Buying an eMac 700MHz G4. What kind of performance can I expect?

[pigoo3]

I'm posting this on an emac just like that one. (I found and restored this). It's an excellent computer which will run well with that amount of ram.
I would suggest buying an AirPort card, as its good to have this kind of computer without a long ethernet cable trailing it. You'll get the same performance, and the old airport card will run just as fast. 60 bucks is a little steep for a 700mhz emac though. Try to cut it down to 30.

I agree with you that $30 dollars would be a much better price for a 700mhz eMac...but I see 400-500mhz iMacs selling for $60-$70 all the time...so $60 dollars for a 700mhz eMac (with it's bigger screen & faster processor) is not too bad of a deal.

I would certainly encourage the "OP" to try to negotiate a lower price...why not...the seller can only say no.

- Nick

 

[pigoo3]

I'm posting this on an emac just like that one. (I found and restored this). It's an excellent computer which will run well with that amount of ram.
I would suggest buying an AirPort card, as its good to have this kind of computer without a long ethernet cable trailing it. You'll get the same performance, and the old airport card will run just as fast. 60 bucks is a little steep for a 700mhz emac though. Try to cut it down to 30.

I agree with you that $30 dollars would be a much better price for a 700mhz eMac...but I see 400-500mhz iMacs selling for $60-$70 all the time...so $60 dollars for a 700mhz eMac (with it's bigger screen & faster processor) is not too bad of a deal.

I would certainly encourage the "OP" to try to negotiate a lower price...why not...the seller can only say no.

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

I agree with you that $30 dollars would be a much better price for a 700mhz eMac...but I see 400-500mhz iMacs selling for $60-$70 all the time...so $60 dollars for a 700mhz eMac (with it's bigger screen & faster processor) is not too bad of a deal.

I would certainly encourage the "OP" to try to negotiate a lower price...why not...the seller can only say no.

- Nick

Yes, I would try to bring the price down. unfortunately I have also seen an identical iMac G4 go for well over $200 as well.

And I know only the 1.25GHz models had the issues, I am still actively considering the 700MHz, just trying to find something better at the moment instead.

 

[pigoo3]

Call me cheap, but $60 for a 2003-3 Emac is a ripoff, especially if it doesn't have an airport card.

I don't agree. As I mentioned in an earlier post...I see 400-500mhz iMacs selling for $60-$70 all the time...and a 700mhz eMac with it's larger display & faster processor is a decent deal at $60.

Sure...there are folks that have gotten 400-500mhz iMacs for $10-$20 dollars (including myself)...but these are SUPER deals...and not available everyday.

- Nick

 

[manymanymacs]

I admit defeat, but with one last point:
I'm using a 700MHz eMac with 512MB RAM I got for FREE.

 

[pigoo3]

Yes, I would try to bring the price down. unfortunately I have also seen an identical iMac G4 go for well over $200 as well.

When you're looking for a used Mac in the under $200 range...it's sort of like the "Wild Wild West"!

The final deal/price you workout almost depends as much on how flexible the seller is on the price...as the hardware specs of the computer.

So it is definitely possible to get a better deal on a better computer (compared to a less capable computer) depending on the selling "savvy" and knowledge of the seller.

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

When you're looking for a used Mac in the under $200 range...it's sort of like the "Wild Wild West"!

The final deal/price you workout almost depends as much on how flexible the seller is on the price...as the hardware specs of the computer.

So it is definitely possible to get a better deal on a better computer (compared to a less capable computer) depending on the selling "savvy" and knowledge of the seller.

- Nick

I actually consider that a good thing in some cases, the prices aren't as structured and it is easier to spot a deal, but you still have to filter out all the crap macs first.

Btw, will a linksys USB router work on my mac? If so I do not need an airport card.

 

[manymanymacs]

I suggest patching up an old computer you can find for 50 bucks or less on craigslist. It would probably be much cheaper (not windows).
WARNING: EMACS HAVE HORRIBLE CRT DISPLAYS!

