# Which Mac to buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234 "2004-03-30T03:16:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/1 "2004-03-30T03:16:35Z")
First, I’m committed to Mac, so if you’re here to talk me into a PC, thanks for the interest, but that’s not why we’re here. My iMac is old and tired. Upgrading it would cost too much–I have OS 8.6, getting to OS X is a major change. I was very surprized at the new eMac (the one that looks like my iMac). It seems to have all the features I need (I mostly do simple word processing and the internet) plus some great new applications. But, the new iMac is cool looking and would fit on my computer desk better. Spending $500 extra dollar for looks, however, is hard to justify. So I figured I buy a new eMac. But I have been told by a Mac afficianado that the eMac is crappy–cheap components, and hardware is going to break down piece by piece. The sales person I talked to did stress the importance of the extended warranty, a sales pitch I usually ignore. Cheap components would also explain the low price. So, does anyone have any experience with the eMac? Will it fall apart on me? Any other justification for spending the extra money and getting the iMac? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/2 "2004-03-30T08:09:47Z")
I haven’t any direct experience with the eMac myself, but I haven’t heard anything about crappy build or anything like that, and I tend to follow this stuff very closely. Several of the geekier propellerheads I hang with (folks who have mastered eight or more operating systems, only two of which are from Microsoft) recommend eMacs as a good low-cost entry-level Mac for their friends who want to get in on the whole MacOS X experience. Frankly, if you’re that worried, you can always get the AppleCare extended warranty. Though I wouldn’t bother, since (a) anything that will go wrong will probably go wrong in the first 90 days of use, which the regular warranty covers, and (b) in my experience, Apple doesn’t make crappy products – somewhat overpriced, maybe, but not Gateway-quality fall-apart-if-you-look-at-it-wrong stuff. As for me, if it was a tossup between the eMac or the iMac, I’d get the 20" flat-panel iMac in a heartbeat. Not only does it look cool, but the extra screen space and lighter weight is worth it IMO. But what I _really_ want is the 15" PowerBook… ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/3 "2004-03-30T14:58:37Z")
I’m posting this from my eMac. No complaints , except for there being no owner’s manual and no choice in color. (I realize that everybody’s probably thinking “Of course there’s no manual !” ,but since it’s my very first computer , I just think it would be handy to have one every once in a while.) ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/4 "2004-03-30T18:38:18Z")
Thanks to both of you. **williamweigand** , how long have you had your eMac? As for the manual, you might look to see if any of the _. . .for Dummies_ books would be useful. I found _AppleWorks for Dummies_ a few years ago, and they may have one on OS X, although I don’t know it the eMac would merit its own book. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/5 "2004-03-30T19:06:55Z")
Any chance you can wait until June to make your purchase? Apple will most likely be updating the Power Mac then, and there are some rumors about new G5 iMacs as well… Even if you don’t do anything that requires that kind of power, they’ll be clearing out the older computers and that means savings for you. If you want to follow the rumormills, I recommend [As the Apple Turns](http://www.appleturns.com), which features pretty hilarious takes on rumors and other Apple innuendo. [MacRumors](http://www.macrumors.com) isn’t funny, necessarily, but they usually have the latest stuff in, as well as a buyer’s guide that lets you know how many minutes you’ll be able to enjoy your new comptuer before it’s outdated. 😉 I’m in the market for a G5 iMac… My four-year-old G4 is kinda poky with Adobe Creative Suite, and I can get an educational loan for it. C’mon, give me a 20-inch, 2.0 GHz G5 iMac, Apple! ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/6 "2004-03-30T19:16:04Z")
Do you ever go anywhere? You may consider an iBook. I went laptop 5 years ago and I never went back. Given the emergence of broadband Wi-Fi, it’s getting so you can find a spot in any city to hop on line. If you’re into that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/7 "2004-03-30T19:52:45Z")
The eMac has a well-deserved bad reputation, IMHO. Check out [MacFixit.com](http://MacFixit.com), especially the forums, for more details. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/8 "2004-03-30T20:51:05Z")
I just got an eMac two weeks ago. I haven’t had any problems, and neither has my friend who’s had hers for about nine months. It seems to be a good machine, and even with the paltry 128mb RAM that comes with it, it does fine for basic stuff. Based on my two-week’s experience, I’d recommend it. On the other hand, my new 15" Powerbook is like a dream. Lightweight, powerful, and very stylish. 🙂 And **williamweigand** , I would highly recommend [The Missing Manual](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596006152/qid=1080679719/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-9171505-3552049). It’s great. ---
**Author:** ![joshmaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a587f6/32.png) [@joshmaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joshmaker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/9 "2004-03-30T21:23:46Z")
Anecdotal evidence: My mother has had an eMac for some time now and has never had a problem with it. One issue, the 128mb of ram the bottom of the line iMac comes with is, IMHO, not enough, even for someone who is mostly interested in word processing. I would **definitely** recommend spending the $50 to upgrade it to (at least) 256mb of ram.\* Also, I noticed that if you upgrade the eMac and iMac so that they are similarly configured by giving each 512mb of ram and an 80gbharddrive, then the price difference between the two drops to $374. \*You could save money if you shop around for the ram and then install it yourself (not as hard as you might think), but it is probably more trouble than you want to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/10 "2004-03-30T21:28:00Z")
