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Operating System Specific Discussions => MorphOS => MorphOS -- Hardware requirements and availability discussion => Topic started by: Amigamia on September 13, 2011, 05:03:47 PM

Title: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Amigamia on September 13, 2011, 05:03:47 PM
Hello Folks,

Can anyone give a suggestion on which one to keep? I have an eMac 1.25Ghz with 768GB RAM, 40GB HDD  and a Mac Mini with 1.25Ghz, 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD.

I want to keep one for MorphOS. The eMac is clunky and big but has more ports on the side (i.e. 2 firewires, 3 USB, and has all-in-one solution (Video, Speakers, etc.)

The Mac Mini on the other hand is very small and it seems the same hardware as the emac. The built in speaker is not one of the best and doesn't have lots of ports in the back.

I still am thinking of going with the mac mini because I know I can overclock it safely to 1.42Ghz. It's easy to upgrade the HDD to a bigger one (given that i can find one now days).

What do you guys think?
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: spihunter on September 13, 2011, 05:10:32 PM
Hands down I would keep the mini. You never know when the screen is going to go on the Emac.. They are also a pain to haul around. Does MorphOS even support the Firewire ports?.
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: commodorejohn on September 13, 2011, 05:12:17 PM
Hmm, looking at the specs for these particular models...same GPU and same amount of VRAM, same CPU with the same amount of cache. Looks like the eMac can be expanded to 2GB RAM while the Mini's stuck at 1GB, for what that's worth to you. I'd say it really probably comes down to which is more convenient in your computing setup.

Just make sure to find the other one a good home, okay?
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: spihunter on September 13, 2011, 05:14:10 PM
Yea, that's the other thing. You might have trouble giving the Emac away....even for free.


Quote from:
Just make sure to find the other one a good home, okay?[/QUOTE
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Amigamia on September 13, 2011, 06:01:54 PM
Quote from: spihunter;659206
Hands down I would keep the mini. You never know when the screen is going to go on the Emac.. They are also a pain to haul around. Does MorphOS even support the Firewire ports?.



Good point! Firewire is supported via MAC OS X which I plan to keep on as Dual Boot
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Amigamia on September 13, 2011, 06:04:51 PM
Quote from: commodorejohn;659208
Hmm, looking at the specs for these particular models...same GPU and same amount of VRAM, same CPU with the same amount of cache. Looks like the eMac can be expanded to 2GB RAM while the Mini's stuck at 1GB, for what that's worth to you. I'd say it really probably comes down to which is more convenient in your computing setup.

Just make sure to find the other one a good home, okay?


Yeah I forgot to mention the 1GB vs 2GB and that eMac has a CD/CD-R/RW drive while mac mini is a DVD player & CD-R/RW.

I will make sure whatever goes finds a new home :-)
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Amigamia on September 13, 2011, 06:06:59 PM
Quote from: spihunter;659209
Yea, that's the other thing. You might have trouble giving the Emac away....even for free.


Wow I can't believe that. I mean, it is still a very capable machine.
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Ruud on September 13, 2011, 06:19:46 PM
Quote from: spihunter;659206
Hands down I would keep the mini. You never know when the screen is going to go on the Emac.. They are also a pain to haul around. Does MorphOS even support the Firewire ports?.
A Firewire stack (Helios) is available for MorphOS that supports mass storage devices.  Works well on my mac mini. Never tried it on an eMac though.
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: itix on September 13, 2011, 06:28:29 PM
I would count much for optical media. It is obsolete for audio, it is obsolete as storage device, it is obsolete for pretty much everything. 1GB is more than enough for MorphOS but if you are going to keep MacOS maybe you want some more...

If you need more USB ports you can always get a hub.
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: spihunter on September 13, 2011, 07:12:02 PM
That's good to know. I think I have a single Firewire port on my Power Mac. I'll have to check it out.



Quote from: Ruud;659227
A Firewire stack (Helios) is available for MorphOS that supports mass storage devices.  Works well on my mac mini. Never tried it on an eMac though.
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Amigamia on September 13, 2011, 08:17:42 PM
Thanks everyone! I am going to settle for the Mac Mini. Anyone interested in an eMac? :-)
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: runequester on September 13, 2011, 08:32:10 PM
Quote from: Amigamia;659256
Thanks everyone! I am going to settle for the Mac Mini. Anyone interested in an eMac? :-)


If it runs Morph, I might. Are you in the US?
Shipping might be unpleasant otherwise..
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Amigamia on September 13, 2011, 08:36:42 PM
Quote from: runequester;659259
If it runs Morph, I might. Are you in the US?
Shipping might be unpleasant otherwise..


MorphOS runs on it and it is already installed but not licensed. Yes I am in VA (23320). PM me for more details if you are interested.
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: haywirepc on September 13, 2011, 10:28:51 PM
I'm interested in your emac if you want to get rid of it pm me...
 
Steven
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: runequester on September 13, 2011, 10:44:34 PM
ugh, my state of finances aren't anywhere near what I thought. Let Haywire have at it. Sorry
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: XDelusion on September 13, 2011, 11:49:36 PM
From personal experience...

If you see an eMac, RUN! :)
Title: Re: eMac 1.25 vs Mac Mini 1.25
Post by: Reptile on September 26, 2011, 02:56:13 PM
Hi, being a Mac user for 8 years I couldn't help but notice this thread which discusses my first experience of owning a Mac.

I bought my eMac G4 back in October 2003, it came with a 1GHz G4, though it's downfall was the measly 128Megabytes RAM it was shipped with - poor even back then, 60 gigabyte hard disk - pretty decent at the time I remember, OS X 10.2 Jaguar, and I think it had 32 Megabytes graphics memory.
The good thing was - despite popular myth, upgrading RAM on the Mac is very easy and when I'd came to sell it in 2007 it had a respectable for the time 768Mb.

During the four years I owned it, the power was almost contantly switched on - the screen getting very hot for long periods of time - and it still worked fine.
It never failed on me once - the only thing happening during the four years was a kernel panic, and that was it. Not once did I lose any data, or the hard drive fail.

The screen also was working fine after being very hot for most of those four years.

I later upgraded it to 768Mb, and compared to the iMac II - it's sister model at the time - the eMac had by far the better screen display.

So I would like to politely emphasise my knowledge that the eMac was a great and capable computer - and would still be fine for basic web surfing / office work to this day.... and after using a PC for years it was a comforting experience not having to worry about hardware failures.

I shall crawl back into my lair now. :laughing: