eMac for recording?

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12milluz

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I can get an old eMac for free. Has 1.25 ghz processor and 512mb of ram-I would upgrade that to its max, 2gb. Is this generally good enough to record onto? I use a Presonus Audiobox USB and only record 2 or 3 mics at most at one time.
 
Be aware that all the modern Mac OS's, programs and plugins are Intel-chip only.

You are going to have to scrounge for old programs and effects.

At this point, I'd say stay away from any Mac that does not have Intel chips but since you're getting it for free and if you can find some old music programs....go for it...
 
That can run up through 10.5 (Leopard). Should be a usable machine as long as you don't go too heavy on the effects.
 
Seriously though. I think it will be fine for a few tracks with a few plugins.
 
dastrick said:
Seriously though. I think it will be fine for a few tracks with a few plugins.
Click to expand...

Yes, I started out years ago on a IIci and could do 8 tracks.

But I still think anyone needs to think twice before trying to throw together a studio on hardware that really isn't supported anymore.

I've got a PentiumII that I could get 30 tracks and a few FX going on (Win98SE, 384mb of ram, EchoMia soundcard and 2 drives) but I wouldn't try to use it now....
 
It would be different if he was buying it. But, someone is giving it to him. Maybe I'm just a sucker for FREE stuff. :)
 
12milluz said:
I can get an old eMac for free. Has 1.25 ghz processor and 512mb of ram-I would upgrade that to its max, 2gb. Is this generally good enough to record onto? I use a Presonus Audiobox USB and only record 2 or 3 mics at most at one time.
Click to expand...

I don't think you'd have any problem with that. The computer I was using up until 4 mos ago was a G4 PowerMac tower, 867 MHz speed :eek: and 1.5 RAM.

Near the end of using that machine, I did some tunes with say 8 MIDI tracks and 9 audio going at once. Then I went to master on to two tracks, which I do in realtime, and there wasn't enough memory left so I had to master on to a second Mac. That gives you an idea of where's you'd be. Here's how complicated 867 MHz w/ 1.5 GB got me: http://musicmusicmusic.cn/copshowa.html

Doing 2 -3 tracks like what you mentioned - I could have done that on the Mac I used before that, a 333 MHz 767 MB RAM computer, with no problem.
 
Dang guys thanks! I thought I had heard reports of people using even older systems like some of you mentioned with good results. I'm excited to see this thing run! Only thing is the ram is kind of pricey like $50 a 1gb stick- how would 1gb do for me compared to 2gb?
 
12milluz said:
Dang guys thanks! I thought I had heard reports of people using even older systems like some of you mentioned with good results. I'm excited to see this thing run! Only thing is the ram is kind of pricey like $50 a 1gb stick- how would 1gb do for me compared to 2gb?
Click to expand...

Like I said, my previous system was 33 MHz speed with 767 MB RAM, and it would handle 3 tracks without any problem. I was recording 16/44.1 at the time. I would think you'd be ok with 1 GB. I'd rather have 1.5 GB :)

Just a suggestion... Apple went through a bunch of OS growing pains. Apple pulled a bullshit on us Mac users: they made OS 7, OS 8, and the OS 9... and then they presented OS X as the "next one". It wasn't it was a whole new one, well not altogether new but what it was: Steve Jobs came back into the company and brought the software from the NEXT computer company to Apple, and they switched over to that. It was sheer hell and the first few OS X versions were horrible. It didn't settle down until OS 10.4 which is upgradeable for free to OS 10.4.11. I highly recommend that you use that version or something higher. You might want to search to see what version yours can use. Anything before OS 10.4.11 is garbage... it might work, but I had a zillion issues with OS 10.2.6 and OS 10.3.9... they were painful.

Here's a great site where you can see when your Mac was made, what the last OS it can use and other stuff on: http://www.apple-history.com/?page=gallery&model=g4cube
I think yours is the eMac (USB 2.0) made in 2004.
 
Like I said, it should run up through Leopard (10.5).
 
I've been on Macs for years - my G5 is PPC (no Intel here) - I have a bedroom full of old Macs and started recording on a Beige G3 - there's plenty of life in that Emac don't let the kiddies influence you - old doesn't mean obsolete ya' know - hell I'm 58 and still rockin' as good or better than a lot of young'ns... (just don't look as pretty anymore) :cool:
 
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