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eMac 1.25ghz, Safe Purchase?

K

kanoo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 6, 2008
3
0
I'm considering buying an eMac 1.25ghz with superdrive, airport, 80gb hd and 1gb ram.

The eMac seems to be in excellent shape and the original owner had all of the Apple service warranty parts replaced, (system board and graphics card)

I need to purchase a low cost Mac and I would appreciate any advice if buying this eMac is a reliable purchase.

Thanks for any help!
 
generally, emacs are very stable and reliable machines (just as an example, my mom had one for 4.5 years with no problems at all, ever). They were made to withstand the rigors of the classroom environment, and generally are quite tough.

Whether or not this particular emac is a safe purchase is something that nobody here can say with any confidence.
 
eMac is fine for casual use.

The biggest problem is the monitor. It flickers at high res. I can only get comfortable/non-flickering image at 1024x768.

One option is to run it with an external LCD and forget about the built-in monitor.
 
gkarris said:
I still have mine - they're cool. The one you have listed will run Leopard easily. PowerPC Macs 1GHz+ are still worth it as they run Leopard.
Click to expand...

Very true. Those PPC Macs were the best Apple has made. Virtually the last time Apple was on top, on task, and geared toward making personal computers for users that did think different. When the 12" Powerbook was the ultra portable with FW400 and dedicated GFX card.

:D I miss those days, but I do like the speed of the Intel chips.

johnqh said:
eMac is fine for casual use.

The biggest problem is the monitor. It flickers at high res. I can only get comfortable/non-flickering image at 1024x768.

One option is to run it with an external LCD and forget about the built-in monitor.
Click to expand...

Or you can run it at it's albeit small but native 1024x768 resolution. Plugging up an LCD to it and having the same thing on both displays would be somewhat useless IMHO.
 
The eMac was a solid machine, great value. The later 1Ghz and 800Mhz+Superdrive models have better ATI graphics than the early units. I've seen like vintage G4 iMacs go for relatively the same cost recently, and I prefer them personally (the ones that look like a lamp) to the CRT eMac, but only from a design perspective. I've just been missing end of auction. It would be nice to have one of those for my kitchen... get the old early-XP Compaq "laptop" out of there.
 
drichards said:
The eMac was a solid machine, great value. The later 1Ghz and 800Mhz+Superdrive models have better ATI graphics than the early units. I've seen like vintage G4 iMacs go for relatively the same cost recently, and I prefer them personally (the ones that look like a lamp) to the CRT eMac, but only from a design perspective. I've just been missing end of auction. It would be nice to have one of those for my kitchen... get the old early-XP Compaq "laptop" out of there.
Click to expand...

You are getting the iMac G4 and eMac G4 confused. The iMac used to be the CRT all in one, then when the G4 debuted it went lamp shade and the original CRT design was implemented into the eMac design.

I'd prefer the iMac lampshade over the eMac since the eMac is one heavy CRT/computer all-in-one. Besides, you do get an LCD display up to 20" if you can find one of those rare hard to let go models.
 
Digital Skunk said:
You are getting the iMac G4 and eMac G4 confused. The iMac used to be the CRT all in one, then when the G4 debuted it went lamp shade and the original CRT design was implemented into the eMac design.

I'd prefer the iMac lampshade over the eMac since the eMac is one heavy CRT/computer all-in-one. Besides, you do get an LCD display up to 20" if you can find one of those rare hard to let go models.
Click to expand...
I know... I was saying that I've seen iMac lampshades go for about the same price as eMacs recently, and I'd personally prefer the iMac for my kitchen. We're on the same wavelength here. ;)
 
I'm writing this on just such an emac. Use it every day, sometimes never shutting it down for weeks a time. Its been my only Mac for four years now I think. Hasn't skipped a beat. I run Leopard and even CS2. If it bust I's probably get another one. Plus the funky jewellry shop up the road has one in the store; the girl said she bought it because she liked the look, said it looked like the nose of an airoplane from sideways on. That's creatives for you....
 
Hello,

I'm the original poster of this thread.

I greatly appreciate everyone who reply to my question!

I decided to go through with the purchase after checking out the eMac this afternoon.

The computer looks and operates as new.

I am really happy to learn that I can run Leopard on this eMac.

Best wishes,

Michael
 
FWIW, the hard drive on my 1ghz eMac just died after almost 5 years of use. However, I can still boot the computer using an external Firewire drive. Make sure you have your stuff backed up.

Also, I borrowed an eMac from a friend, a slightly older one but less heavily used. Its screen looks much sharper than mine. I'm not sure why; maybe because mine had more hours on it. I always thought my screen looked a little fuzzy from the start, though I thought it was just because I wasn't used to the OSX text antialiasing.

At one point the fan started making a different noise, and it didn't sound good so I ordered a spare fan on Ebay. The noise went away though. I think dust accumulates in there, and it's not designed for you to be able to open it up.

How much did it cost?
 
I bought the eMac today! This mac is in perfect/as new condition.
The original owner is a Apple IT person and I am very happy to receive all of your advice!

I think I will really love using this eMac!
 
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