It may not be as cute as the iMac, nor have the brute processing power of the G5, but the eMac offers incredible value for money.

Like the iMac, the eMac is an all-in-one design with the monitor, processor and other components all housed within a single unit. But where the iMac has a nice flat-screen monitor, the eMac makes use of an old-fashioned 17in CRT. This makes the eMac look a lot bulkier and far less stylish than the iMac. On the other hand, though, it keeps the price down to under £1,000.

Fortunately, that's the only sign of cost cutting and the rest of the machine is more than adequate. The eMac has a 1GHz G4 processor, which is roughly comparable to a Pentium 4 running at 1.8GHz. The G4 processor is also accompanied by 256Mb of memory, an 80Gb hard disk and a 32Mb ATI Radeon 7500 graphics card.

All this combined is enough power for most home users and the eMac will have no trouble with demanding tasks such as 3D games (yes, there are some decent Mac games these days) and video editing. In fact, video features are a particular strong point.

The eMac has two FireWire ports, so you can plug a digital camcorder into it and copy your video files straight onto the hard disk. Apple bundles a video editor called iMovie with the eMac, as well as a DVD recording program called iDVD, which can be used in conjunction with the SuperDrive to create your own CDs and DVDs. Other useful features include a network port and a 56K modem for dial-up internet connections.

There is a cheaper version with less memory, a smaller hard disk and a CD-RW drive. This slices £200 off the price, making it worthwhile if you're not bothered about creating your own DVDs.

Whichever model you choose, the eMac is ideal for home users looking for an affordable machine that doesn't make many compromises.

Contact: Apple 0800 031 1010
www.apple.com/uk