Hi Andrew,
I'm not sure here if you are referring to buying the second-fastest option in the current generation or PowerMacs, or the fastest model from the previous generation. Recent history suggests that the latter is not always a very good bang-for-the-buck strategy -- for instance, when the PowerMac G5s were first announced, it would have been foolish to buy a dual 1.42 GHz G4 instead of a single 1.8 GHz G5 (the #2 model of G5). Apple updates its PowerMac lineup infrequently -- often 9-12 months go by without an upgrade -- that the previous generation is usually getting pretty long in the tooth by the time the next one is announced. The next generation usually represents a significant leap in bang-for-your-buck compared to the older models. And when the new models *are* released, the price drops are often not as significant as you'd expect. For instance, the previous generation's top-of-the line PowerMac was a dual 2 GHz G5. When the current generation was announced, the close-out price of the _old_ dual 2 GHz G5 didn't drop significantly below the price of the _next-generation_ dual 2 GHz G5 (now the #2 model), even though the next-gen model had better specs.
Don't get me wrong -- sometimes, buying previous-gen models when the next-gen machines are announced can get you a good deal. But I wouldn't recommend it as a general strategy, especially when dealing with Apple hardware. You have to evaluate things on a case-by-case basis. (And, of course, check http://dealmac.com/ religiously.)
- Darcy ----- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brooklyn, NY
On 29 Jan 2005, at 10:26 AM, Andrew Stiller wrote:
On Jan 28, 2005, at 2:24 PM, Allen Fisher wrote:
As far as what Mac to buy, I always tell people to buy the maximum they can
afford.
I recommend buying the second-most advanced model available. Why? Because the most recent model has just made its immediate predecessor "obsolete," and the price of the latter will therefore have been knocked down. You'll end up with a computer that would have cost maybe $1K more 6 months ago, and is just as good now as it was then.
Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://home.netcom.com/~kallisti/
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