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dragnfly · May 3, 2003, 05:17 PM

First time to post here tho i've been reading posts for such a long time already.

I think my Pismo will be good for my use for another year. My question is, when it is time for me to sell my baby, will the resale value be better if it keeps the original Apple 500mhz processor? or Will I get a better value if I upgrade it to a 500mhz G4 or an 800mhz G3? If so, which one?

I already think the upgraded 30gig HD, the 640mb RAM and DVD/CDRW combo drive I installed will get me a better price than just the basic model already. Just wondering anybody's opinion bout processor upgrade.

Thanks!

wallinbl · May 3, 2003, 05:33 PM

I wouldn't think that you would get your money back on the upgrade. You'll pay (completely made up) $200 for the upgrade, and it will only get you $100 in value increase when selling. A savvy buyer will recognize that they could just pay the $200 themselves after they buy from you.

rambo47 · May 3, 2003, 06:46 PM

Upgrades are good for the user but not for resale. If you go the eBay route to sell it, the bidders do seem to like extras like software (with disks included, of course), an old printer, extra RAM, larger hard drive, etc. But things like processor upgrades rarely get you money back in resale, and in fact they turn off some buyers. Folks want a machine that was babied and upgrades scream "power user". Scares some bidders.

bstone · May 4, 2003, 02:12 AM

I asked myself the same question. I upgraded the internal optical drive to a Combo drive (see my signature for my MacNN review about it), upped the RAM to 1GB, put in a Toshiba 40gbg 5400rpm 16mb buffer (wow!) HD, Airport card, super nice mouse and Jaguar with CDs. I had considered getting the G3/800 upgrade as it is a more powerful one for day to day use than the G4/500.

Remember: the major bottleneck on the Pismo is the crappy 8mb video card. It's not upgradable so no matter how fast the processor is, that's the major factor. And it's a HUGE issue in OS X.

So if I were in your posiiton I'd sell the Pismo sooner than later.

icruise · May 4, 2003, 04:33 AM

Actually, I've looked into this some, and while you certainly won't get back as much money as put into the upgrade, I think it will increase the value of the computer. As long as you think the upgrade will make using the computer a more pleasant experience for you while you own it (and don't think of it as an "investment"), it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get it. I'd probably lean toward the G4 over the G3. Stay away from NewerTech upgrades, though (long story).

dragnfly · May 4, 2003, 04:34 PM

Thanks for all ur thoughts! appreciate it!

shrink · May 4, 2003, 04:52 PM

One other idea for you. I recently parted out my Lombard and sold everything on eBay. Putting together the powerbook parts (e.g., processor, RAM, display, keyboard, power adapter, sound ac/card, battery, etc.) and all the accessories I purchased for it (e.g., DVD module & PC card, firewire PC card, RAM, CDRW expansion bay module), I got MUCH better resale value than I ever would have for just the computer. I put up a bunch of other things up for auction at the same time (e.g., Palm Pilot, OS X software, etc.), but all in all I got just over $1300 in bids alone - with no deadbeat bidders.

I can't remember exactly, but I think close to $1000 of that was directly from the powerbook parts - this amount is a bid misleading because I did have two processors to sell (long story - don't ask). I'm not a computer specialist by any means, but once I found the service manual for the powerbook (search either these boards or google), it was just a matter of unscrewing many things to break the laptop down into sellable parts.

I can't speak for others, but this was by far the most lucrative return I could possibly get for my old Lombard.