 

[manymanymacs]

I would doubt it, unless you have an install disk verified for Universal macs.

 

[pigoo3]

I admit defeat, but with one last point:
I'm using a 700MHz eMac with 512MB RAM I got for FREE.

Hey come on...there's no winning or defeating! You were absolutely correct that $30 would be a much better price! I actually got my 700mhz eMac for $25 dollars.

I was just saying that $60 dollars for a 700mhz eMac was within at least what I would consider the "fair" price range for this computer.

So on the low end, $25-$30 bucks would be a SUPER deal...but check out this link:

eMac 700Mhz 256mb 40GB CD Drive - Pre Owned - $139.00

These guys are charging $139 + $72 shipping = $211 for a 700mhz eMac...and this is what I would call a ripoff!

- Nick

p.s. A free eMac of course is the best deal of all!!!

 

[pokeman89]

I suggest patching up an old computer you can find for 100 bucks or less on craigslist. It would probably be much cheaper.
WARNING: EMACS HAVE HORRIBLE CRT DISPLAYS!

what do you mean by that?

I would doubt it, unless you have an install disk verified for Universal macs.

It was plug and play, it didn't come with a CD at all.

 

[manymanymacs]

Emacs have a cheap crt set-up. Since the emac was built for education (hence the 'e'), the crt was made to last 5-6 years and then it would slowly dim....until it breaks.

 

[manymanymacs]

If you have another mac, try working the plug-n-play router on that.

 

[pokeman89]

If you have another mac, try working the plug-n-play router on that.

I guess I could try it on my school iMacs. Don't know if I have permissions for it though. And how many eMacs have you had with this problem, and is there an external display port in case this does happen to the one I am going to get?

 

[pigoo3]

Emacs have a cheap crt set-up. Since the emac was built for education (hence the 'e'), the crt was made to last 5-6 years and then it would slowly dim....until it breaks.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not disagreeing because I really don't know for sure.

But don't you think that since eMac's were meant for the education market that they would actually be built "better" considering the rough handling & long hours of use they would see day after day after day?

5-6 years in the education environment might be equal to 15-20 years or more of average use by an individual home user.

But regardless...any 2nd hand eMac could have some serious usage hours on it if it did come from the education environment...so this should be taken into consideration when purchasing.

And as with any used computer...it's really hard to know how much use a computer has had.

Just food for thought,

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

Don't get me wrong...I'm not disagreeing because I really don't know for sure.

But don't you think that since eMac's were meant for the education market that they would actually be built "better" considering the rough handling & long hours of use they would see day after day after day?

5-6 years in the education environment might be equal to 15-20 years or more of average use by an individual home user.

But regardless...any 2nd hand eMac could have some serious usage hours on it if it did come from the education environment...so this should be taken into consideration when purchasing.

And as with any used computer...it's really hard to know how much use a computer has had.

Just food for thought,

- Nick

Right, I will ask about that.


On a side note, I was offered a G4 PowerMac for $125. It has a 867MHz processor, 60Gigs of RAM, a DVD drive, and 768MB RAM. He will even include a monitor for it.

I figured I could get it down to $100, but is $125 a good deal?

 

[pigoo3]

Right, I will ask about that.


On a side note, I was offered a G4 PowerMac for $125. It has a 867MHz processor, 60Gigs of RAM, a DVD drive, and 768MB RAM. He will even include a monitor for it.

I figured I could get it down to $100, but is $125 a good deal?

Well...if it did have "60 gigs of ram" it would be a great deal!!!

But since it includes a monitor...if it's an LCD...that would be an ok deal.

Around $80-$100 for just the computer would be ok.

If you can get the computer & monitor for $100 that would be a decent deal. Plus the tower gives you more flexibility in terms of upgrading & ease of upgrading.

And technically...an 867mhz processor meets the minimum processor speed to upgrade to Mac OS 10.5 Leopard.

Does the deal include a keyboard & mouse?

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

Well...if it did have "60 gigs of ram" it would be a great deal!!!

