eMac questions

[yukidust86]

Hello, New to the mac scene. I Just got my first mac a few days ago. an iMac G3 500mhz 20gb Hd and 384 Ram. oldie but goodie...lol. I love it. It has os 10.4.11, and runs quite smooth. But my wife would like to replace our 1yr old acer **** box of a laptop with a used mac. The eMacs are very cheap on ebay, and i was wondering if it would make a pretty good every day computer. it has...

G4 1.42Ghz, 1GB ram, 160GB hd, DVDRW

I dont want to do anything intense with it just web, music, itunes, and she has to have atleast photoshop 7. I will never do another laptop of any kind again so please dont suggest it. Windows has screwed me over so many times. And we recieved this acer laptop for xmas of '08 and it has fallen apart. from 3 usb ports i now have 1. the cd drive has stopped working, the keyboard has lost keys, and the screen cable has broken so i have it hooked up to a CRT monitor. Oh and we have gone through three power adapters. All of this just outside of the warranty date. And the damn thing has been pampered since it was removed from the box.The only thing it has going for it is the Wireless.

If you dont think an eMac is a good idea, than what do you suggest? I dont have alot of money to put into it, maybe some memory upgrades. But i thing 1Gb should be sufficent. Thanks for any help. Great forum by the way!

 

[mike.coulter]

I'd go with an eMac. They're pretty sturdy, and that one you stated has one of the fastest processors of the eMac range.

They should cope okay with pretty much most everyday things. Unsure if this will apply to the eMac, but my iMac G4 of the same era has some trouble viewing Youtube videos, they skip and jump. Just a consideration. Of course if that annoyed you you can always use http://www.keepvid.com to download the video, then it plays fine.

But yes, the eMac is a pretty sturdy little thing, much faster than the G3 iMac. We have an eMac in my sixth form that's just used for video editing, copes fine.

 

[mabaker]

That 1.42 GHz emac will be just fine. You will definitely be pleased with its performance. Tiger and Photoshop CS or 7.0 will run also fast.

Do install Flash Player 8 on there, tho to guarantee a good Flash playback.

 

[mr.steevo]

Hi,

A friend of mine had an eMac about 6 years ago. Her 1Ghz eMac was much, much faster than my 1Ghz iBook. She sold her eMac years ago but I am still able to use my iBook (OS Tiger) as my daily driver for email, surfing, online banking, etc.

The eMac was a response to the education system's complaints about the iMac G3. Apple made the eMac larger and heavier (harder to steal), had fewer plastic pieces that could come off (like the speaker grills), and the heat vents were moved to the side of the eMac so that "Billy" couldn't pour a can of soda into the computer. The eMac was robust.

I think it was known for having screen wobble problems. If you are looking at the 1.42 then I would suppose that Apple sorted that problem out. Still, I would recommend buying locally so that you can see if the screen is okay.
Otherwise, it's a decent computer.

Personally, I would go to the Online Apple Store (referb section?) and look for a Mac Mini instead. It has about a gazillion times more power and is only a couple of hundred more. You could get a used LCD screen on Kijiji for cheap to go with it and you'd be set.

s.

 

[techound1]

Welcome!

All of the G4s are pretty cheap, and still pretty capable.

My father uses a G4 tower for photoshop, but I don't know which version he has so I can't speak to how well it will run 7. If you have a spare keyboard, mouse, and monitor, the G4 tower is another option for you - and they're highly configurable.

 

[mr.steevo]

Unsure if this will apply to the eMac, but my iMac G4 of the same era has some trouble viewing Youtube videos, they skip and jump.

Hi,

Good point. I don't watch YouTube very often, but it is jumpy and slow on G4's and slower G5's.

I say go for a new Mini as you will get years and years of use out of it while the eMac probably has 2-3 left in the tank.

It really depends on your budget. What is the eMac priced at?

s.

 

[yukidust86]

Thans so much for the VERY quick responses. It helped alot. And the emac i am looking at is going for around $170 and thats with shipping. Is that a good deal for one of these computers? And the problem with getting a mini is $$$. I would like nothing more. But I just need this computer to get me through about the next year. Besides the screen wobble, is there any other common problems with the eMac? Thanks so much.

 

[brendu]

Thans so much for the VERY quick responses. It helped alot. And the emac i am looking at is going for around $170 and thats with shipping. Is that a good deal for one of these computers? And the problem with getting a mini is $$$. I would like nothing more. But I just need this computer to get me through about the next year. Besides the screen wobble, is there any other common problems with the eMac? Thanks so much.

I had an emac and loved it. The screen wobble was noticeable but did not bother me ever... For that price id say its a good deal.. will last you the next year no issues and you can throw leopard on it if you want, dont listen to anyone who says it will not run well... my emac with lower specs than that ran leopard just fine. I say go for it and enjoy.

 

[Doug183]

Just know the eMac is big. Some had some power supply issues long ago but if this one is running, then I am sure it wasn't one of those.

Stay away from iMac G5. They do have bad power supplies (ok a capacitor or 2 that goes bad that can be replaced) but stay away.

 

[prss14]

As someone who has been purchasing eMacs for my school as secondary computers I can say they are great. I have started using one of the extras as my main computer. I like it much better than the 2 year old Dell I was using. They are heavy and take up some space. You do need to see the screen in person as a photo won't show you screen wobble.

Sadly, though, I have to agree with some of the others about getting a newer computer. $179 is way too much to pay for an eMac. I got mine for closer to $30 each. Craigslist. They are all in nice condition with Leopard and Office. Your other problem is going to be that these are already old computers. Great, but old. Leopard is already as advanced as you can go. If you are already willing to spend $200 on a machine this old save up another $100 and get something intel. Others have said the Mini. That is probably your best option. Best of luck.

 

[mr.steevo]

Hi,

Speaking of low price. I got an iMac 333Mhz G3 in the spring of 2007 for free from the Yahoo group FreeCycle. If price is *really* the kicker then you can not beat free.

Considering that the intel Mini ($600) wipes the floor with the fastest G5 PowerMac ($3200 new), I would still vouch for the mini.

s.

 

[CubeHacker]

I honestly wouldn't want to get one of those shipped. The CRT is a shadow mask and thus pretty fragile. As others have suggested, you can probably pick one up locally for less than half that price, and you have the bonus of being able to check it out in person before purchasing it.