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

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

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Best Regards,
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Hi RealByReel,
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Thanks, hope I explained this well enough.
Intel Imac Mac OS X (10.4.8) Lab- Education Intel iMacs - PPC eMacs

I don't think the logins take too long, we may wait 30 seconds or so for the students to login. We have had problems when 60 kids leave and 60 more come in, some login and after the username and password are entered, the login begins then locks. The Apple tech guy thought that could be aggravated by the 4 network mounts. I just sort of thought that with students and teachers accessing 4 different hard drives, that it wouldn't tax one drive as much. I agree that a longer login is a small price to pay for faster working speeds.

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Hi,
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And When you install your VS in another Drive and run the VS installer, you can see system requirement in installation screen.
Because my work computer only have C Drive, I test the VS2012 professional installation in my home computer E drive. The Screen below:
I think the system requirement can also display when you install VS 2013.
Best Wishes!
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MBP as centerpiece of Logic Pro 7 home studio?

Hello All.
I am VERY close to placing an order for my first Mac and right now its neck and neck between the MacBook Pro and the 20-inch Intel iMac.
My main purpose for the Mac is to be a dedicated computer for serious hobbyist music creation with Logic Pro 7, Garageband & various plugins, web surfing, management of an iTunes Library over 12000 songs and occasional iLife usage. I currently use Cubase, Reason and various VST's on my PC. My songs consist mainly of sofwtare instruments, a few breakbeat loops or beats that I create myself. Eventually, I will add those programs and VST's to the Mac when the universal binary versions of them come out.
I've been debating this for weeks now and I'm seriously torn between the MBP and the IMac; both have their good and bad points. For the MBP, I love the idea of portability and not being stuck at a desk when I'm working on my tracks. This would be especially handy when my wife starts bugging me to use the Dell PC that currently sits on said desk or when my 20-month son gets too rowdy and chases me out of the room. I don't travel much nor do any professional recording or touring, but I must admit the ability to even just play around or surf the web from another room in the house is appealing which is why I'm considering it.
On the other hand, I'm definately not rich and I'd be paying a serious premium for that portability. Plus when you add laptop accessories, the price gets up there rather quick. Alternatively, I could get an Intel iMac with the same configuration, Logic Pro 7 and the 7.2 Crossgrade for about the same price of the MBP and accessories WITHOUT Logic Pro 7. Furthermore, I've gotten used to the 21" CRT we use for our Dell PC and I'm wondering if the 15.4" screen of the MBP would wear on me after awhile. I could get the iMac with all the same specs with that big beautiful display, but it would obviously take up more space and I'll lose the portability.
1) Anyway, have any of you ever used a laptop (like the PowerBook G4, for example) as the centerpiece of your home studio? How did that work out? Is that something that you'd recommend or would I be better off with an iMac desktop?
2) Also, should I be concerned with the heat that laptops like the MBP and PowerBowk put out? I was gonna have the 100GB 7200RPM drive installed in the MBP so I wonder if drive noise could be a factor here as well?
3) Lastly and on a side note, regardless of whether or not I get the MBP or the iMac, I'd be using my Edirol PCR-50 MIDI USB Keyboard Controller to control the software instruments and plug-ins. If I simply plugged this into the computer via USB, would I experience any latency issues with Core Audio/Core MIDI of OS X? Or is a MIDI absolutely necessary? Does OS X allow you change the latency settings?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Hello
i used to have a Soundcraft 24/8/2 mixboard, a MPC 2000XL, an EMU e6400, a MicroModular, a Nord Lead, three DBX266XL compressors, a TC M-One, a Lexicon MPX100, a Sherman Filterbank ...
i've sold everything except the nordlead and bought a powerbook G4 1.5 ghz with Logic Express 7.
i've never been as productive as now. I used to be forced to compose in front of the same stupid wall. now i can make music anywhere. i bought some good headphones, plug them directly to the powerbook soundcard and make music most of the time on the sofa next to my girlfriend while she watches tv.
i have a super small usb midi keyboard (m-audio o2) which i plug when i need to enter notes. sometimes i even enter notes using the CapsLock keyboard integrated in logic so i don't even need my usb keyboard.
when i've finished my track i go to my office and plug my firewire soundcard (Echo Audiofire 8, lots of inputs / outputs, useful to plug guitar / bass / mic and eventually a friend's computer) and check the mix on my monitors.
i'll never go back to a desktop computer again. i'm not a pro working for any kind of business, i'm just a musician making my demo. my mixes sounds as good as or better than when i had all this audio hardware.
i have two sessions in os X, one internet, one audio. i surf the web heavily, no virus, no ********. sometimes i even load safari while boucing a track in logic, professionals will tell you it's baaaaaaad, i don't care.
so :
1) i recommend having a laptop and good headphones (100$ minimum) if you're just making music for pleasure. pro need big G5, we don't.
2) i don't have problem with heat. when it's on my thigs it can get very hot which is not recommended. you must let the heat get out.but i didn't have any problem
3) no midi latency problem at all, wether it is pure midi or usb.
Lastly : i think the MacBook Pro is too expensive. a powerbook G4 is too old for big sessions. wait for the MacBook (the iBook successor), which is supposed to be intel 1.67 ghz solo core 13"3 inch screen, a little more than 1000$, and may be released on April 1st (apple aniversary)
i'm currently waiting for my copy of Logic Pro 7.2 to arrive, and i'll get a MacBook as soon its released
(be careful there are near to 0 plugins out on intel macs yet be sure you will only use logic plugins)
cheers
Mac OS X (10.4.4)

EMac Advice For Home Studio

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