[jon l. dawson]

This afternoon I bought a DP 1.8 G5 from the Apple Store. It cost me $2300 plus tax because of my educational discount.

I wasn't planning to buy anything, what with the rumors of new PowerMacs coming out any day now, but I was told that I could "test drive" the Mac and return it within 30 days if I wanted to for any reason. That seemed good enough for me.

Back to the point of this- I was aware Apple had made a single processor version. They sell it from the website in the special deals section for like $1900 Edu. Given the relatively small price difference I decided to go with the dual. Now I see you can get them for like $1700 or less on some sites (possibly tax-less) and that is setting the price far enough apart tat I'm wondering if I made the right choice.

This may be purely subjective but my question is, is the extra processor worth the $600-700? Does the system make proper full use of it? Do I effectively have twice the power? If so then I dont care too much. I want this computer to last...

[fizzlemynizzle]

My understanding of Apple Store policy is that the "test drive" is 10 days from date of purchase (the return date is printed on your receipt) along with a 10% restocking fee.. so if you elect to return your G5 you'll be out $249.

[jon l. dawson]

It says on the Pro Card pamphlet:

"We're confident you'll be happy with your Power Mac G5. So confident that we're offering a risk-free, 30-day money-back guarantee to you as a Pro Card member. Return your Power Mac G5, and we'll refund the purchase price. No questions. No hassles. No restocking fees."

[Big Mac]

You may a good decision to get a DP. I don't believe SP G5s are great values. The thing is, as you know we're all waiting for the imminent G5 revision. Most people are waiting around for them. You realize, of course, that the value of your machine will depreciate once the speed bumps are introduced. You got $200 off the list price of the machine, which is good but not spectacular. If you need the machine now - if it will improve your productivity - then it was a good purchase. But if we're talking about an impulse purchase, it would have been advisable to wait.

[jon l. dawson]

The way I figure, if a new model doesn't come out in 30 days then I'm happy. How long do I have to be waiting around to buy a Mac? If one came out late next month, it might not even ship until April or even May depending on how much has changed with it.

I suppose my point is that something better is always going to come along. If I worry about that, I'll never be happy with what I have. Sure, if a new model came out tomorrow and I couldn't return mine I'd be feeling pretty stupid, but I think 30 days is enough time where I'll be able to say I wouldn't have rather waited. Well you know unless it's some 3.5Ghz DP machine I could be using instead.