purchasing advice: an emac perhaps?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
well, i moved into OS X with this b&w g3 (@ 400mhz) i got but a few months ago. os x is making me hungry for more power, so i am considering the 1ghz emac. The education price for this one is $849. Is there a better mac I could get for less than a grand? Mind I have a nice flat CRT monitor to use, so feel free to compare towers to the emac, despite the lack of display with a tower.



i've heard emacs have slow lousy hard drives. is this still true? also, emac owners, sound off, do you like your machine? is 1ghz fast enough for a few more years?



what's the max comfortable resolutions on those things?



it's too bad they are a bit gaudy looking.



edit: i see apple is selling the single 1.25 windtunnel machine for $1199 at the education store. if only it weren't so loud...

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    If your on a budget. I would also get the eMac. 1Ghz would last you for at least a couple years. Heck I still have a old 8100/80 which I still use! The hard drives I really wouldn't call slow because they are 7200rpm, but yeah they could be faster if the system controller was updated and put together better. What will you be using this computer for? Photoshop, internet, just regular home use?
  • Reply 2 of 11
    stevesteve Posts: 523member
    I wouldn't buy a CRT in this day and age. The iMac sounds as if it will be updated soon, if ThinkSecret is to be believed (which they usually are). Perhaps on the 16th? The entry-level will be 1GHz with DDR memory. The pricing may be even lower than the current models, considering the current eMac shock-absorption.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Steve

    I wouldn't buy a CRT in this day and age. The iMac sounds as if it will be updated soon, if ThinkSecret is to be believed (which they usually are). Perhaps on the 16th? The entry-level will be 1GHz with DDR memory. The pricing may be even lower than the current models, considering the current eMac shock-absorption.



    i will wait for this update before buying anything. i still don't understand what all the hoopla is about lcd screens. maybe i would if i sat at my computer for more than a couple hours at a time. for my uses, i see no need for an lcd. i certainly couldn't deal with the 1024x768 that the 15" imac offers. the DDR sounds very nice though. anyhow, i'll hold out for a while i'm certainly not a spur-of-the-moment purchaser. god, the dogs outside the house won't quit barking. i'm going to bed. and next time, i'm moving to a cats-only area
  • Reply 4 of 11
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Altivec_2.0

    If your on a budget. I would also get the eMac. 1Ghz would last you for at least a couple years. Heck I still have a old 8100/80 which I still use! The hard drives I really wouldn't call slow because they are 7200rpm, but yeah they could be faster if the system controller was updated and put together better. What will you be using this computer for? Photoshop, internet, just regular home use?



    i am on a budget, no doubt. anyhow, here ar emy uses:



    1) browsing, email, ichat

    2) photoshop and some design stuff for my grad degree (urban planning)

    3) mp3s, cd burning

    4) vcds and svcd encoding, etc.

    5) i would love to play warcraft 3. i've never had a computer fast enough to run it, however
  • Reply 5 of 11
    ryaxnbryaxnb Posts: 583member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by progmac

    well, i moved into OS X with this b&w g3 (@ 400mhz) i got but a few months ago. os x is making me hungry for more power, so i am considering the 1ghz emac. The education price for this one is $849. Is there a better mac I could get for less than a grand? Mind I have a nice flat CRT monitor to use, so feel free to compare towers to the emac, despite the lack of display with a tower.



    i've heard emacs have slow lousy hard drives. is this still true? also, emac owners, sound off, do you like your machine? is 1ghz fast enough for a few more years?



    what's the max comfortable resolutions on those things?



    it's too bad they are a bit gaudy looking.



    edit: i see apple is selling the single 1.25 windtunnel machine for $1199 at the education store. if only it weren't so loud...




    I bet the HD would be all right (my iBook's is, and it's a "snail slow" 4200RPM one). If not however treat yourself to an extra 60GB of data for not much more the $160 (from known brands like Maxtor). You can use the internal one for less speed-intensive data, such as doc archives, Spec Sheets, some apps, tunes, and other things.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    the eMac is heeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvvvyyyyyyyyyyy



    you aren't carrying it around all the time anyway



    HOWEVER, get a solid desk to hold this thing
  • Reply 7 of 11
    voxappsvoxapps Posts: 236member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by progmac

    emac owners, sound off, do you like your machine? is 1ghz fast enough for a few more years?



    what's the max comfortable resolutions on those things?




    I think the eMac is a good machine and will still be useful in several years for its intended use as a general-purpose computer for student/home use. If you use your computer for office-type productivity apps (word processing, spreadsheets), e-mail, Web surfing, iApps, etc., the eMac is probably Apple's best value right now. If you plan to do video editing or play 3D shooters, or need multiple internal drives or a 23-inch monitor, a tower will serve you better.



