For all you eMac experts! (Some technical questions)

[maxpayne.co.uk]

Hi, im new to these forums, and I'm wanting to purchase a new 1Ghz SuperDrive eMac in the next few months.

I have some questions about this system...

1. The system as standard comes with 256MB. I would like to upgrade to 512MB or maybe even 1GB RAM, would there be a lot of difference between CL=2 and CL=3 memory?

2. In this particular eMac (SD, 80GB) what is the hard drive model number?

3. What is the max ATA drive speed the motherboard will run at (for any drive)?

4. The Apple store says that the SuperDrive is DVD-R only. Why didn't they put DVD-RW capabilites in?

Cheers.

 

[Rincewind42]

Re: For all you eMac experts! (Some technical questions)

Originally posted by maxpayne.co.uk
1. The system as standard comes with 256MB. I would like to upgrade to 512MB or maybe even 1GB RAM, would there be a lot of difference between CL=2 and CL=3 memory?

Probably not, as likely Apple is shipping with CL=3 RAM, and even if not, for most things it doesn't make a huge difference.

2. In this particular eMac (SD, 80GB) what is the hard drive model number?

Don't know - you'd probably have to go to a store and hop on one. If you use Apple System Profiler it will tell you exactly what the model number of the drive is.

3. What is the max ATA drive speed the motherboard will run at (for any drive)?

Technote says ATA-6 with ATA-66 transfer speed.

4. The Apple store says that the SuperDrive is DVD-R only. Why didn't they put DVD-RW capabilites in?

Apple never advertises DVD-RW, but the eMac does in fact have a DVD-RW drive capable of 2x DVD-RW write (and 4x DVD-R write).

 

[superbovine]

Re: For all you eMac experts! (Some technical questions)

Originally posted by maxpayne.co.uk
Hi, im new to these forums, and I'm wanting to purchase a new 1Ghz SuperDrive eMac in the next few months.

I have some questions about this system...

1. The system as standard comes with 256MB. I would like to upgrade to 512MB or maybe even 1GB RAM, would there be a lot of difference between CL=2 and CL=3 memory?

2. In this particular eMac (SD, 80GB) what is the hard drive model number?

3. What is the max ATA drive speed the motherboard will run at (for any drive)?

4. The Apple store says that the SuperDrive is DVD-R only. Why didn't they put DVD-RW capabilites in?

Cheers.

1. http://www.crucial.com/crucial/pvtcontent/memorytype.asp?model=eMac+(1GHz)&memtype=cas

2. no idea

3. i think you are a littel confused about drives speeds and transfer rates. http://www.seagate.com/products/discselect/index.html
read the ata/ide guide

4. no idea

 

[maxpayne.co.uk]

Re: Re: For all you eMac experts! (Some technical questions)

Originally posted by superbovine
3. i think you are a littel confused about drives speeds and transfer rates. http://www.seagate.com/products/discselect/index.html
read the ata/ide guide

I mean, as the eMac is a budget system they may put cheaper components in. For example, the drive may run at ATA-66, whilst the motherboard will support ATA-133. Therefore, I could put in an ATA-133 drive and enhance the performance.

And as for the memory, I was thinking of replacing all the memory in the eMac to make sure it was all CL=2. (I would either sell the 256MB stick thats already in there, or put it in another PC).

 

[mklos]

Re: Re: Re: For all you eMac experts! (Some technical questions)

Originally posted by maxpayne.co.uk
I mean, as the eMac is a budget system they may put cheaper components in. For example, the drive may run at ATA-66, whilst the motherboard will support ATA-133. Therefore, I could put in an ATA-133 drive and enhance the performance.

And as for the memory, I was thinking of replacing all the memory in the eMac to make sure it was all CL=2. (I would either sell the 256MB stick thats already in there, or put it in another PC).

On an eMac your only allowed to add RAM and an AirPort Extreme Wireless Card. Anything else would be voiding the warranty. So replacing the hard drive on a brand new eMac would void the warranty.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Assuming the eMac 1ghz G4 architecture is similar to the QS towers then the mobo supports ATA-66. If its similar to the MMD towers then it supports ATA-100.


Lethal

 

[maxpayne.co.uk]

I'm not particularly worried about voiding the warranty. I've built and repaired several PC's in the past, and I want to go about overclocking it anyway.