e-Machines........ any good?

[AlwaysUp]

I have worked on two eMachine PC's and I now consider Pre-HP Compac's a cinch. ):

[TheStupidIdiot]

Ive had a old emachine emonster for years and its done its job quite fine. I opened my case today to get the graphic card out and saw that the powersupply was made by sparkle. Sigh cant get my new comp running yet oh well. I think that emachine should work fine for yah.

[racerbrownn]

after my first ibm aptiva p166 for $1599 in 1996, i started to build my own.
HOWEVER, when i price out the pieces to build a modest 2.5 celeron job with no new software plus adding the price of xp [which cannot be copied], i can't beat my new emachine 2.5 celeron, 40gig hdd, 48x cdburner with 256 meg ddram, the 845 gv graphics chip and usb 2.0 plus xp home and extra software programs and a full year warrantee for $425 tax included after mail in rebate.
at the rate pc hdwe changes and improves and costs less, putting alot of money into one thats obsolete a couple of years is questionable.
for average pc users, just how much pc is really needed.
if this thing pukes after warr, i may carry some parts on to another build or patch it up and keep going.
i was not a fan of the earlier emachines and other cheap pcs, but times change and this product seems to have improved to stay marketable.
it is certainly not for power users without mods.
the question is how much power is needed and who do you see for warr work on a home build. [that's a pain with parts from several different sellers.]
i still like to build my own stuff, but BASIC pc home builds are just not worth the money and time compared to stuff on the market like this.

[enhanced08]

ok guys, heres whats looks like will happen. my dad bought it already and its ours. i'm like 99.9% sure he's keeping it. i'll go and put it through a bunch of tests and put the results on here. since some say emachines have gotten better over the years i'll put the results on here, maybe they have gotten better!

ok then, what are some tests i could do? give me some links to some software i could test it with for a few weeks. i want stuff to test the CPU, HDD, video card, sound card, etc. i want to test everything!

[Mac Medic]

Just do the best test, Use it, and if you are happy, then all is well, and if you're not, well, I don't know what to say seeing as it's your parents PC. I'm sure you'll find it'll be fine, even for some gaming, sure you may not get 90,000 fps in whatever game is the most popular these days, but who really cares?. As long as you are able to acomplish what you need to, It is just a tool afterall

[enhanced08]

by the way, back to my question i ask a few posts ago. since i'm keeping it, can you OC an emachine??? it would be nice to get the most out of it that i can.

[RayH]

Best Buy has a $199 special tomorrow. Probaby can't get the components in the box for $199!

[jeffr]

Take it back!! e-machines are junk! Never buy a proprietary unit. EVER! By the way, did e machines factory really take out half the lightbulbs in their manufacturing facility?

[RayH]

Just run the eMachne stock. It's not made for any upgrades, let alone overclocking. You're lucky it runs at stock clock.

I only recommend them when they are on sale for belowthe cost of the hardware. That way, you can strip them and still be in the game.

[jimmyrules712]

Add in the best buy after thanksgiving day sale:

emachines system
2.4 ghz celeron (i think)
80 gig HD
256 MB DDR
Cd burner/ dvd player
price: $150 after $250 mail in rebate

emachines may have its downsides, but for only $150 its hard to say no isnt it, i meen that hard drive the memory and cpu together are worth more then 150

[slaughterbach]

I only have one thing to say, Get a dell for 800 or even an emac with some upgraded Ram for an extra 5o bucks will be good as anything.

[cdnref]

Originally posted by force_flow2002 Forget doing any gaming on an eMachine. They just don't keep up.

What!!!!! Medal Of Honour Runs excellent on my eMachines Notebook. Notebook for heavens sake, and only 32 megs of the video is shared. calm down everyone. Just make it plain and simple. eMachines have decent computers...I would compare them to Dell. One thing to mention though...their tch support has no Idea what the BSOD is. And they have a driver conflict with the HP Optical mouse.

[cdnref]

Originally posted by enhanced08dotcom by the way, back to my question i ask a few posts ago. since i'm keeping it, can you OC an emachine??? it would be nice to get the most out of it that i can.

Having owning one right now....I wouldn't dream of OC'ing it. NEVER in a million years.

