Hi Just a question.Im want to buy my first mac.Now im strapped for cash.Would anyone recommend an emac or bad move i can go 1k thats about it.wont be doin much with it.prefomance wise is it worth buying?
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would you recommend an Emac?
- Thread starter nyprospect
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Yes
If you're doing heavy video editing, or professional work, then no, I would recommend a G5. But for most every day stuff, eMacs seem like a pretty awesome deal.
I have a 15" 1 GHz PowerBook and it is plenty fast enough for most things, including audio editing. The eMacs are 1.25 GHz, so I don't think they'll be too slow for the average consumer. And I think they're great for a switcher: Not as big of an investment as an iMac or G5, but still a solid buy.
Make sure you put at least 512 Megabytes of RAM in, though. Any less than that and your computer will not be happy.
If you're doing heavy video editing, or professional work, then no, I would recommend a G5. But for most every day stuff, eMacs seem like a pretty awesome deal.
I have a 15" 1 GHz PowerBook and it is plenty fast enough for most things, including audio editing. The eMacs are 1.25 GHz, so I don't think they'll be too slow for the average consumer. And I think they're great for a switcher: Not as big of an investment as an iMac or G5, but still a solid buy.
Make sure you put at least 512 Megabytes of RAM in, though. Any less than that and your computer will not be happy.
I just want to be happy with it.Ive seen them a while back and wanted one .Has anyone tried some heavy work on them?
Check out Apple Hot Deals section. Link is on the lower left of the store. Refurbished, fully warranted eMacs are very inexpensive. You can use your savings to add RAM- which is a necessity. I would suggest a Combo drive- lets you watch DVD's and burn CD's pretty fast. Unless you really have DVD burning in mind, the superdrives usually just burn CD's slower.
Find your RAM here:
Ramseeker
Or Here:
Crucial.com (Highly reccomended)
Find your RAM here:
Ramseeker
Or Here:
Crucial.com (Highly reccomended)
I had one but hated it. Sold it to get an iBook G4.
It performs fine, but keep in mind that it's really not built very well, they have a high defect rate, and, as on the old CRT iMacs, if you play audio using the internal speakers it causes ripples and major screen distortions on account of the powerful magnets ******* with the CRT. It's also very big and bulky weighing 50lbs and a ***** to move because its made of smooth plastic, which gets very slippery, and there are no handles. Also, if you get it, you're going to want to get the tilt-n-swivel stand so you can adjust the viewing angle, and that's another 50 bucks. ONLY get it if you can't afford anything better, that's the absolute only reason why anyone who isn't an educational institution should ever consider getting an eMac.
Oh yeah, keep in mind, unlike most Macs which have fabulous resale value, the eMac resale value is absolutely h o r r i b l e, you can see some selling on eBay with a 1GHz G4, superdrive, a gig of ram, etc... for like $600. You can find old G3 iBooks selling for more than that.
My advice: Wait until Apple updates the iMac line, and get one of those instead. It's bound to be a hell of a lot better machine, and look better too.
It performs fine, but keep in mind that it's really not built very well, they have a high defect rate, and, as on the old CRT iMacs, if you play audio using the internal speakers it causes ripples and major screen distortions on account of the powerful magnets ******* with the CRT. It's also very big and bulky weighing 50lbs and a ***** to move because its made of smooth plastic, which gets very slippery, and there are no handles. Also, if you get it, you're going to want to get the tilt-n-swivel stand so you can adjust the viewing angle, and that's another 50 bucks. ONLY get it if you can't afford anything better, that's the absolute only reason why anyone who isn't an educational institution should ever consider getting an eMac.
Oh yeah, keep in mind, unlike most Macs which have fabulous resale value, the eMac resale value is absolutely h o r r i b l e, you can see some selling on eBay with a 1GHz G4, superdrive, a gig of ram, etc... for like $600. You can find old G3 iBooks selling for more than that.
My advice: Wait until Apple updates the iMac line, and get one of those instead. It's bound to be a hell of a lot better machine, and look better too.
If you're not going to do much with it, the eMacs are great machines. I would recommend one. The only thing I don't like is the way it looks. The iMac looks much nicer, but don't get an iMac - they are way overdue for an update.
My advice: Wait to see what WWDC brings. The iMacs will be updated, which means you could get an old version for dirt cheap and by then you may have a little more money.
