I'm planning to buy an G4 mac for a home server/file server/webserver/HTPC.
So, From what I understand the 1.25GHz model of the eMac had Capacitor problems, so I'm looking on Ebay and frankly the 1Ghz models post shipping are ~$80 the the 1.25Ghz models are ~$85 and the 1.42Ghz models are ~100.
Any help?
If the price is right...I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a 1.25ghz eMac...assuming that it was working fine when purchased. But the first thing I would do when I got my hands on it would be to open it up to see what the condition the capacitors were in. If they are fine, swollen, or leaking.
I got lucky...and purchased a "low-mileage" 1.25ghz eMac from a local person off Craig's List about 2 months ago for $50 dollars (no shipping).
Many of the eMacs on e-Bay are from academic settings (since eMacs originally were designed as an education market computer...that's what the "e" in eMac stands for (education))....where the seller buys the eMac by the pallet load...then resells them on e-Bay. So many of these eMacs have lots & lots of usage hours on them...which can be hard on the CRT display.
On the positive side...if these e-Bay 1.25ghz eMacs have lots of hours on them (and they're still working)...then maybe these 1.25ghz eMacs don't or won't have a problem with the capacitors...if they've survived this long without a capacitor problem.
Also...if someone has the skill to replace the capacitors (if they have an 1.25ghz eMac with a capacitor problem)...the repair parts needed I believe cost less than $30 dollars.
Lastly...if a 1.42ghz eMac can be purchased for just $15 dollars more than a 1.25ghz eMac...then I would go for the 1,42ghz eMac. Because the 1.42ghz eMac:
- is the fastest eMac ever made
- has better graphics hardware
- has a faster "combo drive" (8x vs. 12x)
- possibly a larger hard drive
- and no issues (AFAIK) with capacitors
Hope this helps,
- Nick