Older computer for kids - recommendations??

I cannot help you on your decision. Just wanted to make you aware of the following:

my budget is very small (nil?). I really can't see spending much more than $300 per computer.

You should consider checking out Refurbished Mac Computer

We homeschool

You should check out Apple Store for Education homeschooling is included.

I tend to try to get all the software upgrades as soon as they're out (at least for free).

Apple software upgrades are not free.

Apple software updates are FREE!

I think your price point for a used, Intel iMac is unrealistic.

As you have found, Intel Macs are still commanding fairly high prices.

You could look at older model Intel Mac Minis?

http://www.powermax.com/parts/code/PM_**_MM_IN

These are cheap, but you need to purchase a separate monitor keyboard and mouse.

You can find a purchase a cheap monitor to use with these, but still drives the costs past your $300 limit.

If you want a cheap computer for your kids, if you do not want to consider older, cheaper PowerMac/PowerPC technology, maybe you should be looking at Windows PCs, instead.

If you live in California, the school system is giving every student FREE iPads, including home schooled children.

I have to agree with the other posters, why you buy used you never know what you're really getting. It VERY frequently occurs that someone shows up on these forums having bought a used Mac and the thing turns into a money pit. There is truth to you get what you pay for.

Just my .02. Whatever you choose ....good luck.

Personally, I would stay away from buying any computer, even a Mac off of eBay.

You just don't know what kind of headaches you're goin to run into.

The link I provided you is an legitimate Apple Authorised reseller of all Macs new and used.

This is a reseller I use and theyhave a standard 90-day warranty, on used Macs, against hardware failure and defects and they offer an extended 6-month warranty plan. This is available if the Mac in question no longer caries any extended AppleCare warranties.

Another Apple Authorized reseller is OWC ( macsales.com).

OWC offers excellent product service, as well.

You pay a little more for used Macs through an Apple authorized reseller, but you get a Mac that has been inspected for working and physical condition and have a good service and warranty policies on used Macs

If you decide to go through a reseller, you can actually find out info about a Mac you maybe interested in by calling and talking to their sales reps.

They are very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable people.

Good Luck!

"What I'm asking about for "what to look out for" is supposed to be regarding WHICH MODEL to choose... not where to buy one from... "I'm needing help in determining what specs are most important for me to have.""

Problem with purchasing from eBay is no extended warranties or support for the Mac purchased.

As you are here,in these forums, trying to get information, you are left on your own to deal with computer issue that could get dealt with through a reputable reseller with warranties and support.

To each is own, I am done preaching the benefits of my suggestions to you.

The specs that would be pertinent for a kids computer would be to purchase one with as fast a CPU as you can afford and also one with enough RAM to run more than one application fast and efficiently.

A Mac that comes with at least 4 GBs of RAM is a good base amount. A Mac with more RAM installed is always preferred. You can always get a Mac with a 4 GBs base of RAM and install more RAM yourself through cheaper third party online Mac RAM suppliers.

Also, you need to decide if a desktop model Mac or portable MacBook is a better fit for your kids.

Only you can decide this. I cannot help you with this decision, but other criteria still apply.

I guess I just have to look up specs on all the older models that I'm interested in and see what is the max they can upgrade to... Was hoping someone had that info more readily available...

There's an app (as in application) for that! Download Mactracker

MomE wrote:

Do the Ghz of the processor make that much difference in the models between 2006 and 2010? We're not running gaming or photo/video editing stuff...

I know how to choose the hard drive size...

What about the video processor (or whatever it's called)? I've read a bit about the different types used in that era, but will we notice any significant difference with what we're doing??

Faster CPU is always preferable to a slower one.

The graphics processor (GPU) shouldn't be much of an issue if your kids aren't playing high end 3D games on said Mac. However, a dedicated GPU is better than a GPU that gets it VRAM by sharing the regular RAM in a Mac.

Called an integrated GPU.

The Mac Minis use this type of integrated GPU, so for these Macs, it's better to have more than, say, 4 GBs of RAM because the GPUs in the Mac Mini will steal some of this RAM for use with the GPU.