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

[Mac SK]

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

Some how this went from an Emac to a Tower...I really confused.

 

[pokeman89]

Some how this went from an Emac to a Tower...I really confused.

Well I was originally looking at an eMac but then the guy backed out on me so I found another guy willing to sell his power mac G4 for $100. The thread has kind of turned into a "Help me buy a used mac" thread now since I began asking about what to look for when I saw the mac. I can't change the title because I am not allowed to edit my first post for some reason.

 

[dtravis7]

I have a 15" Dell Flat Panel that probably is very similar to that Compaq. 1024x760. Looks great on my old Quicksilver. I would prefer larger sometimes but it's very clear.

 

[manymanymacs]

No lies, but at optimal condition my old eMac started at under a minute. The wifi was sluggish at first, but everything else was fine.

 

[manymanymacs]

I say buy a iMac 400MHz or an Emac from a school for 10 bucks. Most will be willing to sell it for this price (in nyc) and most will include a sufficient amount of ram.

If it looks like a 2nd grader puked on it, don't buy it!

 

[manymanymacs]

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

by full boot I mean from a power-on start up. (aka plug in the power, push button, and wait).

 

[pokeman89]

I say buy a iMac 400MHz or an Emac from a school for 10 bucks. Most will be willing to sell it for this price (in nyc) and most will include a sufficient amount of ram.

If it looks like a 2nd grader puked on it, don't buy it!

I do not want to buy one from the school systems, those receive so much abuse that who knows how much longer they will last. I would rather get one that wasn't subjected to abuse every day.

 

[manymanymacs]

Good idea. Actually, however, I have gotten several computers from schools and they are all in excellent working condition. If you still don't like the idea, you might want to get one from the office or something, where there wouldn't be a kid on it.

 

[pokeman89]

Good idea. Actually, however, I have gotten several computers from schools and they are all in excellent working condition. If you still don't like the idea, you might want to get one from the office or something, where there wouldn't be a kid on it.

I would buy one from an office. I would never buy a mac from any local school district in my area because I have seen first hand what all of the kids think "fixing" the computer is when they crash (And they crash often). Then of course the school district I am in has no intention of saving electricity, so they just leave the computers running for 5 days straight (They at least shut them of during the weekends) so I have no clue how long the screens would last, which would not be a problem except the school has all iMacs and Macbooks, no separate monitors around, which poses a problem if the screens do die on you. I'm not saying that it's bound to happen, I just do not want to take the chance with that high a risk.

I have a 15" Dell Flat Panel that probably is very similar to that Compaq. 1024x760. Looks great on my old Quicksilver. I would prefer larger sometimes but it's very clear.

I have a 15" Sharp LCD, Really nice, even has TV input so I didn't need to buy a new TV when mine died, I just have to switch inputs. The smaller 15" screens are actually very nice, I just wish they could get higher resolutions sometimes. Some web pages aren't optimized for 1024*768 anymore, and it does pose a minor inconvenience sometimes. I also have a problem every time I upgrade my graphics card from my Dell, because I forget to set the resolution lower and then I get an out of timing error. Also some games do that as well, it gets really annoying because then I can't see anything and have to drag out the old 30lb CRT to fix the problem

 

[dtravis7]

Yeah that is the big thing, some Web Pages don't look good at 1024x768 anymore.

Did you ever hear from the person you met yesterday with the Power Mac?

 

[pokeman89]

Yeah that is the big thing, some Web Pages don't look good at 1024x768 anymore.

Did you ever hear from the person you met yesterday with the Power Mac?

Not yet, and the longer I wait, the more I think that he knew it was broken to begin with. I already reposted my wanted ad, hopefully I will get another offer.

 

[pigoo3]

Not yet, and the longer I wait, the more I think that he knew it was broken to begin with.

Well give the guy a little time to check things out & get back to you! You only met with him yesterday, and today is Sunday...so maybe he has better or more important things to do with family & friends.

I would say if you don't hear from him by Tuesday, then it might be a no go.

But by all means re-post your wanted ad...you may come across an even better deal!!

Good luck,

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

Well give the guy a little time to check things out & get back to you! You only met with him yesterday, and today is Sunday...so maybe he has better or more important things to do with family & friends.

I would say if you don't hear from him by Tuesday, then it might be a no go.

But by all means re-post your wanted ad...you may come across an even better deal!!

Good luck,

- Nick

True. I just assumed that since he said he would call me last night when he would be testing it that 24 hours would have been enough to repost the ad.

 

[pigoo3]

True. I just assumed that since he said he would call me last night when he would be testing it that 24 hours would have been enough to repost the ad.

Sorry...I didn't realize or remember that the seller was supposed to contact you last night.

Give him the benefit of the doubt...maybe something came up & he wasn't able to test it yesterday.

If you were communicating with him via e-mail...shoot him a quick message to see what's up...can't hurt.

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

Sorry...I didn't realize or remember that the seller was supposed to contact you last night.

Give him the benefit of the doubt...maybe something came up & he wasn't able to test it yesterday.

If you were communicating with him via e-mail...shoot him a quick message to see what's up...can't hurt.

- Nick

Hey, no big deal, I didn't mention that he said he would contact me yesterday. I sent the email like you said I should, we'll see what happens.

 

[pigoo3]

Hey, no big deal, I didn't mention that he said he would contact me yesterday. I sent the email like you said I should, we'll see what happens.

I'm sure you are just like me...and you hate to be wondering if the deal you had going yesterday is still really an "active" deal! If it is great, if not...then it's nice to know...and then move on!

Hopefully the seller will get back with you ASAP. You described the seller as a pretty god guy...so I would think that he would be honest with you about things...and return your e-mail quickly.

- Nick

 

[pokeman89]

I'm sure you are just like me...and you hate to be wondering if the deal you had going yesterday is still really an "active" deal! If it is great, if not...then it's nice to know...and then move on!

Hopefully the seller will get back with you ASAP. You described the seller as a pretty god guy...so I would think that he would be honest with you about things...and return your e-mail quickly.

- Nick

Well, the deal isn't quite dead yet. I finally got a response after about 8 hours, and he said he didn't get a chance to test it yet and he will try tomorrow.

 

[macnoob#1]

I Can tell you, they don't do it anymore. Now got a 1 Ghz model myself. **** capacitors