Best wishes,
JOD8FY
My advice: Wait to see what WWDC brings. The iMacs will be updated, which means you could get an old version for dirt cheap and by then you may have a little more money.
Best wishes,
JOD8FY
emacs are great machines they work for most everything
and i HIGHLY reccomend the tilt&swivel stand
also i would buy from somewhere lie macmall they often bundle free ram and other bonuses
and i HIGHLY reccomend the tilt&swivel stand
also i would buy from somewhere lie macmall they often bundle free ram and other bonuses
i thought about an emac on several occasions but....
I thought of getting one but i have actually decided to look around for some 1.25 g4's. Oh dont bicker about how g5 is much better but i actually want more internal hd space and dont want to spend tons on g5. Yes i have seen 1.6 g5's selling very low recently but they are rev 1 and i NEVER get rev 1 devices. Every time i have gotten rev 1 devices for anything (including s/w) it has always dissapointed me. G5 for me would be a waste of money anyways, im only doing light studio mx 2004 and light photoshop work. Most of the time ill probly be hacking around in unix and linux muahahah. Plus i cannot fix emacs (i hate getting near crt's....had a bad experience) and i can fix pmacs with ease. I hate apple repair services and i think they all suck to be honest...lol..
Thats just my story of my own decision.
My father owns a 1 ghz emac and has had zero problems. I would say emacs are good consumer machines, but much like the ibook they are low end and have extremely high failure rates. Just dont let people in this thread convince you that they are POS's and are not worth it, because they definitly are worth it! They give awsome performance for the value.
I thought of getting one but i have actually decided to look around for some 1.25 g4's. Oh dont bicker about how g5 is much better but i actually want more internal hd space and dont want to spend tons on g5. Yes i have seen 1.6 g5's selling very low recently but they are rev 1 and i NEVER get rev 1 devices. Every time i have gotten rev 1 devices for anything (including s/w) it has always dissapointed me. G5 for me would be a waste of money anyways, im only doing light studio mx 2004 and light photoshop work. Most of the time ill probly be hacking around in unix and linux muahahah. Plus i cannot fix emacs (i hate getting near crt's....had a bad experience) and i can fix pmacs with ease. I hate apple repair services and i think they all suck to be honest...lol..
Thats just my story of my own decision.
My father owns a 1 ghz emac and has had zero problems. I would say emacs are good consumer machines, but much like the ibook they are low end and have extremely high failure rates. Just dont let people in this thread convince you that they are POS's and are not worth it, because they definitly are worth it! They give awsome performance for the value.
my family has had a 1 Ghz emac for about a year now and they really like it. It performs very well on every task (they don't do high end video or gaming) and never has any problems whatsoever. It's rock solid and quite fast. So yes, I would highly recommend an emac; I think it's a very good computer at a great price. Btw, I see no need for the tilt and swivel stand, but that's just a personal preference.
nyprospect said:
I am using a PB 12" rev. B and it is just behind the new eMac's in terms of power; and there is plenty of power for something like the Adobe Design Suite. I would splurge and get to 768 or 1gb of RAM however.
T
thejazzman10
Guest
heck, i use photoshop and render 3D images with my iBook 900 (640 megs of ram) I think the emac will be plenty enough!
P.S - i also play no one lives forever on this thing.
P.S - i also play no one lives forever on this thing.
I recommend the eMac because it really performs well for the price. Make sure you have at least 512 MB and get the biggest drive configured for it that you would need. It's difficult to upgrade the hard drive later.
I agree nyprospect on the eMac speakers. The older iMac CRTs didn't have ripples on the monitor when playing music. These speakers are more powerful than the old iMac. If you keep the music mid-range than it's fine or use external USB speakers. The ripples don't hurt the monitor, just looks weird on the screen.
nyprospect's suggestion of an iBook is a good one. Those are nice laptops.
Other suggestions:
You can probably sell the $800 dollar eMac for $600 next year. Think of it as renting a Mac for a year for $200 bucks to see if you like it. Don't get the larger HD or memory to save money. Just the stock $799 eMac. Next year get the Superdrive version with a flat screen.
or
Find an old iMac G3 (450mhz+) for cheap. Anyone asking for more than $400 dollars from this 4 year old machine is crazy. You can max out the memory to 1 GB for about $230 and they run Panther really good. The hard drive is easier to upgrade than the eMac. They aren't very heavy, run OS 9 natively if you want, and no fans. Usually the people that sell these machines will feel that it's just too slow to run OS X. If they only have 64 or 128 MB of stock memory, that is the real reason. They just don't know it.
I agree nyprospect on the eMac speakers. The older iMac CRTs didn't have ripples on the monitor when playing music. These speakers are more powerful than the old iMac. If you keep the music mid-range than it's fine or use external USB speakers. The ripples don't hurt the monitor, just looks weird on the screen.
nyprospect's suggestion of an iBook is a good one. Those are nice laptops.
Other suggestions:
You can probably sell the $800 dollar eMac for $600 next year. Think of it as renting a Mac for a year for $200 bucks to see if you like it. Don't get the larger HD or memory to save money. Just the stock $799 eMac. Next year get the Superdrive version with a flat screen.
or
Find an old iMac G3 (450mhz+) for cheap. Anyone asking for more than $400 dollars from this 4 year old machine is crazy. You can max out the memory to 1 GB for about $230 and they run Panther really good. The hard drive is easier to upgrade than the eMac. They aren't very heavy, run OS 9 natively if you want, and no fans. Usually the people that sell these machines will feel that it's just too slow to run OS X. If they only have 64 or 128 MB of stock memory, that is the real reason. They just don't know it.
Also you can save money by going with a refurb unit from the Apple Store. Advantage over used is being able to get Apple Care. Also you might qualify for edu pricing....
Excellent machine--I recommend them highly. I got a 1GHz refurb for my son, and it has been flawless. I did put 1Gb of RAM in it, and it chews through stuff with no problem. I've even done some iMovie etc on it and it works very well.
The refurbs look like a great deal--they can free up money for RAM. So for 1K USD, get the $799 eMac and a 512 meg ram stick from OWC, Crucial, etc.
Best,
Bob
The refurbs look like a great deal--they can free up money for RAM. So for 1K USD, get the $799 eMac and a 512 meg ram stick from OWC, Crucial, etc.
Best,
Bob
highly recommended
I highly recommend getting an eMac.
The people here who claim eMacs aren't good for high end video editing are mistaken, or they're just thinking in relative terms. I did high end video editing on my 700MHz eMac. It handled Final Cut Pro without trouble. I had 1GB of RAM in it.
When I sold it, I got back 90% of the money I had in it, and for about $200 more I upgraded to a PM G4 1.25GHz single.
I never played music loudly enough to see my screen mess up. An extra set up computer speakers (that take a minijack input, not USB as USB audio devices have their own issues) won't be that expensive.
So, if you're lucky you can get a refurbished 1.25GHz combo drive eMac for $699. The tilt and swivel stand is definitely a very nice thing to have for another $50-60. It makes the eMac look almost iMac-like.
Upgrade the RAM to at least 1GB. You could put 2GB in the current eMac, because it will take 1GB PC2700 333MHz modules. So, how about buying one 1GB module immediately and adding a second one later. One 1GB stick is about $50 or so more expensive than 2x512MB sticks, but you'll get further expandability for the future.
I highly recommend getting an eMac.
The people here who claim eMacs aren't good for high end video editing are mistaken, or they're just thinking in relative terms. I did high end video editing on my 700MHz eMac. It handled Final Cut Pro without trouble. I had 1GB of RAM in it.
When I sold it, I got back 90% of the money I had in it, and for about $200 more I upgraded to a PM G4 1.25GHz single.
I never played music loudly enough to see my screen mess up. An extra set up computer speakers (that take a minijack input, not USB as USB audio devices have their own issues) won't be that expensive.
So, if you're lucky you can get a refurbished 1.25GHz combo drive eMac for $699. The tilt and swivel stand is definitely a very nice thing to have for another $50-60. It makes the eMac look almost iMac-like.
Upgrade the RAM to at least 1GB. You could put 2GB in the current eMac, because it will take 1GB PC2700 333MHz modules. So, how about buying one 1GB module immediately and adding a second one later. One 1GB stick is about $50 or so more expensive than 2x512MB sticks, but you'll get further expandability for the future.
I'll give ya this much, the eMac is a very durable machine.
I had to take it in to get repaired once (nothing was actually wrong with it btw, long story, don't ask) and had to park a block away from the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue here in chicago, and I had to carry the damn thing from my car to the store, by itself, no box. And as i stated above, its mighty heavy and MIGHTY slippery (especially with sweaty hands) and with no handle, needless to say...KABOOM!
right there on michigan avenue in front of hundreds of onlookers i dropped my eMac on the sidewalk, and wouldn't ya know it, the thing actually bounced after being dropped, then landed on the SCREEN no less. I was terrified when the mac genius said he was going to start it up before they took it in, fearing that it was dead and damaged at this point. But, wouldn't ya know it, it started up just fine, like nothing had ever happened.
But still, durable as they may be, hold out for updated iMacs! They are far better
I had to take it in to get repaired once (nothing was actually wrong with it btw, long story, don't ask) and had to park a block away from the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue here in chicago, and I had to carry the damn thing from my car to the store, by itself, no box. And as i stated above, its mighty heavy and MIGHTY slippery (especially with sweaty hands) and with no handle, needless to say...KABOOM!
right there on michigan avenue in front of hundreds of onlookers i dropped my eMac on the sidewalk, and wouldn't ya know it, the thing actually bounced after being dropped, then landed on the SCREEN no less. I was terrified when the mac genius said he was going to start it up before they took it in, fearing that it was dead and damaged at this point. But, wouldn't ya know it, it started up just fine, like nothing had ever happened.
But still, durable as they may be, hold out for updated iMacs! They are far better
get the eMac, its the best deal on the whole apple line.
the 1.25ghz eMac in particular. this eMac upgraded not only the processor, but also bumped to a 512k L2 cache, 167mhz FSB, ATA-100 HD Controller, and USB 2.0. all for $799
get the eMac
get the eMac
get the eMac
the 1.25ghz eMac in particular. this eMac upgraded not only the processor, but also bumped to a 512k L2 cache, 167mhz FSB, ATA-100 HD Controller, and USB 2.0. all for $799
get the eMac
get the eMac
get the eMac
The eMac is excellent value and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for the fundamentals of a computer to meet their needs.
I wouldn't wait for an updated iMac as the only conceivable worthwhile update would be the iMac G5 and I can't see that arriving for 12 months ... sadly.
I wouldn't wait for an updated iMac as the only conceivable worthwhile update would be the iMac G5 and I can't see that arriving for 12 months ... sadly.
I very highly recommend the eMac.
I agree completely with what Rod Rod said. I have a refurbed 1GHz eMac that I got at an excellent price and upgraded its optical drive to a Pioneer 107, which is the same as the superdrives in the new models.
It is superb for my video editing purposes, which is heavy but not professional. Quite frankly, the G5 would only be an advantage if I needed to do substantially more powerful graphics work in a much shorter period of time, and at this stage (with the exception of Motion), there's nothing this eMac can't do that a G5 can - it's just a matter of degree between the two of them.
Quite frankly, if you need to ask about the difference, you probably don't need something as powerful as the G5 - the eMac will provide substantially better value for your money and purpose. The G5 is not for everybody - not everyone is a media or software professional (in fact, probably most people aren't), so the professional advantages of the G5 over the eMac are not as pronounced for everyone else's purposes.
So my advice - go the eMac, max the RAM and hard drive and get Final Cut Express running, and you'll have an awesome video editing machine at a very very reasonable price.
I agree completely with what Rod Rod said. I have a refurbed 1GHz eMac that I got at an excellent price and upgraded its optical drive to a Pioneer 107, which is the same as the superdrives in the new models.
It is superb for my video editing purposes, which is heavy but not professional. Quite frankly, the G5 would only be an advantage if I needed to do substantially more powerful graphics work in a much shorter period of time, and at this stage (with the exception of Motion), there's nothing this eMac can't do that a G5 can - it's just a matter of degree between the two of them.
Quite frankly, if you need to ask about the difference, you probably don't need something as powerful as the G5 - the eMac will provide substantially better value for your money and purpose. The G5 is not for everybody - not everyone is a media or software professional (in fact, probably most people aren't), so the professional advantages of the G5 over the eMac are not as pronounced for everyone else's purposes.
So my advice - go the eMac, max the RAM and hard drive and get Final Cut Express running, and you'll have an awesome video editing machine at a very very reasonable price.