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

[dtravis7]

But not lucky enough for 1.45 seconds dead set guaranteed!

It might come out of sleep in 1.45 Seconds. If it booted that fast from Power Off it would blow down anything made today!

 

[pigoo3]

It might come out of sleep in 1.45 Seconds. If it booted that fast from Power Off it would blow down anything made today!

Yes this would make more sense...taking 1.45 sec waking from sleep.

"manymanymacs"...said "full boot" in their post...so I was assuming a "full boot".

Maybe we can get some clarification.

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

Are there any noises that would be normal for a computer of this age? I know they get louder and some do have weird noises sometimes. My old gateway (It runs Windows 95, to give you a sense of how old it is) used to sound almost like a blown speaker when it started up, but it really just did that because it was old.

 

[Mac SK]

"manymanymacs"...said "full boot" in their post...so I was assuming a "full boot".

Maybe we can get some clarification.

- Nick

I thought it was from spinning wheel to apple icon and not to desktop so I didnt ? it.

 

[pigoo3]

I thought it was from spinning wheel to apple icon and not to desktop so I didnt ? it.

I guess methodologies may differ slightly...when I do a boot time test...I:

1. Computer on & running
2. Restart computer
3. When I hear the startup chime I start the stopwatch
4. When desktop is fully loaded I stop the watch.

This may or may be why other folks to...just my method.

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

I'm leaving to get it in an hour, is there anything else I need to look for?

 

[dtravis7]

Are there any noises that would be normal for a computer of this age? I know they get louder and some do have weird noises sometimes. My old gateway (It runs Windows 95, to give you a sense of how old it is) used to sound almost like a blown speaker when it started up, but it really just did that because it was old.

Check in back and see if the Power Supply fan is running. If you pull the RING on the Right Side, the whole case opens down. You will see a really LARGE fan inside. See if it's turning. Any noise would be the fans and there should be some.

If you are concerned on the condition of the hard drive, when it's booting listen for any Click, Click, Click coming from the hard drive.

Just normal computer sounds. Listen for the Startup Sound also when the machine is powered on. Sounds like a musical note for a few measures. If you don't get the startup sound it could be a simple thing of the volume being turned all the way down.

Otherwise all my old G4 Powermacs are very quite for their age.

 

[pokeman89]

Okay, so I saw it today, but we had trouble with the inverter, and once we finally got that working, I guess the powermac overheated (It was about 96 degrees outside), or at least I think it did. It ran perfectly fine for about 4 minutes, everything was fine, it took about 12 seconds to get to the log in screen from the time the power button was pressed, but then the mouse froze, then after another 3 minutes it powered down and would not start up again (The fans would turn on for about 3 seconds, then power down, no chime, and the motherboard light would go off. Also we were having weird issues with the inverter, it started beeping at us, so it might not have been the mac overheating the inverter may not have been working correctly (It was purchased as a previously owned one from autozone 5 minutes before we tried it). So we worked out a deal that the guy would make sure everything ran fine at home, then he would ship it to us so we could try it, and if we didn't find anything wrong we could then send a check. He also added that he had some software he could send me with it if I wanted anything, free of charge, including the system disk, photoshop and iLife '05 (iLife was not standard on macs back in '02 I guess. The case was in decent condition, a few minor scratches on the back corner. The guy said he bought it for his mother a few years ago and recently she got a mac mini and did not need it anymore. Any thoughts?

Here are the specs: Apple Power Macintosh G4 867 (Quicksilver) Specs (Quicksilver - M8360LL/A) @ EveryMac.com

It has a RAM upgrade, cannot tell whether or not the drive is a superdrive or a combo drive, I was going to check in the system info but that is when it froze. The power supply is around 344W. What can I look for in terms of graphics cards? how high can I go on this power supply, this only has a 2MX, and After dealing with a 4MX I know I want to go at least that high, maybe Radeon 9200 PRO or GeForce4 Ti? It needs to be cheap though ($40 or less)

 

[pigoo3]

When you say inverter...you mean one of the "gizmos" that you plug into your car to convert 12volt to 120 volt?

If that's the case sounds like you guys met somewhere & you tested it on the spot with just your cars to provide power.

I know that you said that the seller lived like an hour away...did you guys meet somewhere halfway?

In any case...sorry to hear things didn't quite work out today! A lot of effort to come up empty handed.

It sounds to me like this computer has a bunch of issues...if it were me I would probably pass on it. But of course you know the circumstances better than me...so maybe things really weren't that bad.

Hopefully things will work out in the end.

Good luck...thanks for the update,

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

When you say inverter...you mean one of the "gizmos" that you plug into your car to convert 12volt to 120 volt?

If that's the case sounds like you guys met somewhere & you tested it on the spot with just your cars to provide power.

I know that you said that the seller lived like an hour away...did you guys meet somewhere halfway?

In any case...sorry to hear things didn't quite work out today! A lot of effort to come up empty handed.

It sounds to me like this computer has a bunch of issues...if it were me I would probably pass on it. But of course you know the circumstances better than me...so maybe things really weren't that bad.

Hopefully things will work out in the end.

Good luck...thanks for the update,

- Nick

Yeah, we live about 2 hours apart, so we met halfway. I am guessing that since the guy is willing to ship the PC at his expense to us so we could try it after he makes sure everything works that he at the very least isn't trying to scam us, but you can never be too sure.

Also, in that kind of heat it is hard to imagine a PC that would not overheat, it was about 95 degrees in direct sunlight (The case was closed, and we saw all the fans working before, so it isn't a problem like that). There is a fine coat of dust on the bottom of the machine, but the cards are dust-free and there is almost no dust in the fans. The hard drive doesn't make any clicking sounds when it starts and it is really quiet, although the noises may have been muffled outside. We did manage to load an app before the thing froze, iTunes 8 loaded in about 3 seconds. The only issue is whether or not there is a cooling problem or it was just too hot outside.

