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SouthPaW1227 · Feb 11, 2004, 08:53 PM

Yep, MacMall.com is selling refurbs. from the actual 1100 G5 PowerMac SuperComputer for an entirely insane $2,799. How retarded...MacMall (And probably VT) is making a killing off of this just b/c people will buy anything that's labeled "own a peice of history!" It's got 1GB of RAM and that's it...I say it's a cool idea, but MacMall is definitely overcharging.

tomtom · Feb 11, 2004, 10:34 PM

...and see those ugly marks there and there? THAT"S where it was clamped into the rack!!

I wonder what's going to happen to the other 3 gigs of ram? Each was supposed to have 4 gigs, right?

-Q- · Feb 11, 2004, 11:00 PM

Only a GB of RAM? Wow, that is price gouging. I assume you also don't get the superfast network card they installed. What a rip.

bimmerphile · Feb 11, 2004, 11:28 PM

Person Man · Feb 12, 2004, 12:26 AM

Originally posted by SouthPaW1227:
but MacMall is definitely overcharging.

Especially when you consider that when they have them, Apple sells them for $2399 on their site.

Lateralus · Feb 12, 2004, 12:29 AM

If only the VT team would autograph every machine, then they would be worth the price.

Oh, wait... no they wouldn't. They'd just be a bunch of used G5s covered in sharpie marker selling for $400 more than Apple usually sells them for.

Rev-O · Feb 12, 2004, 12:33 AM

...or if they painted 'em navy blue with an orange Apple logo on the side... and... and... I Know! And copper colored handles and feet! And clearcoat it!

Wait... that's been done...

BenRoethig · Feb 13, 2004, 09:40 AM

Not at that price I'm not. I can get a brand new one from the Education Store for less.

rhogue islander · Feb 13, 2004, 11:59 AM

I bet those boxes are pretty beat up. Did you see how they squeezed them together on those racks?

Kristoff · Feb 14, 2004, 01:41 AM

Maybe I am missing something, but I just spec'd it out on apple's site for a new one and I get:
� Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
� 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
� 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
� ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
� SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
� Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
� Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $3,220.00

So, how is this a ripoff?

Monde · Feb 14, 2004, 02:32 AM

Dunno how the deal to sell these at MacMall was struck, but-history or not-those VT G5s are way overpriced. Any car dealership will tell you, driving the car off the lot drops the resale value of that automobile dramatically. I would say they will have a hell of a time moving these G5s at that price. At only $450 less than a brand spanking new box, I think the consumer in this market will opt for the new machine. The price point for these babies should be in the $2,300.00-$2,500.00 range. After all, speed increases are due in short order on this line too. But hey, there might be a few suckers out there or some institution that might veiw a $2,800 price point as a bargin.

SouthPaW1227 · Feb 14, 2004, 10:33 AM

Originally posted by Kristoff:
Maybe I am missing something, but I just spec'd it out on apple's site for a new one and I get:
� Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
� 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
� 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
� ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
� SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
� Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
� Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $3,220.00

So, how is this a ripoff?

Because you can get a refurb. dual w/ EVERYTHING there minus a measly ~$100 stick of 512MB RAM for $2,399 from the normal Apple Refub. site. You're comparing new to refurb., not refurb. to refurb. Plus, who'd want a computer that's been scratched to heck by being slammed up in a rack? And the other part of the rip-off is that each G5 at VT had 4GB of RAM, MacMall or Apple swiped it to use in other products. You may say, "But I bet VT is using it in the Xserves so they don't hafta buy more RAM later!" Wrong. The Xserves use ECC RAM only, unlike the G5 Towers, so somebody's swiping some RAM here. Thirdly, who'd want a computer that has been on 24/7 everyday and getting absolutely taxed as hard as it can doing calculations? Nah...bum deal.

Love Calm Quiet · Feb 14, 2004, 12:43 PM

I got email from MacMall about it and I seem to recall they said units had SuperDrives.