[racerbrownn]

like you would ever beat a line of about 150 poeple standing in line on the day the doors open for that LIMITED sale on the emachine for $199.00 after rebate.........lotsa luck!

been there once....never again.

anybody that runs down a very inexpensive basic affordable pc just because it is proprietary without using it for what it is intended is not being fair.

key here-------------using it for what it was built to do.

don't expect a $400.00 pc to work like a $1000.00 one regardless of the brand!

for me to mess around play some reasonable games and have my backup and virus running 100% on the whole drive and not have lag problems, i can't build it for the price with the xtra software and xp installed with 1 year warr [cheap foreign labor hard at work].

if you want a high powered gaming machine, plan on spending more money [although a better video card might go along way on some of these cheap pc's [any brand pc]]

i know all about proprietary problems and space problems.
this time i decided to try something cheap with alot of hdwe and sofware in the deal. i'll see how it goes but if it lasts 1-2 years, it will be due for a more modern pc anyhow...not a very big downside.

i noticed that several of the posts that run down hdwe here have very limited total posts under their belt. please try and keep a open mind on some of the newer high value pc's out there as someone posted earlier, if they don't improve, they will probably just go away and this brand is still plugging away.

[consider the possible lack of extra lighting at the factory as cost saving to keep the bottom line lower if true. heck, this builder could go belly up tomorrow but for all the hdwe and software i have gotten, i'm still happy]

i however do not condone putting alot of money into a cheap builders high line pc's as that is alot more to lose.

use your own judgement---from your own experiences.

[Carpedebass]

Good point racerbrownn. I think that the majority of the populous would be extremely happy with an inexpensive machine. That's why the eMachines brand is so popular. You have to remember that these people are a lot of the reason why most of us are here. Those of us that make some sort of living fixing these machines. I (for instance) do suppliment my income charging people 20 or 30 bucks to replace hard drives, cd roms, OS's, etc. Stuff that the majority of people in this forum wouldn't think twice about. But the general population doesn't utilize a computer to it's fullest extent. They are actually still quite leary, if not afraid of them. So an inexpensive computer is right up their alley.

[racerbrownn]

i like your signature!

[tyoung]

Remember when buying anything you need to buy the kind of product that is required for what you are doing.

eMachines are fine for what they are designed for.

If you buy a Ford Focus don't expect it to run like a Corvette, the same applies to computers.

As for Dell they are just as proprietory as any other boxed computer.

[racerbrownn]

i think dell may have a better reputation but when i checked out their specs for a comparable pc, they were high enough to where i would have considered building it myself.

[HAL9000]

Originally posted by racerbrownn i noticed that several of the posts that run down hdwe here have very limited total posts under their belt. please try and keep a open mind on some of the newer high value pc's out there as someone posted earlier, if they don't improve, they will probably just go away and this brand is still plugging away.

Well.... I'll take exception to that since I have more than a limited number of posts (not that I think it really matters) and have in excess of 5000 PC's under my belt from working at a wholesaler. I've dealt with good stuff, I've dealt with crap. I've worked for a guy that sold nothing but garbage, I've worked for a wholesaler and built award winning machines posted in a Canadian computer paper. I feel I have the experience to say that an e-Machine, or just as bad, a Cicero is a POS and I stand by that until the day that they stop flying across my bench with problems. Just because a few people have had success doesn't make it a good product. I know a person with what has to be the last spinning JTS hard drive in the world, and just ask anyone that knows about JTS for thier comments.... ask them if it was a good drive.... now ask my friend... he loves it.

[racerbrownn]

i agree with your point of view. [and welcome your input]
i know lots of things out there are pos and i'm not trying to brag up emachines reputation because they have sucked in the past.
i'm hoping for some improvement in their hdwe.
for a basic pc with warr, i couldn't build this for the same$
but then, i'm not foreign labor and i can't buy in bulk.
like i said earlier, i don't condone buying a high $$ pc from a marginal reputation pc builder.
if this cheap pos lasts the year without lots of warr troubles i'm good.
and about the lack of posts comment, i really have to give more weight to someone who has alot of posting experience
to show real interest and hopefully knowledge in this subject.
i never heard of a cicero and hope i don't soon.

[Redo40]

Originally posted by racerbrownn about the lack of posts comment, i really have to give more weight to someone who has alot of posting experience to show real interest and hopefully knowledge in this subject.

The number of posts don't always go hand in hand with the amount of experience someone has.

[cdnref]

Hals does

[Redo40]

Nobody is saying Hals doesn't but it doesn't apply to everyone.

