Propeller

Q: eMac Advice For Home Studio

Hello there,

 

I currently use a Mac Book Pro for my home studio running Logic Pro 9 and programs similar to that.

 

The Mac Book is not mine at all but I use it when I create music, record artist etc.

 

I am looking at purchasing my own mac but do not have enough money at all to afford a brand new imac or similar.

 

I am potentially in a position to by a high spec (in its day) eMac for a cheap.

 

I want to know if it is worth getting and upgrading its parts, like its RAM and other parts that will make it perform better.

 

I only want to use to mac for running programs such as logic and other music creation programs.

 

Which parts are best to upgrade in order to turn this old machine into a fast high spec mac?

 

Any advice on eMac's would help and if anyone has or is doing what I am looking at doing I would love to hear your experience and how it all worked out!

 

I will not be replacing parts myself at all, I will use Apple if they are willing to do it.

 

Thanks,

 

Propeller

Posted on Jan 15, 2012 10:46 AM

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Q: eMac Advice For Home Studio

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  • by BDAqua,Helpful

    BDAqua BDAqua Jan 15, 2012 11:50 AM in response to Propeller
    Level 10 (123,670 points)
    Jan 15, 2012 11:50 AM in response to Propeller

    Hello,

     

    You may have to reconsider, it'd take a pretty old version of Logic to run on an eMac, eMacs are also the least upgradable of all Macs, adding Memory is about the only thing you can do, all other parts are built into the Logic Board, also Apple no longer works on eMacs or even later Macs like the G5s.

     

    I love my eMacs, but they're pretty basic All-in-One computers.

     

    May I ask what your budget is for this project?

     

    Logic Pro 7 - Technical Specifications...

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/SP599

     

    Logic Pro 8 - Technical Specifications...

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/SP533

     

    Logic Studio (2009) - Technical Specifications... IntelMacs only...

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/SP567

  • by Propeller,

    Propeller Propeller Jan 15, 2012 12:06 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 15, 2012 12:06 PM in response to BDAqua

    Thank you very much for that infomation BDAqua I will take it into account and have a think.

     

    I have not fully thought about a budget because all I am after at the moment in a powerful Mac, I have a lot of other equipment that I have built up over the years, so its not like I need to budget everything to build a setup from scratch.

     

    Do you have any sudgestions at all, or in or have been in a similar boat as I am in at the moment?

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Jan 15, 2012 12:40 PM in response to Propeller
    Level 10 (123,670 points)
    Jan 15, 2012 12:40 PM in response to Propeller

    Well, I've never used Logic, (no music talent at all), but from what I understand, Logic requires more CPU & RAM for more of the features to work, I really think that even to top eMac/1.42 GHz with it maxed out at 2 MB of RAM, & you found an older version of Logic, that it'd barely run the minimal things at once... Minimum Requirements are a bit deceiving I think, you generally need twice what they say for any fluidity at all.

     

    If the purpose of this is solely, or majorly for Logic use, I'd have to recommend you wait until you could get either a more upgradable G4/G5 tower, or a newer used Intel Mini, Intel iMac, etc., unfortunately those seem to hold their value too well.

     

    If you just want a Mac for browsing, eMail, & such, the eMac would be fine.

     

    PS. I've spent tons of money upgrading Macs & when it's all done & said, it cost more to end up with less, than a newer one costs.

     

    To give you a rough idea of the processing power...

     

    eMac G4/1.42 (2005)... Geekbench: 750

    iMac G5/1.8 20-Inch... Geekbench:           985

    Power Macintosh G5 1.8 (PCI-X)... Geekbench: 1047

    Power Macintosh G4 1.42 DP (FW 800)... Geekbench: 1224

    Power Macintosh G5 Dual Core (2.0)... Geekbench:          1814/1882

    Power Macintosh G5 Dual Core (2.3)... Geekbench: 2082/2163

    MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 1.83 13"... Geekbench: 2363/2552

    Power Macintosh G5 "Quad Core" (2.5)... Geekbench: 3316/3594

    Mac mini "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 (Mid-2010)... Geekbench: 3307/3635

    iMac "Core i5" 2.5 21.5-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 7241/7970

    iMac "Core i5" 2.7 27-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench:           7844/8565

    MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 17" Late 2011... Geekbench: 10706/11699

    iMac "Core i7" 3.4 27-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 11648/12651

    Mac Pro "Twelve Core" 2.66 (2010/Westmere)... Geekbench: 20294/22605