T...he Mac Mini A1176 is the only model that is still financially viable, and which can still be upgraded. It an "Intel Mac" capable of processor upgrades to a Max of a C2D 2.33GHz (T-7600) and memory upgrades to 4GBs. Put a decent SSD into them and they run very well, and are quite fast. Plus, they are small!!
Verified purchase: Yes
If you are looking to have a mac in your house, but dont have $1200... to buy a desktop? Buy a Mac Mini! I have already upgraded this 1.66GHz machine with 2gb of Ram and upgraded the operating system. Make sure to acquire ANY passwords that may be used for the system. Sellers like jklinect will just stop contacting you if you leave a positive feedback, then realize later that he didn't give you the password. Once realizing he sold me a machine that is basically worthless, he disappeared and ignored all my messages. I had to take it upon myself to find a way to reset the password, which involves a new OS or hacking the command terminal. All and all you cant go wrong. For, collectively, $400 I have the EXACT same system as someone who purchased a 2GHz desktop for $1200. It's the way to go! Most people don't even know about mac minis. You do need your own keyboard, mouse and dvi screen to hook up to it. It even buying all that, it's still 1/3 the price of a new one.
I use this as a second...ary computer to do light editing and to run audio cues for theatre. With its original 512 MB of RAM it was a little slow but luckily I had 2 GB laying around from an old laptop. After the RAM upgrade and upgrading from Tiger to Snow Leopard it works very well. The only real problem I must note is that the processor is x86 meaning it is unable to run OSX Lion. It also raises compatibility issues with a lot of the App Store apps. Not really that big a deal though.
The exterior of the Mac is in great condition. I had to reattac...h the hard drive, put more memory in it and install the OS. Works great now.
Verified purchase: Yes
Could use a bigger hard drive. It had issues u...ntil I got some off the prior owner stuff off the hard drive so it had free space to run. Now works fine. Good starter machine for the price.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned