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Are the eMacs any good?

Kirk

Kirk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2004
213
24
Norway
I am considering to buy an eMac (as I can’t afford a better machine). Does anyone have any experience with it, or are there any known quality issues with it?

I will mostely use GarageBand and the other iApps, but I will also use it to run Photoshop, QuarkXpress and InDesign.

Do you guys recommend the eMac, or should I keep saving to buy an iMac..?

Is the Altec Lansing 2100 any good by the way, and can they be used with the eMac?

:)
 
I Love the eMac that I purchased last year. I run Photoshop 7, Illustrator 10, Golive 6, Quark 5 (I Don't dare switch to 6). I use it alot and there hasn't been a problem yet!
 
All Macs are good, some are better at doing the things you need.
If you are doing desktop publishing and Photoshop you may require a larger monitor. The eMac has VGA out but I think this is just mirrored. Depending on the screen space you need, you may be better off buying a second hand G4 and getting a nice big CRT for it.

As for problems, the earliest eMac had a screen vibration problem, this however was quickly fixed.
 
I've heard very few problems about the eMacs. Of course, you lose out on a little desk space and they don't have the aesthetic appeal of, say, an iMac, but overall I've heard they're workhorses.

Squire
 
The screen size may be your biggest issue, as has been pointed out. My dad uses his eMac for professional-level photography work via Photoshop and has no complaints about it other than the monitor size. Picture quality is excellent however, and it is a small sacrifice for an otherwise excellent machine. You can indeed hook up a second monitor, but it will only be a mirror, not more desktop real estate. Unless you are planning on making your living on this machine, you'll probably be very happy with it. Of course you could also get an iBook, apply the video hack and get dual monitor capability that way. Then you'd only be sacrificing the ability to go with a full gig of RAM. The idea of a used G4 tower isn't bad either. That way you can upgrade things. The eMac is *not* upgradeable, outside of extra RAM and an Airport card (if you wanted one for some reason).

Personally I think you'll be happy with an eMac, I'm just tossing out options for consideration.
 
Thanks for good advise! :)

Of course I would like a bigger screen, but I can’t justify the extra cost between the eMac and say the 20-inch iMac. I currently use an 15-inch CRT iMac so ANYTHING would be a step up for me . . !

No reason why GarageBand wouldn’t work fine on an eMac is there?

I think I’ll just wait until the end of January for any new announcements/updates and then I place my order!
 
Originally posted by Kirk
I think I¡¯ll just wait until the end of January for any new announcements/updates and then I place my order!
Click to expand...

If you don't need it right away, that's a very good idea. (Who knows what might transpire over the next couple of weeks. Especially with 20th anniversary rumors floating around.)

And GarageBand would work fine on an eMac. I've pasted the system requirements below.

Squire

--------------------------------

System Requirements
Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
-600MHz G3 or faster required for GarageBand; G4 or G5 required for GarageBand software instruments

256MB of physical RAM
Display with at least 1024-by-768-pixel resolution
Mac OS X v10.2.6 or later (v10.2.8 or later recommended)
QuickTime 6.4 or later (QuickTime 6.5 included)
4.3GB of disk space required to install GarageBand, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD; or 250MB to install iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie only
Important Notes:
DVD drive required to install GarageBand and iDVD
iDVD requires a 733MHz PowerPC G4 or faster.
Burning DVDs using iDVD requires an Apple SuperDrive.
Burning iPhoto archives to CD or DVD requires Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later.
iPhoto book and print ordering services are available only in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and select territories; fees apply.
 
I bought an eMac for my partents and they love it. As said, the screen is just a 17'' but the color quality is EXCELLENT, probably the best I have seen from a CRT.

My only advice is to max the RAM, take the superdrive version (for the SD and the extra HD) and you are set!

As for screen, you can do dual monitor with a hack so its not such a big problem.

I think you can safely order it in the last week of january. If nothing pops up for the eMac up to then, nothing will for a few months. But if you need it ASAP, just take it now and have no remorse, this is an excellent machine.

Good luck
 
The eMac is the best value Mac in the lines at the moment, especially the Superdrive 1Ghz option.

I have a 700Mhz early eMac, and have never had a moments problem with it, it runs Panther, FCP 4, Logic, ProTools Photoshop etc, and all the iLife apps work fine.

Garage Band should run well, the only drawback (apart from screen size as noted) is the buss speed that throttle the processor back a touch, my sisters 1Ghz eMac isn't as quick as my 1Ghz 17" PowerBook, but not by much.

You won't get G5 performance but you ain't paying G5 money... eMacs are excellent machines.

(they are a bit ugly though...;) )
 
i have a 1 ghz emac superdrive emac.

i couldnt justify spending the extra money on an imac AND i actually prefer a crt to a lcd.

the screen is excellent and unless you NEED a ton of space it definately has a reasonable amount. i used to have a 13 inch crt and compared to that this is excellent. i would suggest taking a walk/ride down to the closest place you can see one and test it out.

i must say that i have been completely satisfied with this machine. i have used many programs on it, such as final cut, and it does its job.
 
Thanks!

Time to go out, grab a few beers and brag about my new Mac . . !

:D
 
where does one find this hack to make emacs and ibooks dual display capable??
that was my only problem with the emac, mirroring only. dual disp would be so cool.
 
Doesn't the quality of CRT monitors degrade over time? It seems like buying anything with an LCD screen would be a better buy in the long run.
 
my family has used a 1 ghz combo emac since last summer and never had a moment's problem with it. IMO, the combo emac is the best mac value there is right now.

edit: followed closely by the 12" ibook.
 
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