Surely the VT order down-graded to something less than that, didn't they? If so... did they spend $ on drives? (or exchanged them for 3GB of RAM

?)

medmuse · Feb 14, 2004, 01:31 PM

Originally posted by Rev-O:
...or if they painted 'em navy blue with an orange Apple logo on the side... and... and... I Know! And copper colored handles and feet! And clearcoat it!

Wait... that's been done...

If they include the network card and someway to xgrid into the new cluster.

Can I make a bumper sticker out of your sig?
"Ask me about my vow of silence"...that cracks me up...

jpellino · Feb 14, 2004, 01:39 PM

Feature match these things, and they're

Education price = $2924
Retail price = $3249

You're getting much off for used, and adding value for the historical significance.

Pretty good deal, I'd say.

Any way of knowing the serial number ranges for future reference when these things show up on eBay to make sure you're getting one?

emil · Feb 14, 2004, 05:45 PM

Plus, who'd want a computer that's been scratched to heck by being slammed up in a rack?

"Slammed up in a rack"?! it's not like the rack was onboard an off-road vehicle... I think your wording is mildly extreme. They put it there, then they took it down. Where does the slamming come in?

Lateralus · Feb 14, 2004, 06:44 PM

Originally posted by jpellino:
Feature match these things, and they're

Education price = $2924
Retail price = $3249

You're getting much off for used, and adding value for the historical significance.

Pretty good deal, I'd say.

The retail value for the machine is $2999. Two more 256MB sticks would be $80 from anywhere else besides Apple. $3079 discounted to $2799 seems like a pretty terrible deal to me considering they have been in use since fall of last year.

If you think it is a good deal, and you're the only one who does, go ahead and buy one.

Oh, and the fact that they were used by VT will add no value. In the coming months you will see many people pass their G5s off on eBay as being from the VT cluster because nobody will be able to prove otherwise. Once that happens, the G5s that were actually used by VT will no longer be worth the $50 more than they should be selling for over the average refurbished G5.

RooneyX · Feb 14, 2004, 09:56 PM

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
The retail value for the machine is $2999. Two more 256MB sticks would be $80 from anywhere else besides Apple. $3079 discounted to $2799 seems like a pretty terrible deal to me considering they have been in use since fall of last year.

If you think it is a good deal, and you're the only one who does, go ahead and buy one.

Oh, and the fact that they were used by VT will add no value. In the coming months you will see many people pass their G5s off on eBay as being from the VT cluster because nobody will be able to prove otherwise. Once that happens, the G5s that were actually used by VT will no longer be worth the $50 more than they should be selling for over the average refurbished G5.

VT will be able to confirm genuines from fakes with the serial numbers from the original purchases. Some people will pay the price like those who buy Audrey Hepburn's dresses. A piece of history I guess. But not me.

tooki · Feb 15, 2004, 04:52 AM

Originally posted by SouthPaW1227:
Thirdly, who'd want a computer that has been on 24/7 everyday and getting absolutely taxed as hard as it can doing calculations? Nah...bum deal.

Uhh, there's no better way to make sure you are getting a machine with no marginal components. They've been torture-tested already, so (shipping damages aside) they're going to be reliable machines.

In fact, computer-savvy people will often test a new machine by leaving it on, running continuous heavy calculation, disk access, etc (basically, whole-system workout) for at least a week, 24/7, to weed out manufacturing problems. This method will usually uncover things like bad CPUs, etc., which are components that, if they work fine for the first couple of weeks, will likely not fail ever after.

tooki

SouthPaW1227 · Feb 15, 2004, 04:59 PM

Originally posted by tooki:
Uhh, there's no better way to make sure you are getting a machine with no marginal components. They've been torture-tested already, so (shipping damages aside) they're going to be reliable machines.

In fact, computer-savvy people will often test a new machine by leaving it on, running continuous heavy calculation, disk access, etc (basically, whole-system workout) for at least a week, 24/7, to weed out manufacturing problems. This method will usually uncover things like bad CPUs, etc., which are components that, if they work fine for the first couple of weeks, will likely not fail ever after.

tooki

Would you buy one at this price if you were in the market for a G5 refurb? Right.