EDIT: oh, one more problem. the mac thinks it's 1969 and it said the time is set incorrectly, is that a problem? The guy said there is a battery you can replace, I guess the mac variant of a CMOS battery. Are they expensive, and where can I find them locally?

 

[dtravis7]

First on the battery, it's called the PRAM Battery. You will find it in a google search and all over Ebay. If the date was that much off you can be sure the PRAM battery is dead. Not an issue at all. Just get another. All Power Macs I have worked with use the same 3.6Volt round battery.

On the other issues, I never really trust a lot of inverters to provide clean power. I have showed close friends the ripple and dirty AC on a Scope many times with a lot of inverters and you can also in some cases hear the power supply HUM plugged into the inverter but not when it's right into the AC Outlet. I really don't trust my computer on an inverter unless it provides really clean AC.

The Lock Up could be the OS install is messed up and might have not been anything to do with the inverter.

Do keep us posted. I love working with the older Power Macs!

 

[pokeman89]

First on the battery, it's called the PRAM Battery. You will find it in a google search and all over Ebay. If the date was that much off you can be sure the PRAM battery is dead. Not an issue at all. Just get another. All Power Macs I have worked with use the same 3.6Volt round battery.

On the other issues, I never really trust a lot of inverters to provide clean power. I have showed close friends the ripple and dirty AC on a Scope many times with a lot of inverters and you can also in some cases hear the power supply HUM plugged into the inverter but not when it's right into the AC Outlet. I really don't trust my computer on an inverter unless it provides really clean AC.

The Lock Up could be the OS install is messed up and might have not been anything to do with the inverter.

I will keep that in mind, Is this the right battery? CMOS Battery for Apple MacIntosh Performa Power Mac I at TigerDirect.com

 

[dtravis7]

Yes, that is the battery. They last for many years BTW.

 

[pokeman89]

Yes, that is the battery. They last for many years BTW.

Could that dead battery be a possible source of the freeze as well? I doubt it, I think there wasn't enough power in the inverter, and it was too hot, but then again I have never tried running a PC in my trunk before so I don't really know.

 

[dtravis7]

Could that dead battery be a possible source of the freeze as well? I doubt it, I think there wasn't enough power in the inverter, and it was too hot, but then again I have never tried running a PC in my trunk before so I don't really know.

The main issue with some G4's if the battery is dead as they will not even power on. I doubt that caused the freeze.

I do agree that the Inverters power or lack of it could for sure cause the issue you had.

 

[pigoo3]

Maybe your posting regarding your meeting today just sounded worse when I read it than things actually were.

As far as the shipping. Didn't this computer deal also include a CRT monitor...is he shipping that as well?

If he's shipping the computer & the monitor...is he really going to be making any money on this deal?...since I believe the last you mentioned you were buying it for $100.

It will probably cost around $25-$30 to ship the computer...and maybe at least that much for the monitor. This guys going to be lucky to clear $50 bucks on this deal!

If I have all the facts correct...maybe you should have just offered him $50 bucks when you met...and took it with you.

Of course I know that you want to be sure that it works...and even $50 bucks for a potentially non-working computer isn't worth it.

Good luck,

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

Maybe your posting regarding your meeting today just sounded worse when I read it than things actually were.

As far as the shipping. Didn't this computer deal also include a CRT monitor...is he shipping that as well?

If he's shipping the computer & the monitor...is he really going to be making any money on this deal?...since I believe the last you mentioned you were buying it for $100.

It will probably cost around $25-$30 to ship the computer...and maybe at least that much for the monitor. This guys going to be lucky to clear $50 bucks on this deal!

If I have all the facts correct...maybe you should have just offered him $50 bucks when you met...and took it with you.

Of course I know that you want to be sure that it works...and even $50 bucks for a potentially non-working computer isn't worth it.

Good luck,

- Nick

He said he could ship it through his business, I guess he has some sort of discount as a small business owner, and he found a 15" LCD that was lying around so he said he would give me that instead. It's really cheap though, only 15" again, 1024X768 resolution, and it's a compaq. I didn't ask questions about shipping, he said he would find out if it works at home and then contact me. and I already tried spending money on a potentially non-working computer, and I was lucky to even resell it for parts, let alone break even.

I'm not sure myself, but if he is willing to ship it to me at no cost to me, the worst I would have to do if it doesn't work is ship it back, and I can afford that if I am not paying for the computer, or we could also meet up again.

The guy seemed nice enough, who would offer to do this if they were trying to scam me, most likely they would try and find someone else rather than go through the hassle of shipping it. We'll see if I get a reply tonight like he said he would do, that will clear a few things up. I'm not sure what to expect now though, but as long as I do not have to trust the guy's word and pay without trying it out myself then I am fine with it.

 

[harryb2448]

pokeman this has been a great post. Keep us informed of your progress with the MDD and good luck. Some of us have to keep these old sysrtems running mate.

 

[Mac SK]

Hooking to a inverter with out a surge protecter was a bad idea you could really mess up the Mac...couldn't you find a gas station or some place like that to hook up. I did this at a park once..pluged right in on a baseball field.

 

[pokeman89]

Hooking to a inverter with out a surge protecter was a bad idea you could really mess up the Mac...couldn't you find a gas station or some place like that to hook up. I did this at a park once..pluged right in on a baseball field.

It was hooked up to a surge protector, that was the only way to connect both the monitor and the computer at once.