But since it includes a monitor...if it's an LCD...that would be an ok deal.

Around $80-$100 for just the computer would be ok.

If you can get the computer & monitor for $100 that would be a decent deal. Plus the tower gives you more flexibility in terms of upgrading & ease of upgrading.

And technically...an 867mhz processor meets the minimum processor speed to upgrade to Mac OS 10.5 Leopard.

Does the deal include a keyboard & mouse?

- Nick

Hah oops that is not supposed to be 60Gigs of RAM though that would be nice, I have no idea what I would do with that much, probably sell it

The monitor included is a CRT, it includes the keyboard and mouse, and he said he would accept $100 for it. Asked about OS, haven't gotten a response yet. If I can get him to drop the CRT and pay $80 instead I will, otherwise I will just sell the monitor for $15.

 

[pigoo3]

Hah oops that is not supposed to be 60Gigs of RAM though that would be nice, I have no idea what I would do with that much, probably sell it

The monitor included is a CRT, it includes the keyboard and mouse, and he said he would accept $100 for it. Asked about OS, haven't gotten a response yet. If I can get him to drop the CRT and pay $80 instead I will, otherwise I will just sell the monitor for $15.

Yes...I was only teasing about the "60 gigs of ram"...I knew you meant hard drive size.

As far as the monitor...its really only worth $5-$10 bucks. CRT display's are really hard to sell these days...even at $15 bucks you would be lucky to get it sold.

I would bet that the seller is just trying to "unload" that CRT display...he may not even give you much of a reduction if you don't take it. But you can always try for a reduction...no harm done.

About 12 months ago I bought SEVEN large high-end 21" CRT monitors for $5 bucks a piece!

But if you don't currently have a display...it's better than nothing!

I think in the long run this would be a better computer than the eMac.

Also don't forget that there are CPU upgrades for the G4 towers...but they usually aren't cheap (may cost more than the tower itself)...but at least you have the option. No CPU upgrades for the eMac.

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

Yes...I was only teasing about the "60 gigs of ram"...I knew you meant hard drive size.

As far as the monitor...its really only worth $5-$10 bucks. CRT display's are really hard to sell these days...even at $15 bucks you would be lucky to get it sold.

I would bet that the seller is just trying to "unload" that CRT display...he may not even give you much of a reduction if you don't take it. But you can always try for a reduction...no harm done.

About 12 months ago I bought SEVEN large high-end 21" CRT monitors for $5 bucks a piece!

But if you don't currently have a display...it's better than nothing!

I think in the long run this would be a better computer than the eMac.

Also don't forget that there are CPU upgrades for the G4 towers...but they usually aren't cheap (may cost more than the tower itself)...but at least you have the option. No CPU upgrades for the eMac.

- Nick

Yeah, but I could always use a spare monitor. My Dell CRT is starting to make weird noises anyway, so I think it is on it's way out. I have an LCD I would use instead. I was thinking of that too, but since I only want to use it for about a year upgrading it would not be worth it at all, except maybe in graphics. Another concern is that it has only usb 1.1 so my ipod nano 4G would not work on it. Then again, I have two PCs that it does work on, so it isn't a dealbreaker, and I honestly cannot expect a mac with usb 2.0 for this price range anyway.

Last time I had a spare CRT, I gave it away for a broken laptop which I then turned around and sold for $30 for parts, so I have made money off of CRTs myself before.

Now that I think about it, I have a Nvidia geforce 4 mx 440 AGP 8x card, that power mac has a 2 mx card, would I be able to upgrade it? I do not know which AGP slot it has, or whether or not it would like the hardware choice, especially if it came from a dell.

And also, based on this "Assumption" from apple's article (Apple - Products - Power Mac G4 - Technical Specifications) and a benchmark test that compared the 1.7GHz P4 to my 2.4, that powerPC G4 would run a whopping 3% faster than my Dell. I would take that, my Dell runs okay, it can even handle 720p HD even though it is technically not supposed to