[racerbrownn]

all i said was that i noticed that several of the posts that were running this post down had little history of participation and since i have made that statement, the replies were from post historys that show the potential for far greater experience.

i never said my comment should apply to everyone and it doesn't. if someone with 5 posts popped up with valid experiences of problems, i count it.

i just get annoyed when people like to talk quick crap and not provide any basis of experience for their point of view. thats a easy way to flame and not even be talking about anyting specific.

anybody can say something is a pos.
giving real experiences makes the statment more valid.

i will clarify my decision to buy this pos.

i saw it advertised with a monitor included for $475.00 with tax minus $50.00 emachine rebate for $425.00. the kds 17" montior retailed for $121.00 with 3yr warr, the xp software and ms works and money is approx $175-$200.00 so i paid about $100.00 for the 40 gig hdd, 48 speed cdrw, 256 mb ddram and 2.5 ghz celeron processor.

there is no real down side unless it spends more time in for repairs that it does in my house. [i'll bet hal9000 is just waiting to see a post from me about problems with this pc but thats ok because i recognise his valid experience and i can take a few pokes in tease]

i am putting a backup hdd which i will copy the xp and all programs onto. if this pc burns out and i need to replace the motherboard,i don't think i will have trouble getting the xp reactivated due to repairs from mechanical failure.

my decision to buy this was not reckless as you can see, i did my homework parting it out.

what i really like about this site is that we don't have to agree, just be civil about our opinions and offer honest help if we can.

long live pcmech! and happy holidays to many posts and few !!!

[Jmantiki2721]

For the price of an emachines u can build a much better comp!!!

[Undead_Rider]

I think emachines just have a bad rep. You get what you pay for. You can have a 62 fx 26 raptor 9800 pro and great stuff under their name. And you can have that under a different brand name but same merchandise. Emachines are primarly built crap for low low budget users. but they have machines with same parts as a hp pavillion but u pay more for the hp because of them having to make higher end pcs

[racerbrownn]

somebody didn't really read what i just typed!

after removing the cost of a monitor, operating system and added software, how could i build a much better pc for $100 in hdwe!!

i can't!! i really doubt anyone else posting here can!![it takes mass quantity purchasing power [just forget about labor for here]

so, since you chose to stick your foot in your mouth, prove me wrong jmantiki2721[17 posts]. spell out how i am going to build a better pc for $300.00 including xp home and ms works and money. i won't even hold you to the 1 year parts and labor warr i got on this deal. but it has to have a celeron 2.5, 256 ddram, 48xcdrw and 40 gig hdd,lan and modem.

lotsa luck!

i have built several pc's for my own personal use but xp and newer versions of works and money etc still cost and no i cannot build a better pc for the same amount of cash reserved for hdwe after buying the current software [hell, a big part of the reason for not building this time was because i wanted newer software and a newer pc and the numbers didn't add up to this prebuilt!]

i use this pc for email, internet browsing, some word processing, very few games....how much pc do i really need?

anybody can dump alot of cash into a box and have a powerful pc that they might not use more than 1/2 of it's potential. except for bragging rites, what's the point of that?

build or buy according to each individuals needs.

i realized what i needed and with my limited experience, still feel up to this pos challenge. time will tell if it kicks my a** but my down side couldn't be much smaller.

i wouldn't be quick to recommend this cheap of a pc to someone with no repair experience.

we're having fun now!

[borax56]

I totally agree with racerbrownn! As I stated in my earlier post I did have to double the memory and add a video card to my dad's Emachine,but I could'nt have built him one for the 360.00 this machine cost! If anyone can build a "much better" machine for the same money then my hats off to you.

[enhanced08]

ok, i think we are starting to get back into a "no, this is better." type thread. what i understand so with emachines is that they are built for the person who checks email and types letters. if you want to do more than that, spend some money to get a niceer one that will perform better. am i right?

[jimmyrules712]

Originally posted by racerbrownn like you would ever beat a line of about 150 poeple standing in line on the day the doors open for that LIMITED sale on the emachine for $199.00 after rebate.........lotsa luck! been there once....never again.

haha i did it, got there at 4:30 am, wal ike 60th in line, and i got the PC (by the way i miss posted the specs earlier, it was a celeron 2.6 ghz, 80 gig HD, dvd player, cd burner, win xp home, 512 mb of ram (yes 512, best buy gaves us a 256 mb upgrade for only $15), all for a total of $215 after rebate. Emachines or not thats a deal, the hard drive, ram, and other parts alone make it worth it, and i set up the system when we got home, it flys, now would i pay its original full price of like $450 to $500? Probably not.