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imac or emac?

SilvorX

SilvorX

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 24, 2002
1,701
0
'Toba, Canada
here i am again..lol, now my choices have been cut down to only emac or imac :(, i cant get a powermac anymore, i was wondering which i should get (since im a switcher n i use macs at school basically every day...but i want something powerful will stay as my main computer for atleast a few years)

im thinking emac (low end) since it has a combo drive (i dont have a need for a superdrive), 17" display (flat screen :D), and i could get an ipod with it then (since its only $1099 US), but it only has 700 mhz and nvidia geforce 2mx...and i might end up needing to use windows xp (vpc) from time to time (kazaa and when i need to finish designing a webpage in frontpage) so 700 mhz processor doesnt sound that fast....and yes i'll get more ram of course...:p

or else a G4 iMac with 700 mhz processor (more ram), and combo drive...but its a little too expensive since i'dd only be getting a 40 gig drive...and if i need a larger drive (ie 100 gig drive) in the future it would be a lil difficult (cept firewire...but thats expensive) and i wouldnt be able to get an ipod...i cant seem to make up my mind :(
which one should i get
 
Re: imac or emac?

Originally posted by SilvorX


im thinking emac (low end) since it has a combo drive (i dont have a need for a superdrive), 17" display (flat screen :D), and i could get an ipod with it then (since its only $1099 US), but it only has 700 mhz and nvidia geforce 2mx...and i might end up needing to use windows xp (vpc) from time to time (kazaa and when i need to finish designing a webpage in frontpage) so 700 mhz processor doesnt sound that fast....and yes i'll get more ram of course...:p
which one should i get
Click to expand...

I assume you have checked out the Apple Education Discounts - that will save a couple bucks. I would go for the most eMac you can afford - iMac is pretty, but eMac is pure value. Max out the memory - you may want to do this on your own.

I am running a TiBook 800 with 1G RAM - I bought the TiBook used and upgraded the RAM myself. I run VPC regularly in order to test an application I develop for Windoze :rolleyes: It runs quite well - VPC is a RAM hog.

Anyway - you should be able to get 1G RAM for under $200 - I paid $190 at www.1-8004memory.com and i think eMac memory is less. I bought a 120G firewire drive on eBay for $225 including shipping. Great for backups and a backup bootable HD.

700 CDRW is $999
700 Combo is $1049 on education discount. That would be my choice then go for the RAM!!

Just my opinion:D
 
Re: Re: imac or emac?

Originally posted by mmcneil


I assume you have checked out the Apple Education Discounts - that will save a couple bucks. I would go for the most eMac you can afford - iMac is pretty, but eMac is pure value. Max out the memory - you may want to do this on your own.

I am running a TiBook 800 with 1G RAM - I bought the TiBook used and upgraded the RAM myself. I run VPC regularly in order to test an application I develop for Windoze :rolleyes: It runs quite well - VPC is a RAM hog.

Anyway - you should be able to get 1G RAM for under $200 - I paid $190 at www.1-8004memory.com and i think eMac memory is less. I bought a 120G firewire drive on eBay for $225 including shipping. Great for backups and a backup bootable HD.

700 CDRW is $999
700 Combo is $1049 on education discount. That would be my choice then go for the RAM!!

Just my opinion:D
Click to expand...
ya ive checked out the apple edu discounts but in canada only teachers can apply for it :(, if my uncle got a job at compusmart (canada's largest computer chain) i could possibly get a discount on a mac then....
i'll wait for the ram price to go down then i'll get a 512 chip or something
if theres a sale on in a month that includes free ram or printer or something, i might get a high end 15" imac
 
Re: Re: Re: imac or emac?

Originally posted by SilvorX

ya ive checked out the apple edu discounts but in canada only teachers can apply for it :(, if my uncle got a job at compusmart (canada's largest computer chain) i could possibly get a discount on a mac then....
i'll wait for the ram price to go down then i'll get a 512 chip or something
if theres a sale on in a month that includes free ram or printer or something, i might get a high end 15" imac
Click to expand...

No friends in the US that could order for you? Course that would depend on where in Manitoba you are... I'm in San Diego so not much help, Sorry.

The 15" screen is small - same as I have on my TiBook - there is an article out that 15" iMac is on the way out, production ending in Oct. No matter what you end up getting - GET RAM!! Jaguar and VPC use a lot and everything is easier with lots of RAM.

You might consider eBay - have to be careful, but there are a lot of honest sellers out there - check their feedback!! I got my Tibook via ebay - but I made sure i could pick it up - drove to LA.
 
Go for the eMac, I have an eMac and an iMac and the only con for the emac is it's noise level in comparsion to the imac, but that's not comparing it with my PC but with my mac.

The emac's pros I would say are it's higher resolution, the fact that I can play/rip DVD's and burn CD's as well as most definitely its cost!
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: imac or emac?

Originally posted by mmcneil


No friends in the US that could order for you? Course that would depend on where in Manitoba you are... I'm in San Diego so not much help, Sorry.

The 15" screen is small - same as I have on my TiBook - there is an article out that 15" iMac is on the way out, production ending in Oct. No matter what you end up getting - GET RAM!! Jaguar and VPC use a lot and everything is easier with lots of RAM.

