Buying G5 for FCP: details?

[Debe]

Hey, Bob!

I have a flip-side argument for getting your RAM through Apple, but it only makes sense if you have an Apple Store near you.

I weighed the pros and cons of paying Apple’s higher price for RAM. I decided that although I was shopping for the most reliable RAM I could get, I also was shopping for immediate customer service, which does have inherent value. I decided that any RAM could go bad, and if I’m down due to bad RAM, I’m losing money if I can’t get back up and running quickly. I even have backup empty hard drives ready to install if I ever have a media drive go kaput on me.

So I decided since there 3 Apple Stores in my metro area, I could always drive over, walk in, and have my RAM replaced and be up and running within an hour if the closest one wasn’t out of stock. Plus, Apple RAM is covered under Apple Care, but third-party vendor RAM is not.

What I think it boils down to is each purchaser needs to make a decision. Buying third-party vendor RAM definitely saves you money now, but buying Apple RAM has the possibility of saving you lots of money in the future if your RAM turns on you! Another thing to weigh, if waiting a day or more for replacement RAM to arrive from far away doesn’t lose you money, then that’s something to consider for going with the 3rd party vendor.

I know I can’t be down for a day. Oftentimes I have deadlines that are waaaay too tight to take that risk. So I paid more for Apple RAM.

Of course, I’ve also (knock on wood) never had any problems with my RAM, either.

debe

[Bob Cole]

excellent point about downtime, debe. One of the only things I don’t like about this business is the fear that a mechanical problem will cause me to miss a tight deadline. But the only solution to that is probably a backup system, which is not actually such a bad idea. Even AppleCare with a local store would take too long in many cases.

Another thing to consider is: how good is the AppleCare in your specific locality? I will try to find out if there is a local FCP users group and find out what they say.

Thanks, as always, to everybody who gave me such good advice — a great group here. I’m hoping that MacExpo will include the announcement of a big price drop… on the quad…. (I know, dream on.)

— BC