    This week I bought two eMacs for family use (1 GHz combo drives) and have spent a good deal of time with them. Maybe I can give you some helpful pros and cons:



    Cons first: upgradeability - can't upgrade the video card; probably hard to upgrade the hard drive (although I've upgraded a Bondi iMac and this can't be any worse than that); can't upgrade the monitor. An equivalent 1 GHz tower would be slightly faster (faster bus, L3 cache, faster hard drive); it's a heavy sucker you want to put down and not move (50+ lbs); only 128 MB RAM standard. Also, I'm not completely thrilled with the Airport Extreme card's performance or software (that would be an issue with a tower too).



    Now the pros: Fast Mac for the price (it is, after all, a 1 GHz G4 with Altivec and a 133 MHz bus - it clearly exceeds the iBook's performance for the same price); decent video card for non-hard core gamers (Radeon 7500 w/32 MB VRAM) - it handles 2D tasks very well and plays DVDs without a problem; monitor is bright and has good geometry (max resolution is 1280 x 960 @ 72Hz with a choice of 5 standard resolutions); speakers are adequate for near-field use; keyboard has a pretty good touch and is fairly quiet (I think this is the same keyboard standard on all new desktop Macs).



    More pros: the hard drive (in mine,at least) is a quiet IBM 5400 RPM unit; while not a silent machine, it is definitely quieter than a tower; it's very easy to upgrade RAM (1GB max), install an AirPort card, or change the PRAM battery from outside the case; the optional stand (59 USD list price) is beautifully crafted and offers a nice range of tilt and rotate adjustments; the standard software is enough to get you productive for basic, non-creative tasks.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    The eMac is a great machine, but the display is horrible. Also, it seems(at least on my machine) that it is a bit reccessed. Other than that, it's awesome. But if you can, spring for the Tilt and Swivel stand. It's worth it to raise the thing a few inches.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CubeDude

    The eMac is a great machine, but the display is horrible.



    I haven't used an eMac but the September 2003 MacHome Magazine says about the display; "[it] stunningly reproduced the colors and details of photographs and games..."



    What do you find wrong with the display?
  • Reply 10 of 11
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Voxapps

    I think the eMac is a good machine and will still be useful in several years for its intended use as a general-purpose computer for student/home use. If you use your computer for office-type productivity apps (word processing, spreadsheets), e-mail, Web surfing, iApps, etc., the eMac is probably Apple's best value right now. If you plan to do video editing or play 3D shooters, or need multiple internal drives or a 23-inch monitor, a tower will serve you better.



    This week I bought two eMacs for family use (1 GHz combo drives) and have spent a good deal of time with them. Maybe I can give you some helpful pros and cons:



    Cons first: upgradeability - can't upgrade the video card; probably hard to upgrade the hard drive (although I've upgraded a Bondi iMac and this can't be any worse than that); can't upgrade the monitor. An equivalent 1 GHz tower would be slightly faster (faster bus, L3 cache, faster hard drive); it's a heavy sucker you want to put down and not move (50+ lbs); only 128 MB RAM standard. Also, I'm not completely thrilled with the Airport Extreme card's performance or software (that would be an issue with a tower too).



    Now the pros: Fast Mac for the price (it is, after all, a 1 GHz G4 with Altivec and a 133 MHz bus - it clearly exceeds the iBook's performance for the same price); decent video card for non-hard core gamers (Radeon 7500 w/32 MB VRAM) - it handles 2D tasks very well and plays DVDs without a problem; monitor is bright and has good geometry (max resolution is 1280 x 960 @ 72Hz with a choice of 5 standard resolutions); speakers are adequate for near-field use; keyboard has a pretty good touch and is fairly quiet (I think this is the same keyboard standard on all new desktop Macs).



    More pros: the hard drive (in mine,at least) is a quiet IBM 5400 RPM unit; while not a silent machine, it is definitely quieter than a tower; it's very easy to upgrade RAM (1GB max), install an AirPort card, or change the PRAM battery from outside the case; the optional stand (59 USD list price) is beautifully crafted and offers a nice range of tilt and rotate adjustments; the standard software is enough to get you productive for basic, non-creative tasks.




    thanks, this was really quite helpful. i'm not a gamer or video pro type, so the video card should be fine. i'm pretty decided to get one, provided i can come up with the money. i wonder how much my G3 400 / 448mb / 100gb / radeon 7000 is worth? with all those upgrades, probably close to $400, bringing the emac price sort of/kind of in reach.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    The eMac seems like a good choice for your needs. Another option is to buy a used tower and monitor for the same price. However, I only suggest this if you have a Mac techy to help you through the process.



    The hard drive will be fine. Apple no longer saddles the eMac with a lower speed (cost saving) drive. They are now 7200rpm drives.



    Don't pay attention to complaints about the screen. It all boils down to whether you are OK with owning a CRT monitor rather than an LCD. I just helped a friend select an eMac for the last year of her masters in education. For her, the luxory of an LCD just wasn't an option and the eMac has an excellent 17" flat-screen CRT. There were some display related problems with the first batch of eMacs but these have since been resolved.



    Honestly, I can't wait to see what she does with iMovie and her tapes of a recent school trip to namibia. She's got to archive them 8mm tapes somehow... why not burn them to DVD and mail copies to the Fam
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