iMac vs. eMac

[realityisterror]

<sigh>
More doubts about what to buy...
</sigh>

Okay... I can get a 1GHz eMac Combo Drive refurb + 512MB + Airport Extreme = $1003

or

800 MHz iMac Combo Drive refurb + 256MB + Airport = $1058

not too much different...
My space is very limited so the iMac is good, also better speakers, like flat panel, etc.

On the other hand the eMac is faster, I can afford more RAM, and larger screen, etc.

Am I going to notice much of a difference with iMovie, iTunes, Safari, Word Processing, Dreamweaver, and Flash? Also, what about the life span of the computer? And since the iMac was recently updated, is there a chance that one of the refubished computers could be a new "left-over" computer?

help is appreciated,
reality

[Dont Hurt Me]

1 gig emac will be faster in everything. it has for the most part pro speakers built in, you dont have to worry about dead pixels, and you can put it on that cool apple stand if you need every inch of desk space. you can notice 200mhz increase dont fool yourself.

[realityisterror]

but would you rather have a faster computer sitting 7inches away from your face (literally) or a bit slower more asthetically pleasing computer at a more comfortable distance?

[QCassidy352]

emac is the way to go; there's no question. It has a faster bus, faster processor, more RAM (in your case), airport extreme instead of airport... pretty sure the radeon 7500 is better than the Geforce2 MX also. The emac is just a faster, more powerful computer.

What about waiting until some of the new 15" imacs are available as refurbs? (i'm sure you can only get them new right now.) Is that an option? It would cost a little more, but not much.

[realityisterror]

the new 15" as a refurb would cost $150 more, which in my case is too much...
the previous iMac was $1099 refurb when it was new...

reality

[OutThere]

MacAddict did a thing about emacs and imacs last month - the 1ghz emac is faster than the 1ghz imac. Say anything to you guys?

[jrs8084]

I got an 17" iMac in Jan so I could give my Cube 450 to my father. The honeymoon was short lived as the iMac seemed slugish compared to the Cube.

It took me only a few minutes to figure out that Apple had a bunch of slow 5400 RPM drives sitting around. I swapped out the drive for a faster HD, and then the performance was quite zippy.

The new eMacs have 7200 RPM drives in addition to the faster processor. If you want speed, get the eMac. However, for style and function, the iMac is grand.

Remember to evaluate how much speed YOU need-it is easy to get carried away with specs. We all have watched people upgrade their intial $500 bargain PC to a $2000 machine. That $300 ultra faster video card really pays off when checking email!

iApps will probably be faster on an eMac, but would be more than adeqaute on an iMac (even with the original HD)

[jrs8084]

I got an 17" iMac in Jan so I could give my Cube 450 to my father. The honeymoon was short lived as the iMac seemed slugish compared to the Cube.

It took me only a few minutes to figure out that Apple had a bunch of slow 5400 RPM drives sitting around. I swapped out the drive for a faster HD, and then the performance was quite zippy.

The new eMacs have 7200 RPM drives in addition to the faster processor. If you want speed, get the eMac. However, for style and function, the iMac is grand.

Remember to evaluate how much speed YOU need-it is easy to get carried away with specs. We all have watched people upgrade their intial $500 bargain PC to a $2000 machine. That $300 ultra fast video card really pays off when checking email!

iApps will probably be faster on an eMac, but would be more than adeqaute on an iMac (even with the original HD)

[realityisterror]

Originally posted by jrs8084

The new eMacs have 7200 RPM drives in addition ...

are you sure that they are 7200RPM? can anybody verify, because i was under the impression that they were/are both 5400RPM?

reality

[jrs8084]

I would be intersted to see what people have out there. When they made the last speed bump on the eMac line, that was one thing I looked at-to see if what drive was installed.

I swear I remember seeing 7200 RPM listed on the product spec .pdf. Now it says nothing-not even 5400 like the older .pds did on the iMac.

The .pdf for the new iMac notes a 7200. I wonder if a change was made. Maybe somebody found another dusty box, so they removed that from the .pdf :-)

[Lancetx]

Originally posted by realityisterror
are you sure that they are 7200RPM? can anybody verify, because i was under the impression that they were/are both 5400RPM?

I have a 1GHz eMac and it's definitely a 7200rpm drive. Mine has an IBM drive, here's the listing from the system profiler (IBM-IC35L060AVV207-0).

[realityisterror]

according to the apple store there are no more refurbished eMacs. could this mean updates soon? they shouldn't be coming for another month and a half....


reality

[mac pac]

what about the new 1.25 gh imacs??? is that faster than the emacs..........when is the update coming for the emac

[realityisterror]

what's up with this???
over the past 5 days, items have been dropping from the refurb store like flies. there are now no emacs and no 15" iMacs not to mention lots of other stuff...

:mad: :( :mad:

reality

[Steven1621]

i can sense you want the imac. that is what i would go with. it is just way cool.

[QCassidy352]

he makes a good point. All objective analysis is in vain when the "better choice" isn't the one that you'll really be happy with.

[Freg3000]

eMac updates are definitely coming, and I can't see what much they could add besides CPU clock speed and base ram. If I am right, the prices won't be going up, and might even come down a bit. So then you might be able to get a really good deal on the current eMacs, and possibly even a new one.

[realityisterror]

Originally posted by Steven1621
i can sense you want the imac. that is what i would go with. it is just way cool.

yes you are right...
too bad as of several hours ago, i can't get the previous gen iMac.... :(

[mac pac]

well im going to wait until the upgrade comes in for the emac!!