Should I buy an eMac?

bokap · July 14, 2003 3:13AM

Money really isn't the issue. I have the money for a dual G5 if I want one. I just don't like wasting it. I have been getting by for years on a old PowerMac. I mostly surf the internet, use photoshop and occasionally make movies with my digital cam. If I had a better computer I would make more movies. All of what I do is strictly non professional use.

I could really get by on this computer except that it takes too long to compress video and I think its time to use OS X.

I had been planning on a serious upgrade but then I started thinking that maybe an Emac is really all I need.

Thanks

Bob G

applenut · July 14, 2003 3:20AM

if money isn't an issue but u dont wanna waste it then get the 17 inch iMac or a lowend G5 with a nice display

why the eMac?

weird

ghost_user_name · July 14, 2003 3:26AM

Purchasing advice goes in General Discussion.

Moving now.

johnq · July 14, 2003 3:30AM

I would start at the lowest end of the G5s just so you can put some money into a nice monitor...The single 1.6 will be just fine even for video. You'll eventually want a second drive but that can be added later. I always recommend 1GB of RAM.

? 1.6GHz PowerPC G5

? 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2x512

? 80GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm

? NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra

? Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)

? 56k V.92 internal modem

? SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)

? Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English

? Mac OS X - U.S. English

Subtotal

$3,673.00

If that's too steep you can knock the monitor down to 17" and just get 512MB of RAM...(Can always add more later)

? 1.6GHz PowerPC G5

? 512MB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2x256

? 80GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm

? NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra

? Apple Studio Display (17" flat panel)

? 56k V.92 internal modem

? SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)

? Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English

? Mac OS X - U.S. English

Subtotal

$2,823.00

But you should wait a while (after Macworld NY?) to see what the new monitors will be like (if there will be new ones)...

Otherwise I would get a 17" iMac over an eMac. I just don't like CRTs anymore, you may disagree.

(Wow applenut, great minds think alike...

)

elric · July 14, 2003 6:15AM

I'll sell ya my 17" iMac

Would give me a good excuse to use on my wife to get a new dual 2ghz G5 8)

pscates · July 14, 2003 6:30AM

Depending on what happens this week (or in the next couple of weeks) on the PowerBook front, I'll be happy to sell you my 15" LCD iMac for $1000 (and you pay shipping).

800MHz, 512MB RAM, 60GB hard drive, SuperDrive, 10.2.6, speakers, keyboard, mouse, original packaging, manuals, disks, excellent condition, works like a charm, etc.

ernest emac · July 14, 2003 8:41AM

I found the eMac to be a bit harsh on the eyes when using the highest resolution.

paul · July 14, 2003 2:10PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pscates

Depending on what happens this week (or in the next couple of weeks) on the PowerBook front, I'll be happy to sell you my 15" LCD iMac for $1000 (and you pay shipping).

800MHz, 512MB RAM, 60GB hard drive, SuperDrive, 10.2.6, speakers, keyboard, mouse, original packaging, manuals, disks, excellent condition, works like a charm, etc.

Paul, read your PMs...

bokap · July 14, 2003 2:41PM

Applenut-I don't know why you have to say weird. I asked the question to see if an Emac would be a good computer for someone who has light computing needs. I could buy a G5 but it does seem like overkill. My main interest is photography and I could have bought a Canon 1D but I chose a d30 because I don't need a pro camera for what I do.

I listed what my uses would be for a computer. I really don't think I need a G5 for using iMovie. From the responses I think perhaps a 17"iMac might be my best choice.

Bob G

elric · July 17, 2003 5:47AM

Bokap check your private messages, tried to email you but it bounced

matsu · July 17, 2003 8:54AM

I've heard the eMac display can be a little hard on the eyes. It doesn't look bad to me, but it's definitely not as good as a trinitron tube. The eMac CRT has that phosphor screen pattern that never seems to entirely eliminate moire, definitely not as good as a CRT could be -- like trinitron type aperture grills.

So that leaves the overpriced consumer macs (without spanning support) one with a pretty bad display, and one with a better display, but even more over-priced.

I think it's pretty obvious that a 12" PB is a better deal, and portable too while you can span a much better 3rd party display than either the eMac or iMac have on offer.

If you have access to an edu discount, absolutely skip the consumer desktops and get a PB12, the prices are even better.

kraig911 · July 17, 2003 9:50AM

i like the emac, we use it at one of our clients as a filemaker server, and it gets used a lot for other things as well apparently. Nothing else out there can get you a better deal with a DVD burner, and a decent system. I think you'd be perfectly fine with one especially if you aren't playing any games.

matsu · July 17, 2003 9:54AM

Not true, DVD burner and 17" LCD based wintel systems with much better graphics and larger HDD's are available from 1999 to 2399 CANADIAN, basically starting from about 1299USD with much better displays (17" LCD) and a LOT faster.

groverat · July 17, 2003 10:09AM

Matsu speaks the truth. But the boy wants a Mac.

The kind of people who have money enough to say "it's not a problem" are usually the ones who spend $1000 on a computer instead of $3000.

I don't like the eMac's screen myself. I like the overall look but the CRT doesn't seem too hot. If I were you I'd look into a PowerMacG4 (Apple still sells a 1.25ghz, MacMall a single1.25ghz for $1294, dual1.25ghz for $1694) and coupling that with a nice, big, high-quality CRT. More flexible that way than an eMac or iMac (neither of which am I a big fan of).

iMac 1ghz 17" - $1800

PM 1.25ghz + nice 19" CRT - $1700

But that's just me.

murbot · July 17, 2003 10:23AM

Personally, I wouldn't buy an eMac. I had one a few weeks ago, and it made one of the fastest trips to eBay of any Mac I've owned. The display sucked HARD. Maybe a bad display, worse than average, I don't know. I kept telling myself over and over "it's fast, it's cheap, you'll get used to it..." but I never did.

I now have a 1.25GHz PowerMac G4, and it's fantastic. It is much faster than the eMac, and a far better value IMO. I can attach whatever display I feel like to it, install a SuperDrive in the second bay later on if I want, and it's a piece of cake to drop in another HD if I run out of room. They're also about 1/2 as loud as the old PowerMacs. It's not much louder than an eMac, frankly.

With the prices being what they are now, I can't think of any reason to buy an eMac. I'm so glad the G5s were released, makes for killer deals on a fast G4 tower.

BTW, my tower came with the Pro Keyboard and Mouse. YAY!! I get to keep the keyboard flat.

kraig911 · July 17, 2003 11:33AM

I cannot see how people say those cheap windows boxes say they are faster... I use both daily and both about the same amount of time, mostly for duping, client crap, and so forth and see absolutely no speed difference.

matsu · July 17, 2003 1:14PM

Hmmm...

2399 Canadian

3.06Ghz HT P4 w 800Mhz FSB

512MB DDR

DVD-r/w +r/w

128MB 8X AGP Gfx

160GB HDD

FW400

USB2.0

10/100 ethernet

v92 56K modem

5.1 audio, yadda yadda, SPDIFF, toslink, midi... yadda yadda

1280x1024 17" LCD

ALL INCLUDED.

If you only use office, then does it matter that it's windows?

Web browsing will be much faster (though also riskier!!!)

If you do any video, that 160GB drive looks pretty good, and you can get a nice pirate of Premier.

Kazaa has everything you need.

lotsa lotsa lotsa room for MP3's, games (and more choice and better performance for them if that's your thing, though I would [edit]NOT![/edit] buy a computer for gaming (consoles are better) The types of computer games that are better on a computer (war-craft, SIMMS, worms, etc etc) are just as good on a mac.

Much better display than an eMac, more storage, much faster, tons of exandability and upgradability.

NO way around it. Apple's consumer desktop macs are a bad deal.

seb · July 17, 2003 2:49PM

bokap,

I've got a B&W G3, and I'm planning on getting a new CPU as well, so here's my thinking. I still haven't decided what to do though.

I have similar needs as you. I do all the email, web, photoshop (elements though) stuff, plus I've got quite a few videos I want/need to put on DVD. However, I'm not billing anyone by the hour for this so I really can't justify spending $3000 for a system.

1. Buy a 12" PBG4

a. Pros - inexpensive, G4, laptop, superdrive.

b. Cons - small screen, not very upgradable, not very fast, expensive AppleCare ($350)

2. Buy a 17" iMac

a. Pros - relatively inexpensive, faster than a 12" PBG4, big screen, superdrive, takes up little space, I could give it to my mom next year when the G5 prices drop. Cheap AppleCare ($159)

b. Cons - not superfast (don't need superfast though), probably won't satisfy my needs for three years - hence giving it to my mom next year - it's perfect for her.

3. Buy a G4 tower

a. Pros - Fast and upgradable

b. Cons - more than I'd want to spend on something other than a G5, resale value will go in the toilet by the time I buy a G5 - next year or so, I don't want to give my mom a tower and all that crap. I'd rather just by a laptop which I'd keep.

4. Buy a PB 15"

a. Pros - faster than a 12", bigger screen, could last me several years, portable (big plus), superdrive

b. Cons - not a G5, won't be giving it to my mom next year - cause I'd want to keep it (greedy ain't I?), expensive AppleCare ($350), a lot of money for a non-G5, current units haven't been updated since November - don't want an EOL machine.

5. eMac - eww. Just don't like em. Personal thing.

So, I've boiled it down to two things:

Either

1. A PBG4 12" to get me by until the G5s are more reasonably priced and keep it.

2. Buy the 17" iMac for my Mom and just use it for a while until the 15" PBs get updated, or I buy a G5 next year.

okay, three things...

3. Buy a 15" PB - if they come out with a new one soon.

Oh, and skip on the 'fast' PCs. The chip is fast, yeah, but the overall system isn't as powerful as a Mac - no matter what Matsu says. You simply cannot quantify usefulness with a number/ghz rating.

good luck, hope I didn't confuse things worse. Let us know what you decide!

soberbrain · July 17, 2003 3:09PM

the eMac is the bargain G4, it is for people who want power, but can't or don't want to spend more money on a system. i suggest buying the best system you are comfortable spending your money on so that it can meet your needs now and for the future.

kraig911 · July 17, 2003 3:17PM

Matsu what manufacturer was that?

bokap · July 17, 2003 4:10PM

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like the Emac would not be the best choice for me. I think I will get the 1.25 tower with the 17" Cinema Display.

Bob

Should I buy an eMac?

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