[andrewbw]

Quick question: Anyone know of a place that still has stock of the older, Quicksilver (SDRAM) Dual 1GHz machines?

I've tried all the major online retailers (MacMall, ClubMac, MacConnection, MacZone) and they're out. Small Dog says they'll get demo units in soon, but I'd rather try and find new in-the-box units first. My corporate contact at MacConnection (I do IT buying for my employer) can't find any stock for me either, so I'm thinking if there are any out there, they'll be at a smaller mid-tier dealer that I don't know about.

If anyone has any leads, post it here. Thanks!

-A.

[CheesePuff]

Blank for a reason.

[andrewbw]

How sad is it to update your own thread?

Anyway, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but the price was right. As of this morning (8/27) Apple has Dual 1GHz and 933MHz Quicksilvers as refurbs in the "special deals" section (standard configurations). $1999 for the dual, $1299 for the 933. Includes OS 10.2, which is a nice bonus.

I talked to a good friend who owns a local Apple service shop and he said the refurbs were a good deal -- he hadn't had any problem recommending them to clients. I picked up one of the duals and will report back if I have any problems with it.

Thought I'd pass this along if anyone was interested...

-A.

[villalobos]

Originally posted by andrewbw:
How sad is it to update your own thread?

Anyway, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but the price was right. As of this morning (8/27) Apple has Dual 1GHz and 933MHz Quicksilvers as refurbs in the "special deals" section (standard configurations). $1999 for the dual, $1299 for the 933. Includes OS 10.2, which is a nice bonus.

I talked to a good friend who owns a local Apple service shop and he said the refurbs were a good deal -- he hadn't had any problem recommending them to clients. I picked up one of the duals and will report back if I have any problems with it.

Thought I'd pass this along if anyone was interested...

-A.

I am sure you noticed that these dual don't have the superdrive. OTOH the Compusa near me (in Raleigh) has still some dual 1 GHz in stock, with superdrive for $2199

Villalobos

[andrewbw]

Originally posted by villalobos:
I am sure you noticed that these dual don't have the superdrive.

I interpret the "DVD-R/CDRW" to mean Superdrive, since that's how Apple has designated that drive in their sales literature in the past. If it were the combo drive, they'd call it a "DVD-ROM," not DVD-R.

-A.

[janitor]

My university is selling demo units w/SuperDrive's and gf4mx 64mb card's for $1999. A very sweet deal if you ask me, near perfect condition. This deal is not limited to students or faculty; UCSB if you're interested.

[villalobos]

Originally posted by andrewbw:


I interpret the "DVD-R/CDRW" to mean Superdrive, since that's how Apple has designated that drive in their sales literature in the past. If it were the combo drive, they'd call it a "DVD-ROM," not DVD-R.

-A.

Yeah I guess you are right. Mea culpa.
Regardless as of this morning (8/28) they are GONE!!!!!

villa

[siluni]

As of this morning, 8/28, looks like Powermax has what you're looking for. Click on their new Macs link and look among the newer towers, and there's an older 1GHz machine there. Good luck.

Siluni

[OreoCookie]

Why are you so keen on getting an old Dual 1 GHz?

[andrewbw]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Why are you so keen on getting an old Dual 1 GHz?

A fine question! Few basic reasons (maybe this will help someone else make a similar decision)...

1. I currently use a G4/867 Quicksilver and was looking to upgrade to a dual 1GHz even before the Mirrored Drive Door models were released. The Quicksilver 2002 model meets my needs.

2. The changes in the MDD models don't really interest me (Apple's DDR implementation is half-assed, I'm not likely to need more than a couple IDE drives internally, and can add an IDE controller card if for some reason I do, have no use for the second drive bay, etc).

3. I do graphics work and use OS X as my primary OS -- the 1.5GB of memory in my current machine (Quicksilver G4/867) is really nice, and I can move it over to an older Dual 1GHz. I wasn't looking forward to investing in more expensive DDR RAM for little or no speed benefit in a MDD machine.

4. The Quicksilver models are annoyingly loud, but basically tolerable -- the noise level from the MDD machines is unacceptable to me. I manage high end Intel-based servers that aren't that loud (my house has hardwood floors -- every room is a giant ressonance chamber. )

5. I tend to switch back and forth between buying on the front end (early adopter) and on the low end (snapping up deals on discontinued machines). I just was in a bargain-oriented mood this time.

Plus, the nice benefit of ordering the refurb. from Apple is no wait time. I ordered it yesterday, it's already on its way to me. Should have it tomorrow.

The *only* thing I don't like about the older machine is the crappy GeForce4MX card. If it bothers me enough, I'll invest in a Radeon 8500.

-A.

[OreoCookie]

Get a GeForce 4Ti or an ATI 9000/9700 instead.

Well, I understand that you want to keep your memory.