Hmm...700Mhz eMacs

[Man In Black]

I was just looking around on eBay completed listings, seeing what different macs go for, trying to see if there is any way I can afford a decent Mac for the amount of money I have to spend (around $400). Id hate to have to get a PC, but Macs, even used macs, arent cheap, and even though they are cheaper over the long run, upfront cost is what is important right now.
So anyway, I was looking at the eMacs, and I saw several 700Mhz for under $450! I also saw 1Ghz for under $500, although thats a bit over my budget. Im thinking I might want to go that route.
A few questions. Those have flat CRT screens, right? Does a image editor come with OS X, if not, is there a good free image editor? I need to be able to edit lots of photos for selling stuff on eBay. Also, will I be able to use any digital camera with a mac?
And lastly, how will a 700Mhz eMac work for doing lots of image viewing and editing, DSL web surfing graphically heavy pages, watching streaming video, etc? Also, the screens on those eMacs, they have good color balance and sharpness? Thats really important, when i need to make sure the colors in the photos look like the colors in real life.
And one more question, what about reliability? Do the screens last a long time, or do they start acting weird after a while?

 

[zelmo]

The eMac is a great computer for the price. We have had two of the 700MHz eMacs at work for a couple of years, where they got constant use in our preflight department with nary a hiccup. I've heard of others who say the screens aren't reliable, but I've never seen a problem with ours.

 

[katie ta achoo]

Does a image editor come with OS X, if not, is there a good free image editor? I need to be able to edit lots of photos for selling stuff on eBay. Also, will I be able to use any digital camera with a mac?

I'm not sure if this comes with eMacs, but on my PB, I got this program called GraphicConverter. I read that it's bundled on the pro computers (PowerBooks, PowerMacs) so I don't know if it comes on the eMac.
The image editor in iPhoto (in iLife 05) lets you adjust levels, and junk. you can crop, straighten, yada yada yada. If you need something more in depth, the GIMP is always an option. It's like photoshop, but.. not.

You can use any digi cam, as far as I know.

Good luck on getting the eMac!

 

[madmaxmedia]

Check the specs, as the later eMacs have some additional stuff (like USB 2).

If you can swing it, look at Apple's refurb store. They sell the 1GHz eMac USB 2 for $549 with free shipping. If you're lucky you won't pay tax, and with free shipping it will be as cheap as an EBay eMac.

You can then overclock it if you're handy to 1.33GHz-1.5GHz, get a dual layer DVD burner for $50, and a 200GB HD for $80 or so. Yes that's additional cost, but you can add gradually and you'll have a pretty sweet machine for the price after you're done.

Just search the forums for 'eMac overclock' for the massive thread on how to do it. Leo figured out later how to OC the latest eMacs, I think on page 16 or so...

 

[intrepkid21]

Check the specs, as the later eMacs have some additional stuff (like USB 2).

If you can swing it, look at Apple's refurb store. They sell the 1GHz eMac USB 2 for $549 with free shipping. If you're lucky you won't pay tax, and with free shipping it will be as cheap as an EBay eMac.

You can then overclock it if you're handy to 1.33GHz-1.5GHz, get a dual layer DVD burner for $50, and a 200GB HD for $80 or so. Yes that's additional cost, but you can add gradually and you'll have a pretty sweet machine for the price after you're done.

Just search the forums for 'eMac overclock' for the massive thread on how to do it. Leo figured out later how to OC the latest eMacs, I think on page 16 or so...

Don't mean to be a pain..but the 1Ghz eMac's still have USB 1.1 only...they came with USB 2 in the 1.25 Ghz revision.

 

[madmaxmedia]

Don't mean to be a pain..but the 1Ghz eMac's still have USB 1.1 only...they came with USB 2 in the 1.25 Ghz revision.

You're not...

You're right for probably 95% of 1 GHz eMacs, but not all. Apple sells some underclocked 1 GHz USB 2 eMacs for education, those are the ones at the Apple store right now.