[composer4hire]

I am currently a PC user using Windows XP. No need to mention that it sucks. I have friends constantly tell me how great Macs are and I've been looking into getting an emac.
I am a college student and mainly plan on using the emac for music downloading for my Ipod, writing music with Finale and garageband, and playing games. I've read mixed reviews about gaming. Anyway, my question is, would this be a good investment if I get the Combo with a 512MB upgrade or even a gig if I had to? Thanks!

[Krusty]

I'd recommend getting the Superdrive model if possible ... 512mb is standard, 160gb hard drive vs 80gb and, of course, 8x double-layer superdrive would probably come in handy at some point during the life of the machine. Gaming won't be great, but it should be better than it was before with the eMac's newly upgraded graphics card.

Best part. If you are a student the Superdrive model only costs $899 instead of $999. A compatible 1gb stick of PC2700 can be had for <$100 (for a total of 1.5gb ... I know Apple says 1gb is the max, but the eMac will actually hold up to 2gb ram no problem)

I think it'd be a good investment for a student. They're built like tanks so its less likely to get hurt than, say, and iMac. And with the recent upgraded graphics card and full sized drives they should have all around better performance than a mini (besides the fact that the monitor, keyboard and mouse are included).

[DoFa]

I'm biased towards the mini. Portability is nice. I don't know if you are living in a dorm, but regardless the ability to unplug a couple wires and toss it in your backpack might make it worth considering. Then again maybe a 50lb eMac is less a theft threat since it is pretty hard to inconspicuously carry an eMac.

[composer4hire]

Thank you, I will keep your advice in mind when deciding my purchase.