You might consider eBay - have to be careful, but there are a lot of honest sellers out there - check their feedback!! I got my Tibook via ebay - but I made sure i could pick it up - drove to LA.
Click to expand...
nah, it would cost too much for shipping and such...and dont forget customs :( lol, i'll just wait for the next macwarehouse catalog to come in the mail, and see if theres any emac/imac deals in it, for some reason i really want the imac tho (cuz of the size)....but the emac seems better priced (2200 or so CDN and superdrive/800 mhz processor and 17" screen)

Go for the eMac, I have an eMac and an iMac and the only con for the emac is it's noise level in comparsion to the imac, but that's not comparing it with my PC but with my mac.

The emac's pros I would say are it's higher resolution, the fact that I can play/rip DVD's and burn CD's as well as most definitely its cost!
Click to expand...
is the emac/imac the same speed basically (cuz i heard something bout the imac being faster than the emac) but the cons about the superdrive is that it only burns cd-rs at 8x (old technology) :(, if i could select either combo drive or superdrive for that model i'dd select combo for sure (to save money ;)) but 800 mhz processor seems a better deal than 700 mhz and 128 megs of ram = not enough to begin with lol
hows games on the emac?
 
Hey, does anyone know if the eMac is similar to get into as the iMac was? I have a 60 GB 7200rpm liquid bearing drive I would want to swap if I bought an eMac. Can this be done relatively painless with the eMac?
 
imac - $1150

macsolutions.com is selling the low end imac for $1150 - that's only $50 more than emac and you get the flatscreen + cooler design. Unless you think you'll be using the dvd drive (which has always seemed like more of a novelty if you have a regular dvd player and tv), i would go with the imac at this price...
 
just some advice...

If you don't mind using Win 2000 or 98, get one of those, since XP just hogs up too much CPU, and it still doesn't run at a usable rate on my iMac (800).. and 98 runs almost as fast as my (broken) Windoze PC... WITH Aqua running behind it.. so there is definetely a huge difference...




irmongoose
 
Originally posted by irmongoose
just some advice...

If you don't mind using Win 2000 or 98, get one of those, since XP just hogs up too much CPU, and it still doesn't run at a usable rate on my iMac (800).. and 98 runs almost as fast as my (broken) Windoze PC... WITH Aqua running behind it.. so there is definetely a huge difference...




irmongoose
Click to expand...
i "could" try 2k or 98, but it will depend on how much ram i'll have, if i only have like 256, probably just 98, if i have like half a gig +, maybe 2k or xp

I would definitely get the eMac.


I can't imagine it's too difficult to get into the eMac to upgrade it.
Click to expand...
my mind keeps changing every 5 min on wha i want :(, but the emac has what i want basically...which would be a better deal....combo drive emac with a 10 gig ipod or a superdrive emac without an ipod? since a combo drive emac with an ipod=50 gigs, while a superdrive emac without an ipod=60 gigs....but the emac with the superdrive would be cheaper...n it has an 800 mhz processor, imac is probably out of the question now since its too expensive...n i live in canada so i cant access the american deals
 
Originally posted by irmongoose


I have a half gig of RAM, and I am telling you.. XP runs so slow it is USELESS... go for 2k.



irmongoose
Click to expand...
i currently dont have a copy of 2k right now...since osx runs on unix, would a copy of linux mandrake work fine (for internet) on vpc? or would it be a non-compatible modem?
 
If you can afford the eMac 800 w/Superdrive get it. Think about it this way the Superdrive is like a removable media hard drive that hold 4.7GB/Disc. I purchased 100discs for backup for .89/piece. That's nearly half a terabyte for less then $100.
 
Originally posted by MacBandit
If you can afford the eMac 800 w/Superdrive get it. Think about it this way the Superdrive is like a removable media hard drive that hold 4.7GB/Disc. I purchased 100discs for backup for .89/piece. That's nearly half a terabyte for less then $100.
Click to expand...
wow, on the apple site theyre EXPENSIVE (the discs)...if i could get could get 100 discs (4.7 gigs) for that cheap, i'dd be one happy person :p..n no ipod needed for me then lol
 
I got a 5 DVD-R pack for 10 bucks... so thats about a third of Apple's price.. and they work perfectly...

Anyways... I haven't tried mandrake under VPC... but if linux is fine for you, why don't you just download YellowDog? Then you don't even need VPC, all you need is an extra partition for YellowDog, and you're set... but if you have to have mandrake.. i dunno..



irmongoose
 
Here's the deal with the discs. They are a cheaper disc with lower reflectivity and will not work in DVD players unless they are of a newer variety saying that they are compatible with recordable DVDs. The newer DVD players have a more powerful variable power lazer in them that allows them to read the discs with cheaper substrate. I have been using the Apple discs to burn video on because they seem to be compatible with any DVD player. You can get high quality discs though for around $3/disc.

So at the moment the .89/disc have to be used as storage for me until I get a new DVD player. Here is where you can get them and higher quality discs for cheaper also.

http://www.supermediastore.com/

also try

http://www.rima.com/

I hope this helps.
 
Originally posted by irmongoose
I got a 5 DVD-R pack for 10 bucks... so thats about a third of Apple's price.. and they work perfectly...

Anyways... I haven't tried mandrake under VPC... but if linux is fine for you, why don't you just download YellowDog? Then you don't even need VPC, all you need is an extra partition for YellowDog, and you're set... but if you have to have mandrake.. i dunno..



irmongoose
Click to expand...
i have a copy of mandrake on 3 cds (1st cd=installation, 2nd=appz, 3rd=other stuff that ive never needed) which i'll try out on vpc...and i dont have a high speed connection...
 
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