 MB of RAM and a 500 MB hard drive, but one with a 1 GB hard drive and 32 MB of RAM might be worth $100. The price depends somewhat on the amount of RAM installed and the size of the hard drive installed.

A good place to do research is eBay. From the home page pick Computers. Under Apple, Macintosh, select Power Mac. Type the model you're looking for in the search box, see what pops up, and then click on Search Completed Items. This will let you know what people have agreed to pay over the past few weeks. Pay particular attention to memory, drive size, and other accessories. This will give you a good idea for prices locally and online.

Looking at an older PowerPC system? Would you prefer the 7100/80 or the 7200/75? The 7100/80 was the middle line NuBus Power Macintosh. It ran at 80 MHz, and included 8 or 16 MB of RAM, a 500 MB hard disk, and a 2X CD-ROM drive. The 7200/75, which came with 8 or 16 MB of RAM, a 500 MB hard drive, and a 4X CD-ROM drive. The 7200 series introduced a new feature to the Macintosh: PCI slots, which allowed the Mac to use many of the cards already available for PC's.

If you plan to use modern video cards, network cards, or USB cards, you must have a Mac with PCI slots.

Buying a used Power Macintosh can be hard, but if you know what to look for, know how to read an ad, and know what price to pay, you will be able to get a good deal on a system.