Apple’s position towards manuals is that you should simply use the Mac’s built-in “Help” system to learn your way around the computer; ostensibly this encourages exploration and learning at your own pace, but I find it a major PITA. Any of the **Missing Manual** books are highly recommended, especially the ones by Dave Pogue, who’s great at making complex things seem simple. Most of the Mac rumor sites aren’t worth the time, IMO, and some simply make up stuff to generate page hits. The only ones trustworthy enough to follow are [Think Secret](http://www.thinksecret.com/) and [AppleInsider,](http://www.appleinsider.com/) tho they update only on an irregular basis. [As The Apple Turns](http://www.appleturns.com/) is _highly_ recommended, just for the sheer screwball humor of the writing. 🙂 And whatever Mac you get, you definitely need more than 256MB of memory. Just make sure (1) it’s quality memory, since the Mac is a bit fussy about data integrity, and (2) don’t buy it from Apple, as you can find cheaper prices everywhere else. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/11 "2004-03-30T21:45:35Z")
C’mon you guys! The absolute best Apple rumor site is… Crazy Apple Rumors Site ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/12 "2004-03-30T23:00:36Z")
Great info people, thanks a lot. According to AppleInsider, _Consumer Reports_ gave the eMac excellent ratings for both reliabilty and preformance, and I take that as a good sign. I will, however, wait a few weeks to see if any new upgrades or whatever appear, or if there is confirmation on when one will be coming. ---
**Author:** ![joshmaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a587f6/32.png) [@joshmaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joshmaker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/13 "2004-03-30T23:52:43Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > C’mon you guys! The absolute best Apple rumor site is… > Crazy Apple Rumors Site Heh. I am just geeky enough to think that is really funny. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/14 "2004-03-31T01:14:31Z")
CARS is fun, but AtAT was _first._ ---
**Author:** ![Geoduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@Geoduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geoduck)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/15 "2004-03-31T04:14:43Z")
I purchased a refurbished eMac for my sister last Fall. It was quite reasonably priced and she has had zero problems. I am thinking about another one for my young kids. The 20-inch iMacs are remarkable but very expensive. As **SanibelMan** said, most likely the form factor of the iMac will change in a few months and the prices of the current ones will come down. But then, again, the temptations of the G5 iMac may beckon more strongly. I would consider either the current eMac or a newer G4 iBook. Both are around $1000 and would serve you quite well for years. ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/16 "2004-03-31T13:16:24Z")
> [@Kallessa](#): > > Thanks to both of you. **williamweigand** , how long have you had your eMac? As for the manual, you might look to see if any of the _. . .for Dummies_ books would be useful. I found _AppleWorks for Dummies_ a few years ago, and they may have one on OS X, although I don’t know it the eMac would merit its own book. We bought our eMac right when they first became available for the general public - June of 2002 IIRC. We have _Macs For Dummies_ but I couldn’t find any eMac-specific stuff in it. And you’re right - so far the eMac doesn’t seem to have merited its own book. ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/17 "2004-03-31T13:26:11Z")
> [@FlyingDragonFan](#): > > I just got an eMac two weeks ago. I haven’t had any problems, > > And **williamweigand** , I would highly recommend [The Missing Manual](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596006152/qid=1080679719/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-9171505-3552049). It’s great. (I wasn’t sure how to quote two posts in my previous post , so please excuse this extra post.) Thanks for recommending _The Missing Manual_.I had considered buying it a year ago , but never got around to it.Based on your recommendation , and those on the link you provided , I know what to suggest when my wife asks what I want for my birthday! ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/18 "2004-03-31T14:22:02Z")
imho, the eMac is a great computer for the price. The parts are not “crappy”… but they are not as good as what you will get in an iMac. I am not possitive, but I am pretty sure the iMac has a faster hard drive (7200 rpm compared to eMac 5400) The eMac uses older PC133 SDRAM, and the iMac uses DDR. So, you do get a little more for your money with an iMac, but if those are not things you care about, then get an eMac. btw, I would get the AppleCare either way you go… It is only $169 and well worth it… especialy for anything that is all in one. If you monitor breaks after a year, it will cost you a lot more than $169 to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/19 "2004-03-31T14:56:17Z")
I thought that AppleCare initially lasted a year. At least that’s how long it was when I got my iMac back in 2001. I sold my iMac (it was one of the CRT ones) and got a G4 tower, because I liked the idea of choosing my own monitor (or even sometime in the future setting up two monitors). I also liked the idea of more upgrade potential. However, the LCD iMacs are very tempting indeed, and the eMacs look to be a decent bargain. I got my iMac at [www.clubmac.com](http://www.clubmac.com), where I paid the typical retail price, _but_ I got free extra RAM. (They did charge an installation fee of $30-40, though.) Last I checked, both clubmac or [www.macmall.com](http://www.macmall.com) still have a free RAM offer, and it seems like the almost always do. Their RAM is up to Apple specs, the installation fee is reasonable, and you can get the amount RAM that you need. In my case, I had clubmac up my RAM to 768 megs (because I’m a RAM hog) and the cost was reasonable. If I had bought that Mac from the Apple store and had them install the RAM, it would have cost _much_ more. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234/20 "2004-03-31T15:09:05Z")
The only Mac I would consider buying is a Big Mac. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-mac-to-buy/237234.md?page=2)