Best Buys in Used Macs

A Good Buy: Power Macintosh 7200

2000.07.01. Updated 2001.09

We're sorry, but these are very old, very dated articles. Best buys in used Macs is such a moving target that we simply can't keep up to date and have given up even trying. Please read these in their historical context, as some of these articles were written in the early years of Low End Mac.

I've heard the Road Apple rating has really reduced the price of uses 7200s. A quick check of eBay shows the 7200 typically sells for $25-50 today. Wow, that's cheap!

Just because a Mac is a Road Apple isn't necessarily a reason to avoid it. Most Road Apples are decent computers, but they have limitations that you should be aware of before buying. The 7200 is a Road Apple because Apple marketed it as a computer with an upgrade path - but that upgrade ended up being a whole new motherboard. It's generally been less costly to buy a used 7500 than a 7500 motherboard, meaning the upgrade is not economical.

If you are willing to live with the original computer's speed, the 7200 can be a nice workhorse computer. It has a nice case design that's easy to work inside, has room for two internal hard drives, supports up to 512 MB of memory, and has three PCI expansion slots.

In this era for 500 MHz computers, a 7200 running at 75, 90, or 120 MHz might not be too exciting, but that's a good part of the reason prices on the used market have tanked. Given a choice between a 7100 and a 7200 in the same price range, the 7200 has the big advantage of PCI expansion slots.

Of the three speeds, we recommend against the 75 MHz model unless your budget is really tight.

If you're on a tight budget and looking for a good writing machine, something for email, and not too much Web access, the 7200 merits consideration. Just remember that, like most older Macs, it will never run any faster.

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