[CUBE] Advice

[Michael McPherson]

 >I'm looking to get a newer computer, the Mac I have is going on 8 years
 >old.  [It's a little slow.]  zmy first choice is a Cube, but finding 
one
 >a reasonable price is hard - - does anyon have any experience with the
 >new iMac or eMac, gennerally these can be found fairly reasonable.
 >Thanks.
 >R. J. Campbell


I don't think you'll go wrong with any of these choices.

Are you going to need to replace your monitor as well as your computer? 
(If your monitor is 8 years old it is probably worth replacing imo.)  
The cube is a beautiful machine,  and it holds up very well.  If you 
already have a good monitor it will probably be the cheapest choice 
(they can be had for about $600-700 on ebay these days).  If you are 
used to an 8 year old machine, a 450 stock cube will seem lightening 
fast by comparison.    Though if you get one,  you might be inclined to 
add ram, get a better video card (If you plan to run OS X and want to 
take advantage of quartz extreme), etc...  Upgrades will run the price 
up significantly ($50 for new ram, $120 for OS X.2, $200 for a new 
videocard, etc...).

I already had a super nice 21 inch SONY CRT monitor.  So for me going 
to an imac or an emac was out of the question.  the cube was the best 
choice for me (I couldn't afford one of the new desktops :).

I think for you the imac or emac might be the best choice.  You get a 
really nice display along with your new computer.

The emac is cheaper, and it's a really nice machine.  I may be in the 
minority but I think I'd prefer an emac to an imac.  It's light years 
better than the original imac.  The 17 inch screen is very nice.  Plus 
it's the cheapest way you can get a superdrive if you are so inclined.  
  It's also got a much larger footprint, isn't as versatile (the 
pivoting display on the imac is very cool), and it's heavy.

The imac has a smaller footprint, and better specs.  the 17inch imacs 
are definitely nice.

If you can afford it,  i'd say go with the 17 inch imac.  Spend the 
money to up the ram to 512 MB

That's going to run you about $2000.  For that you get a great 17 inch 
lcd screen, 1 GHz G4, 80 gig hard drive, Geforce4MX etc...and a 4x 
speed superdrive.  It's a hell of a deal.

Personally I'm less enthusiastic about the 15 inch screen imac.  If you 
cant afford the 17 inch screen go with the emac.  Depending on the 
model, it'll run you about $1100-1400.

I'd say that's the best value for the money.