No Apple "fire sale" on g5 PowerMacs? Theories?

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emulatorloo
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No Apple "fire sale" on g5 PowerMacs? Theories?

Post by emulatorloo »

I find it odd that we aren't seeing more radical pricing on g5's

For example, new macconnection catalog has

Mac Pro 2.0 dual-core x 2 $1999
Mac Pro 2.66 dual-core x 2 $2344
Mac Pro 3.0 dual-core x 2 $3094

and then under a heading "You Can Still Enjoy A Classic Power Mac G5!"

Powermac 2.0 dual $1894
Powermac 2.3 dual $2344
Powermac 2.5 quad $3094

I am guessing that Apple feels it still sell G5's at these prices because intel native Adobe stuff is still a few months away, and there is probably still some fear and trepidation about the transition to intel.

But really, would anybody really spend 2344 on a g5 when the same dollars would by you an intel machine?

---
Last edited by emulatorloo on Sat Sep 09, 2006 6:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by sdemott »

Yes - very definately. Because Apple's core market is design/pre-press and until Adobe releases a UB version of Creative suite every creative agency is scrambling to keep & buy more of the G5 systems to tide them over for the inevitable Adobe announcement of a mid-late 2007 release (IOW later than originally expected).
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Re: Why no Apple "fire sale" on g5 PowerMacs? Any

Post by James Steele »

emulatorloo wrote:and then under a heading "You Can Still Enjoy A Classic Power Mac G5!"

Powermac 2.0 dual $1894
Powermac 2.3 dual $2344
Powermac 2.5 quad $3094
Wow! I bought my 2.3 dual months ago for $1995 as a refurb.
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Post by gseibert »

Aren't all the new Mac Pro's essentially a 'quad' with 2 dual core xeon processors?
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Post by emulatorloo »

gseibert wrote:Aren't all the new Mac Pro's essentially a 'quad' with 2 dual core xeon processors?
my not-enough-coffee-mistake. . .I have corrected to:

Mac Pro 2.0 dual-core x 2 $1999
Mac Pro 2.66 dual-core x 2 $2344
Mac Pro 3.0 dual-core x 2 $3094
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Re: Why no Apple "fire sale" on g5 PowerMacs? Any

Post by emulatorloo »

James Steele wrote:
Wow! I bought my 2.3 dual months ago for $1995 as a refurb.
Hey James, you done good! -- check the Apple refurb page, they've gone up to 1999.00!

Finally a computer that appreciates in value!

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Re: Why no Apple "fire sale" on g5 PowerMacs? Any

Post by James Steele »

emulatorloo wrote:
James Steele wrote:
Wow! I bought my 2.3 dual months ago for $1995 as a refurb.
Hey James, you done good! -- check the Apple refurb page, they've gone up to 1999.00!

Finally a computer that appreciates in value!

--
Oops... it must've been $1999 then. :-) Oh well... there goes my $4 paper profit!
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Post by Frodo »

It's true that we are in a different sort of transition. Not everyone is going to run out so soon to get all of their software into UB format. Not all software is UB compatible yet. It's getting there, but when looking at the general market *prices* for late model PPCs, one must consider general market *use* for late model PPCs.

The MacPros require lots of considerations that are cost-dependent and perhaps cost-prohibitive in the earliest phases of new models. RAM alone can double the cost of getting a new tower, especially with increasing memory capacities. The PCIx/PCIe changeover is another consideration. For hardware, it no longer is an issue of just swapping out the computer as one part of a system as it used to be. More and more, getting a new tower means starting pretty much from scratch with building a workable system.

Software is the biggest hurdle in most cases. Many major oftware developers have a lag time as long or longer than Apple's model turnover. One example:
http://www.dmnforums.com/cgi-bin/displa ... 085644.htm

The MacPro Minis are already seeing a processor update, and new towers will likely be announced in about 4 months. Leopard has a lot of people in wait-and-see mode.

There's just too much new stuff to consider, and with new stuff comes new costs and new problems.

Besides extreme professionals for whom money is no object, the current MacPros will appeal most to G3 and G4 users. G5 users, particularly those on PPC CPUs 2.0 and higher, are slower to dump what they have right now just for the sake of a new computer. General uncertainty about MacPros keeps values of late model PPCs on the high side for now. In a sense, the MacPro is a different "brand", so to speak, of computer, and late model PPCs will give Mac buyers something to consider-- depending on the work that they do and the software that they use.

The other thing about the MacPro is that it addresses issues of total ITB DAW work as well as a push to move offline video editing aside. The reduction of expansion slots and the increase of RAM capacities seem to bear witness to this trend. The appearance of software suites and virtual instruments-- the vanishing hardware samplers and U-matic video machines are no mere coincidence. Even though used hardware of this kind can be had at lower prices than before, people invested huge bucks-- and that gear just doesn't die easily.

Less sweeping observations can be said of late model PPCs. Those who bought new G5s within the last two years just aren't going to represent the bulk of those flocking to buy MacPros *right now*.

But prices on late model G5s WILL come down. Once they hit ebay in large quantiy, you'll know that users have made up their minds to take the plunge. In the meantime, here's a pretty good site to keep tabs on things. The prices are already lower than Mac Connection...

[Edit: Link corrected.]
http://www.streetprices.com/Electronics ... er_Mac_G5/

Also-- keep tabs on macwarehouse.com, now cdw.com but both URL's work.
Last edited by Frodo on Sun Sep 10, 2006 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Empathy »

Thanks for the informative post, Frodo. Looks like the timing for my highly-modded G4 Sawtooth box finally kicking the bucket couldn't have been worse. I'm currently in "wait-and-see" mode on the MacPro; and it looks like Native Instruments has scheduled universal compatibility for this month and next for Absynth and Kontakt, but that all seems far too bleeding-edge for my tastes. Those apps are key for me, and while I'd be somewhat interested in the capability to dual-boot into Windows, it's far more important to me to have a powerful and _stable_ DAW system.
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Post by emulatorloo »

Frodo wrote: In the meantime, here's a pretty good site to keep tabs on things. The prices are already lower than Mac Connection...

http://www.dmnforums.com/cgi-bin/displa ... 085644.htm

Also-- keep tabs on macwarehouse.com, now cdw.com but both URL's work.
Thanks frodo for the long post -- lots of food for thought.

I am thinking that's not the link you intended as it also appears earlier in your post. . .what link are you thinking about?
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Post by James Steele »

Frodo wrote:vanishing hardware samplers and U-matic video machines...
Frodo... I wish you could have been there for the unceremonious funeral of my old Sony top-loader 3/4" machine... hehehe. Many years ago. It was a small affair... family only... just me and the dumpster at my apartment building... LOL. It even had a television tuner built in. Near the end, the mechanism was getting old and I even had to leave the top cover loose so I could lift it off and help the transport go all the way into position. I inherited it when I worked as video production company as a kid. They just gave it to me... even back then 3/4" was dying.

Funny thing is I did have occasion to rent it once those many years ago. A guy I only sort of knew wanted it to scan tapes and wanted it for free. I told him I'd rent it cheap, and he groused that it was old. I told him he could go to a rental house then and get a front load machine and pay whatever they charged, but seeing how my 3/4" machine would still play back 3/4" tapes better than say, his garage door, or a pencil, or a record player, that a couple of bucks a day wasn't a bad deal. Hahaha... I used to be a much better businessman in my youth... LOL
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Post by Frodo »

emulatorloo wrote:
Frodo wrote: In the meantime, here's a pretty good site to keep tabs on things. The prices are already lower than Mac Connection...

http://www.dmnforums.com/cgi-bin/displa ... 085644.htm

Also-- keep tabs on macwarehouse.com, now cdw.com but both URL's work.
Thanks frodo for the long post -- lots of food for thought.

I am thinking that's not the link you intended as it also appears earlier in your post. . .what link are you thinking about?
Well now-- that's just a plain old oops, now idnit?

Let's see-- try this:
http://www.streetprices.com/Electronics ... er_Mac_G5/
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