How about an eMac?

[Hugo]

I'm thinking on upgrading my iMac (a 400 mhz iMac DV with a 10 GB HD and 768 MB of RAM) to a newer Mac. I'm an architect who uses VectorWorks 10 for work, among with other apps like Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia FreeHand, Dreamweaver and Form Z.

My iMac, although very loyal and capable of doing all what I need, is feeling a bit slow, specially when doing more than one thing at once. I'm using Mac OS X 10.2.6 and thanks to multitasking I can work in several things at the same time, but I want more speed.

Looking at the eMac, it looks like a great thing. All in one, saving space. A 17 inch monitor capable of higher resolutions than my iMac. 1 Ghz Power PC G4 is doubtless much faster than my 400 Mhz G3. A bigger HD, and a 32 MB video card instead of my 8 MB. A 7200 rpm HD instead of my 5400 rpm's. Sounds very good.

My doubt is if a 1 Ghz eMac will be enough for my needs or if definitely I should buy a PowerMac? I like to do lots of things and learn new apps and all that, but I do not plan to upgrade all the time. Just want a fast computer, I'll put more RAM onto it and start working. Don't have too much money to spend too.

I'm tempted to go for the 1 Ghz eMac and add some 512 MB of RAM. Or should I wait a bit for new PowerMacs and maybe new eMacs with DDR RAM and all that? Are those things noticeable for working with VectorWorks and 3D?

Anybody here using an eMac and have some opinions to share?

Lots of thanks.

Hugo Mujica, from Chile.

[Peter van der Elst]

Hi, I'm currently using an eMac at our office and it works great! If you really want to have some power than maybe you could wait until the new Mac (G5 or so) is released, then the G4's will probably drop in price. But for a cheaper solution you could buy de eMac (and some extra memory). Good Luck

[CipesDesign]

Hugo,

What about an iMac? You would have a bigger screen area and a flat screen (which is much easier on your eyes!).

Peter