Humminbird 581i Combo avs 597ci HD Combo

I'm thinking about up grading to a color fish finder. The color 597 is a driect plug and play swapout for the 581 which is black and white. Both got GPS, and both can accept map upgrade cards.

581 is 2500 watts (PTP) and the 597 up guns that to 4000.

Here's a couple questions: Welcome advise.

Does having a color fishfinder amke it really that much easier to see and work with?
Second, does 4000 watts vs 2500 make a big differrence? I'm trying to get better performance when running on the big engine and reduce the clutter I get on the screen.

Third, I think I can get a new, out of box 597 for $300, with manuals, mount, and CD, and all cables including transducer. Since the standard transducer is the same for the 581 and 597, as well as the mount, I plan to just leave all the old stuff mounted and swap in the new head unit. That means I'd have a 2 year old, 581 with all the stuff that came with the 597 to sell. Ya think anybody would be interested in buying a black and white 581 with GPS if I sold it for say $150?

Just wondering if the upgrade would make a noticeable ease of use and performance difference, and if I can reduce my total out of pocket by having a chance to resell the old unit.

I recently upgraded to color, and it makes a big difference to me. Easier to see and easier to interpret the return on the screen.

IMO you'll not see that much difference between 2500 and 4000 watts unless you are scoping some seriously deep water. Transducer location and angle prolly have more to do with interference than power of the unit. Once again just my opinions, I may be wrong.

[QUOTE=Devils Horse;497063]I recently upgraded to color, and it makes a big difference to me. Easier to see and easier to interpret the return on the screen.

IMO you'll not see that much difference between 2500 and 4000 watts unless you are scoping some seriously deep water. Transducer location and angle prolly have more to do with interference than power of the unit. Once again just my opinions, I may be wrong.[/QUOTE]

Thanks man, appreciate it.