Apple eMac (Combo Drive)

CNET editors' take

• Reviewed by: Matthew Elliott
• Reviewed on: 05/12/2005
• Released on: 05/03/2005

Upside: The Apple eMac's PowerPC G4 processor gets a modest speed bump, going from 1.25GHz to 1.42GHz. Compared to its predecessor, the low-end $799 model supplies double the hard drive capacity at 80GB and double the graphics memory with ATI's midrange 64MB Radeon 9600 video card. The $999 version received more goodies; it now ships with 512MB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and an 8X SuperDrive.

Downside: We were hoping that we could call Apple's entry-level, all-in-one PC the eMac G5, but, sadly, it's still running on the PowerPC G4. The eMac's memory is still the slow 333MHz variety. And unlike with the current iMac G5, wireless AirPort Express and Bluetooth remain added-cost options on the eMac.

Outlook: The eMac's biggest hardware upgrade is the addition of the 64MB ATI Radeon 9600 graphics card. The midrange 9600 should offer better performance and helps give the eMac a leg up over its in-house budget competitor, the Mac Mini, which still uses the 32MB Radeon 9200. The eMac remains a smart choice for Mac fans on a budget looking for a complete system.

See more CNET content tagged:

IBM PowerPC G4,

Apple iMac G5,

Radeon,

Apple iMac,

IBM PowerPC

User opinions

WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW How would you rate this product?

• 7/10 Very good May 17, 2005

  by scooterKS (see profile)

  "Overall great machine, but..." Read more >>

• 10/10 Perfect August 31, 2005

  by ebodge (see profile)

  "I LOVE my emac (512 MB, 160 GB Hard Drive, 9600 Radeon, Airport Card, and of course, DVD Burner)" Read more >>

• 9/10 Spectacular July 31, 2005

  by jpht64 (see profile)

  "Lovely machine" Read more >>

• WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEWSee all 4 user opinions >>

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Apple eMac (Combo Drive)

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