eMac in person

steve666 · August 10, 2002 5:18PM

I finally got to check out the eMac at my local CompUSA and since I have been reading all the negative comments about the screen, etc, I must say I could find nothing at all wrong with it.

I had it set on 1024 res and the picture was rock solid and very crisp. I didn't notice anything amiss with the CRTs alignment inside the case, either, although I believe it would have been better not to be set inside the case, but rather flat with it like the new NEC monitors.

I played a song at almost top volume and there was no screen flicker at all. The speakers sounded good, but of course could use more bass(can the isub be used with the eMac?) If not, Apple should make sure that it can in the future-the sound quality would be good enough for most users. As is, it sounds pretty good to me.

The tilt base is hard to move. Unless there was something wrong with the one they had attached, Apple needs to improve it-they should just make it like the base under all 17 inch monitors and stop trying to be fancy with the clear plastic-it should also be included in the price-making it optional is ridiculous, its an absolute necessity.

As for performance, it had only the original 128 Mb RAM in it which rendered it incredibly slow. Apple should not sell a computer with less than 256 Mb RAM, period. OSX absolutely sucks with any less than 256. Even though many of us will get RAM free with purchase, not everyone will, and 512 Mb is the perfect amount of RAM for OSX so with 256 mb RAM free that would be perfect.

My biggest objection? Color. White isn't much better than beige, and the eMac in a darker color would look much better and hide any imperfections better. Matte black would look hot.......................

hmurchison · August 10, 2002 8:31PM

Steve666

You've pretty much nailed it. My visit to CompUSA basically gave me the same impressions. I'm not too hip with the white...it's too "appliance" looking. But I really couldn't find fault with it too much.

eman · August 10, 2002 9:10PM

Would you rather have Flower Power over white?

murbot · August 11, 2002 12:08AM

You're right, the screen is great, I run mine at 1280x960 and it's fantastic.

Speakers are good, but you really should have a little more seperation of the speakers. I have SoundSticks at the corners of my desk with the sub on the floor, much better.

There was something wrong with that stand, for sure. It should be very easy to adjust with one hand. I wouldn't say it's a necessity though, I just returned mine in fact. I prefer it a little lower on the desk. That, and it's a crime what they're charging for it.

Performance is decent, but I have a gig of RAM in this... you're right, 128 MB of RAM is pretty pathetic. Too bad you can't order these stripped down a little. I have a useless 128 MB stick sitting here now.

It's funny to me how a few people posted that the screen flickered, and now it's just "known" on the net that the eMac has a crappy display. Almost everyone who's actually seen one has great things to say about it.

eman · August 11, 2002 12:25AM

If you guys think the white isn't good looking you have to see it on murbot's table. It looks MUCH better than it does in places like the Apple Store and CompUSA.

imacfp · August 11, 2002 9:43AM

The interesting thing about RAM is that every computer, as best I could tell, in the Short Hills Apple store had more RAM than the unit ships with. That makes sense of course, but if people don't upgrade their RAM they might be unhappy with the out of box results.

spiffster · August 11, 2002 10:49AM

Phew! I guess I'm not the only one anymore that thinks the eMac is nice. Stand or not, it's a very nice system, pretty much an lowend iMac without the LCD. I think it will go over good with the collage kids. C'mon a 700 mhz G4 for $1,100.

I dont mind the white, I think it looks quite nice. Just a touch of class.

metacom · August 11, 2002 10:54AM

I would love to see the eMac in black. If anyone knows of a modded eMac, please feel free to let the rest of us know.

steve666 · August 11, 2002 5:48PM

I would like to see it in black, also. In fact a guy I work with has a friend who paints computers, monitors, etc and i was actually considering buying an eMac and have him paint it black. I'm still not crazy about its stats though-100 mhz bus is pretty weenie and all, but I guess it isn't that important. Charging for the base really ticks me off though. Jobs can be really bizarre sometimes. It should come with it-its just a piece of friggin plastic after all...........................

anand · August 11, 2002 10:42PM

The new emac is great. I bought two for my lab and they are fantastic. The perfect replacement for the original iMac. I was also scared about the screen - everyone seemed to say it was pretty bad. In fact, it is really nice - and very bright and crisp. With 128 MB ram they really suck. But add 512 extra and the machine flies. I already know people who were going to buy and iMac and went for the eMac based upon price.

brianmacos · August 11, 2002 10:58PM

When I was @ the Apple store in the Mall of America to get my iBook I was impressed by the eMac but if I really had to choose between the new iMac and eMac I would probably choose the iMac on overall design. That's just me though I wasn't to worried about saving money when I walked in that place, I dropped my 1 XP laptop and 2 XP desktops like a bad habit and bought my iBook.

eMac in person

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