Outside the world of K-12 education , the eMac does n’t get much attention , now that the Mac mini has provided an even less expensive — and more glamourous — option for Mac bargain hunter . Apple did n’t even bother to put out a public press release denote the most recent eMac update .
But almost four years after the party decorated its Macworld Conference & Expo booth with banner read “ Hasta la vista , CRT , ” the CRT - establish all - in - one still holds a place in the Mac lineup . Ironically , the very dimension — the majority and weight of trail - line picture tubes — that caused most customers to abandon cathode-ray tube as before long as LCD savorless panel became affordable define the niche where the eMac has survived . Measuring 15.8 inches gamey and wide and 17.1 inches deep , and weighing 50 pound , the eMac remains the machine of option for school executive , science lab managers , and others who concern that a sleeker system might just “ walk away , ” and , perhaps , for parents occupy that an industrious bambino could knock over an iMac or knock off an iBook .
Spring tune-up
The former update bring no fundamental changes to the design the eMac has retained since its introduction in 2002 : it still features a 17 - in display construct into an all - white charge plate case derived from the groundbreaking ceremony design of the first - generation iMac . The price social system that ’s been in place for more than a year has n’t change , either : there are still two configurations , a $ 799 one with a Combo cause and a $ 999 one with a SuperDrive .
The update , however , work changes to many of the eMacs ’ component subsystems :
Faster processors . The chips that drive the machines are still G4s , but they now run at 1.42GHz , up slightly from last twelvemonth ’s 1.25GHz clock speed .
More storage in one configuration . The $ 999 eMac now comes with 512 MiB of tup , twice as much as before . Unfortunately , the $ 799 role model still has only 256 megabyte , an amount that ’s really not sufficient for supply a good exploiter experience , specially with software system such as Tiger ( Mac OS X 10.4 ) and iLife ‘ 05 loaded on the machine . In both configuration one DIMM slot remain free for users who want to add together more memory , up to the eMacs ’ level best of 1 GB .
Doubled storehouse capacitance . heavy - thrust sizes have doubled compared with the old eMac multiplication : the entrance - level configuration now come with an 80 GB hard drive , while the more expensive edition has a 160 GB drive .
Updated graphics . While both constellation previously arrive with an ATI Radeon 9200 graphics chip with 32 Mbit of telecasting retention , both now admit the Modern Radeon 9600 — the same fleck now used in the latest iMac G5s and several Power Mac G5 shape . This chip has 64 megabit of dedicated memory . The change aid bring forth an improvement of more than 50 percent in the physical body charge per unit we record in Unreal Tournament 2004 . That , of course , is not the program school administrators are buy hardware for , but the stacks are declarative of better support for ask computer graphic program .
Double - layer DVD burning at the stake . Like the SuperDrive in other recent background Macs , the one that comes in the $ 999 eMac is capable of burning up to 8.5 GB of data on a forked - bed recordable DVD .
in all , no one would call the eMacs speedsters by today ’s standards , in part because the interior bus that connects their processor to the system memory operates at just 167MHz , while corresponding bus speed in other desktop Macs break away anywhere from 600MHz to 1.35GHz . Still , the update produces a astonishingly big hike in the eMacs ’ scores on our Speedmark 4 benchmark test , and they ’re really not all that far behind the iMac G5 ’s scores .
Price concerns
Although Apple has made AirPort Extreme and , in many cases , Bluetooth standard in other Mac models without increase prices , these wireless features still be extra in the eMacs . An AirPort Extreme card is $ 79 , Bluetooth is $ 50 , or you could get both for $ 99 . you could add the AirPort card at any prison term ; Bluetooth and the $ 99 package mint are useable only as build - to - order options .
Apple ’s pricing choice may make sense , because many of the eMac ’s target client may not demand wireless networking . ( A 56 - Kbps V.92 modem and 10/100 Ethernet are build in . )
But the deficiency of wireless support along with Apple ’s choice to keep the incoming - level eMac ’s memory board at just 256 MB may make you marvel whether the eMac ’s damage has kept up with the time . After all , the 1.42GHz Mac miniskirt , which has spectacles similar to those of the low - end eMac , be only $ 599 ; and good - caliber , stand - alone 17 - inch CRT monitor retail for less than $ 150 . In that lighting , it ’s not well-situated to see why the entering - story eMac still costs $ 799 .
Of course , education buyers are often capable to negotiate price reduction . A lower tilt price , however , would make the eMac more low-cost for low - income somebody , families , and educatee who choose a sturdy all - in - one system to the Mac mini ’s modular aim .
Macworld’s buying advice
In choose between the two eMac configurations , the only actual consideration is whether you want a videodisk burner . If not , you may start with the $ 799 modelling , match or beat the $ 999 edition ’s superfluous disc capacity and storage , and still save at least $ 100 .
[ Henry Norr is a former editor program ofMacWeekand a former engineering columnist for theSan Francisco Chronicle . ]
