With getting broadband the other day, I've been downloading demos of stuff. I've noticed though, for the most part, that almost every game I've tried, even if it's a few years old, has run worse than I'd like it to. Is the eMac a ****ty machine?
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Is the eMac a worse computer than I thought?
- Thread starter neoelectronaut
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Which games are you talking about. The only game I've tried on my girlfriends eMac is Civ3 and worked perfect. She has only 384 MB ram compared to you, so it would be nice to hear which problems you have....
The eMac is a very basic consumer system. It is not designed to play games. This however doesn't mean it is a poor system.
It has a Radeon 7500 (old) with, I think, 32mb of VRAM. This is a pretty poor card to play games on, but that's because the eMac is intended to save money.
It has a Radeon 7500 (old) with, I think, 32mb of VRAM. This is a pretty poor card to play games on, but that's because the eMac is intended to save money.
I don't mind playing in 640x480 for the most part....
Anywho, I just put a 256MB strip in, so I'm up to 768MB of ram.
I didn't buy this computer thinking I'd be able to play stuff at high resolutions or anything, but for lower detailed stuff. I would have gotten the flat panel iMac, but $1800 was well out of my price range. I'll just get a new one in a few years, I suppose. Maybe a G5.
Anywho, I just put a 256MB strip in, so I'm up to 768MB of ram.
I didn't buy this computer thinking I'd be able to play stuff at high resolutions or anything, but for lower detailed stuff. I would have gotten the flat panel iMac, but $1800 was well out of my price range. I'll just get a new one in a few years, I suppose. Maybe a G5.
ive played sim city 4, metal of honor, and Americas army all on my 1ghz emac with 256m and havent had any problems.
Hmm. Maybe I'm just expecting too much out of it...
Well, I sure hope at least Rayman 3 runs well on it. I'm getting that for Christmas, and with Rayman 2 being my favorite game of all time, I can't wait.
(Hell, I bought an analog gamepad just for R3!)
Well, I sure hope at least Rayman 3 runs well on it. I'm getting that for Christmas, and with Rayman 2 being my favorite game of all time, I can't wait.
(Hell, I bought an analog gamepad just for R3!)
they should update the emac like they did with everything else
leave the price the same, add usb 2, use ddr memory use a ati 9200 or something a tad better include 256mb min on all models instead of 128mb
leave the price the same, add usb 2, use ddr memory use a ati 9200 or something a tad better include 256mb min on all models instead of 128mb
bus speed
I thinks it's the bus speed that hold sup the video card, I think the graphics and proc are pretty well matched, could be wrong, read some speed reviews on barefeats.com seemed to go along those lines
I thinks it's the bus speed that hold sup the video card, I think the graphics and proc are pretty well matched, could be wrong, read some speed reviews on barefeats.com seemed to go along those lines
Lol, the eMac is not, let me repeat NOT a gaming machine. Expecting it to play games well is silly. Complaining about crappy gameplay on a mac in general is silly. We all know if you are a serious gamer to not buy a mac. At least not anything with a G4 in it. Wouldn't mind playing some games on a G5 with 128Mb ATI card, but that's a different story. The eMac is a nice machine for lots of other stuff though. My dad uses his for serious photoshop work. With 1024Mb RAM and a G4 it works quite nicely for him.
For $1300AUD I'd want to be able to play games, Hell I built a system for a friend with an Athlon XP 2500+, R9200 and 512 DDR333 for around $700AUD.
Well, I've been playing the Warcraft III demo and that works well, so I'm probably going to get that soon.
I'll just do with this Mac what I used to do with PCs. If I buy a game and it doesn't run well, I'll shelve it and try it on whatever system I get next.
I'll just do with this Mac what I used to do with PCs. If I buy a game and it doesn't run well, I'll shelve it and try it on whatever system I get next.
That's why someone like you should buy a PC. You need what it's good at. Others could care less about gaming. Neither is inherently better than the other.
Warcraft III will run fine on a 1GHz G4 -- Heck, despite the printed requirements, it ran (although with very long load times) on my old 350MHz G3 iMac (192 MB Ram, 16MB Rage 128). No stellar performance, but it was playable. As they say, when all else fails, lower your standards. 
I kinda fit in the "casual" gamer category. I'd like to play games on the eMac here....but they don't have to be great....get what I mean?
Oh definetly. I wasn't directing my comment at you by any means. For your needs the eMac will probably suffice. Won't astound you, but you are a casual user. Manitoubalck needs more than what the mac can provide for games. He is not a "casual" gamer. Plus he has something of an affinity for XP boxes.
I, unlike most people, have absolutely no problem with playing at 640x480 and playing with basically no textures whatsoever.
I have a home brew Athlon System that I not only game on but, encode DVD to Div-X, edit short films, type on this here fourm, watch DVD's, rip CD's to MP3 and visa versa, the list goes on. I just can't warrent the money that I would have to spend to get a mac that is on par with my system now 3 years old.
I love the mac OS, but the hardware prices and lack of options and expandablity in building a machine currently turn me away.
it is possible but no recommended (since it will void your applecare) to upgrade the video card in an emac. if you want to try that I would stick with ati as that is what its geared for, maybe a 9000 or 9200. search the internet and i'm sure you will find some instructions. I saw an article about it once but that was quite a while ago and can't remember the site.
the emac has the same innards as the new lcd imac but has been proven in some benchmarks to be slightly faster than an imac. adding more ram sure won't hurt. 512MB is the sweetspot for osx but the more you have over that the better it and all its apps get.
I think the main problem with your games or anything that runs kinda slow on a 1GHz G4 is OSX. as great an os as it is it is a system resource hog and takes away from the feel of power you machine really has. if any of those games will run in os9 then do that.
hope this helped a bit
the emac has the same innards as the new lcd imac but has been proven in some benchmarks to be slightly faster than an imac. adding more ram sure won't hurt. 512MB is the sweetspot for osx but the more you have over that the better it and all its apps get.
I think the main problem with your games or anything that runs kinda slow on a 1GHz G4 is OSX. as great an os as it is it is a system resource hog and takes away from the feel of power you machine really has. if any of those games will run in os9 then do that.
hope this helped a bit
My wife's new iBook (under $1,500) will do all that nicely except for games. Like I said, different strokes for different folks. You need the functionality of a gaming machine at the right price point. She needed a good machine to watch DVDs, rip CD's to MP3s and vice versa, edit short films, and on and on. She doesn't need or want to game on it, so the system is plenty for her. I know you have a better (read faster and able to game) machine for the money than you could get with a mac, but that doesn't make a mac any less logical of a choice for someone not in your shoes.
Well, Max Payne is playable, though a little choppy with all the stuff turned on.
And Wolfenstein is perfectly playable too, especially with all the scaleable things you can do with that game.
And Wolfenstein is perfectly playable too, especially with all the scaleable things you can do with that game.
I don't play many games on my computer, which is a Power Mac G4 466 DA with a very old ATI Rage 128 Pro with 16MB of VRAM. Quake III plays very well on it and Warcraft III plays at an ok speed at a reasonable resolution with some detail turned on. Bugdom 2. Cro-Mag Rally and Enigmo run very well.
N64 games only work well on my computer with sound off.
There should be a Game Cube emulator for Mac, since the Game Cube has a PPC chip in it (a G3 I think).
N64 games only work well on my computer with sound off.
There should be a Game Cube emulator for Mac, since the Game Cube has a PPC chip in it (a G3 I think).