I mentioned a lot of recent business spending in a previous post. This month has been a bit crazy. I don’t usually drop a few grand on new camera bodies every month. Actually, I have budgeted to purchase a new body every two years.
I also don’t spend a lot on computer stuff. I will have to get a new hard drive or two, maybe every six months or so (they fill up fast). I will have to add memory when needed, maybe increasing it every year until the computer is maxed out. But, I try not to get a new computer until I have to (because a machine has died or the newest needed software won’t run on my current machine).
Well, I’ve been lucky enough to buy my last two Powermacs used. One at an auction for a few hundred bucks – it lasted me a few years. The other through ebay – it’s still running fine, and has been for the last three or four years now. It just runs a little slow on some things and won’t really work with Adobe CS4 or the newest version of Final Cut Pro.
Believe it or not, I’ve been able to get by on this G4 dual 533mhz Powermac for the last few years. It cost me around $400 to $500 and maybe a couple hundred dollars in upgrades to keep it going so far. No three or four grand Intel-based powerhouse for me… Why would I spend that kind of money if I don’t HAVE to?!?
You see, all this gear is just a set of tools to help me create my art. I’m not afraid to say that I didn’t go to Apple and spend a few grand for a new unit, plus another grand in memory and other hop-ups. I am not using my computer to impress other people, and I’m not using it to do hardcore 3D rendering or major motion picture video editing. It doesn’t HAVE to be the newest, fastest, flagship model computer.
My new computer purchase is for a older Powermac Quadcore 2.5ghz computer. I figure that will be just enough to get me by for the next three to four years, until I have to find another used unit that is “just quick enough” and “just modern enough” to be relevant for the next few years after that.
I am fine with a machine that is already a few years old. It will work with the most current software out today, and it will run fast enough and smooth enough for what I am currently doing – and plan to be doing for the next couple years. That’s all I ask for.
Here’s the deal, I spent $1,100 for the newer computer. If I add in another $400 in upgrades over the next four years, I’ll have spent $1,500 on this computer overall. Divide that by the years of use and I’m spending $375 per year on my computer to use it. That $375 per year operating cost is on par with what you’d spend per year on a new, but very basic basic Intel-based Mac Pro, if you kept it for the next eight years.
And, just to compare the cost of operating the best, fastest, hottest, newest Mac currently available: If you purchased an 8-core Intel-based Mac pro (runs two 2.93ghz quadcore chips) with 16gb memory for $6,500, you’d need to keep running that machine for almost 18 years to reach the same $375 per year cost!
Sure, there are advantages to getting the newest, biggest computer currently available. I’m not suggesting you should always buy used. I’m really just pointing out that you should get what you need, with some room to grow for a few years. However, you are just wasting money if you don’t really need it, won’t actually use it, and especially can’t afford it.