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Computer Shopping
After 2 years of frustration with a Toshiba satelite laptop I'm looking to get a new computer. The toshiba was the worst thing I've ever owned in my life I dont recommend them to anyone who is going to use the copmputer for anything that requires the processor to work hard. Anyway I'm thinking about getting an emachine computer. One of my friends has one and he said its the best copmuter he's ever owned. I'm looking for a computer to burn cds watch movies game and do some programming and word processing. The website for the company lists 3 models.
eMachines T2824 399.99 after mail in rebate Specifications CPU: Intel® Celeron® D 325 Processor Operates at 2.53 GHz 256KB L2 cache & 533 MHz FSB Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Chipset: Intel 845GV Chipset Memory: 256 MB DDR (PC 2100) Expandable to 1 GB Hard Drive: 40 GB HDD Optical Drives: 48x Max. CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive Media Reader: 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager (USB 2.0, Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Micro Drive, Multimedia Card) Video: Intel® Extreme Graphics 3D 64MB Shared Memory Sound: AC '97 Audio Modem: 56K* ITU v.92 ready Fax/Modem Network: Intel PRO 10/100 Mbps built-in Ethernet Peripherals: Standard Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers Dimensions: 7.25"w x 14.125"h x 16"d Internet: AOL 3 month membership included, click here for details Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 ports (1 in Media Manager; 4 in back), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio-In & Out Pre-Installed Software: Microsoft Works 7.0, Microsoft Money 2004, Encarta Online, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™, Microsoft Media Player, Real Player, PowerDVD, Internet Explorer, CompuServe®, AOL (with 3 months membership included**), Norton AntiVirus 2004 (90 day complimentary subscription), BigFix® eMachines T2958 499.99 after rebate Specifications CPU: Intel® Celeron® D 330 Processor Operates at 2.66 GHz 256KB L2 cache & 533 MHz FSB Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Chipset: Intel 845GV Chipset Memory: 512 MB DDR (PC 2100) Expandable to 1 GB Hard Drive: 80 GB HDD Optical Drives: 48x Max. CD-RW Drive; 16x Max. DVD Drive Media Reader: 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager (USB 2.0, Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Micro Drive, Multimedia Card) Video: Intel® Extreme Graphics 3D 64MB Shared Memory Sound: AC '97 Audio Modem: 56K* ITU v.92 ready Fax/Modem Network: Intel PRO 10/100 Mbps built-in Ethernet Peripherals: Standard Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers Dimensions: 7.25"w x 14.125"h x 16"d Internet: AOL 3 month membership included, click here for details Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 ports (1 in Media Manager; 4 in back), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio-In & Out Pre-Installed Software: Microsoft Works 7.0, Microsoft Money 2004, Encarta Online, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™, Microsoft Media Player, Real Player, PowerDVD, Internet Explorer, CompuServe®, AOL (with 3 months membership included**), Norton AntiVirus 2004 (90 day complimentary subscription), BigFix® eMachines T3092 599.99 after rebate Specifications CPU: AMD Athlon™ XP 3000+ Processor QuantiSpeed™ Architecture operates at 2.167 GHz 512KB L2 cache & 333MHz FSB Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Chipset: nVIDIA® nForce™2 Memory: 512 MB DDR (PC 2700) Expandable to 2 GB Hard Drive: 160 GB HDD (7200 RPM) Optical Drives: DVD +/- RW Drive (Write Max: 8x DVD+/-R, 4x DVD+/-RW, 32x CD-R, 16x CD-RW; Reads 40x CD, 12x DVD); 48x Max. CD-ROM Drive Media Reader: 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager (USB 2.0, Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Micro Drive, Multimedia Card) Video: nVIDIA® GeForce4™ MX graphics (1 AGP 8x slot available) Sound: nForce™ 6-channel Audio Modem: 56K* ITU v.92 ready Fax/Modem Network: 10/100Mbps built-in Ethernet Peripherals: Premium Plus Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers Dimensions: 7.25"w x 14.125"h x 16"d Internet: AOL 3 month membership included, click here for details Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 ports (4 in back; 1 in Media Reader), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio-In & Out Pre-Installed Software: Microsoft Works 7.0, Microsoft Money 2004, Microsoft Picture It! Standard Edition, Encarta Online, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™, Microsoft Media Player, Real Player, Nero 6 Suite, PowerDVD, Internet Explorer, CompuServe®, AOL (with 3 months membership included**), Norton AntiVirus 2004 (90 day complimentary subscription), BigFix® These are all desktops. I'm leaning towards the eMachines T3092 becuase of the grapchics card but I'm not sure about how the AMD processors perform. Anyone have any ideas?
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W126 1983 300SD 286,000 miles and ticking Baby blue exterior Grey MB tex Recent work: Replaced air cleaner mounting brackets and heat shields Replaced alternator, fan and power steering belts Replaced positive battery terminal Replaced negative battery terminal and cord New Duralast Battery My car needs work. |
#2
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Well, if you must stay in the Windows world, why not get a Pentium IV machine?
I hear AMD processors tend to be better than equivalent Intel processors when it comes to gaming, but only on the top-dollar processors. |
#3
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That's my concern with the AMD processor but I'm also a college student so cost is an important factor. I looked at some dells but I felt like the prices were just really high when compared to the emachines.
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W126 1983 300SD 286,000 miles and ticking Baby blue exterior Grey MB tex Recent work: Replaced air cleaner mounting brackets and heat shields Replaced alternator, fan and power steering belts Replaced positive battery terminal Replaced negative battery terminal and cord New Duralast Battery My car needs work. |
#4
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I guess the next question is what's important to you: processor speed or built-in features?
Also: What will you use it for? Will you be doing any upgrades anytime soon, or do you want to keep it stock as long as possible? How long do you plan to keep it? |
#5
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This was three computers ago so take it for what it's worth, but E machines scared me off when I went into Circuit City and they had their Circuit City ad running on all the computers except the E machines. I asked why and the clerk said it just wouldn't run on E machines. Didn't know why it just wouldn't.
I've got Dells in the office and a Toshiba Laptop, they all run fine. No problems. |
#6
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Re: Computer Shopping
Quote:
How about Dell / Gateway despite the prices? They might be worth the extra couple hundred. For example, Dell has great service / warranty stuff, and I think they can even ship you a computer with Linux installed. How does the reliability of an e-Machine compare to other brands? That's more important than pretty much anything else; one day of down time will obliterate even the few seconds gained by a super-fast processor. Since these e-Machines don't exactly stack up against CRAYs, reliability seems that much more important. |
#7
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E- Machines are junk
Get a Dell or IBM, Gateway will most likely be out of business soon
__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4 2006 Mazda Tribute 1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity) 1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold "I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY" Semper Fidelis USMC 1973-1976 |
#8
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Through my freinds experience with them, emachines are pretty reliable. He had it hooked up to the network at college which is alsways a hotbed for viruses but never had any trouble. I'll look more closely into the dell and ibm models. The dells have seen that have compatable graphics cards to the emachines cost a good 200-300$ more and this is being funded by my summer job money so that is a big factor in this purchase.
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W126 1983 300SD 286,000 miles and ticking Baby blue exterior Grey MB tex Recent work: Replaced air cleaner mounting brackets and heat shields Replaced alternator, fan and power steering belts Replaced positive battery terminal Replaced negative battery terminal and cord New Duralast Battery My car needs work. |
#9
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I'd get an AMD CPU over Intel anyday. I build my own PCs and update them every year or so. The AMD CPU will do everything the Intel chip will for substantially less. Yes, they have a substantially difference architecture and they handle certain tasks differently, but you'd never be able to actually notice the difference in performance in similarly clocked processors.
Just my $0.02...
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Chris 2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package 2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options 1998 E430 - sold 1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold 1977 280E - sold 1971 250 - retired "And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon |
#10
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Thats what I heard. I was on the AMD websited and acording to their tests, their processors operated at about 105% speed as the intels. My laptop had an intel IV in it and was one of the slowest computers I've ever used. Graphically, What kind of performance can I expect from and Intel Extreme integrated graphics controller?
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W126 1983 300SD 286,000 miles and ticking Baby blue exterior Grey MB tex Recent work: Replaced air cleaner mounting brackets and heat shields Replaced alternator, fan and power steering belts Replaced positive battery terminal Replaced negative battery terminal and cord New Duralast Battery My car needs work. |
#11
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I went with the eMachines with the CC warranty, if any problems do arise they usually swap you for a new one.
For $390 I'll get a new computer every 6 months instead of forking out 3 or 4 K. Dell and Gateway service. This is only an opinion. |
#12
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Quote:
A friend of mine's a senior engineer with ATI. Works with the Radeon cards. The new video cards are essentially miniature computers themselves, working along with your main CPU. They have their own memory, chips, cooling and power demands. They are designed specifically for the kind of algorithms used for high-end graphics reproduction. So basically, if you want strong graphics, get the best graphics card you can afford. Any of the new AMD processors are a good choice for your CPU. All IMHO of course...
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Chris 2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package 2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options 1998 E430 - sold 1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold 1977 280E - sold 1971 250 - retired "And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon |
#13
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E-machines
Looks like MedMech knows graphics..LOL
__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4 2006 Mazda Tribute 1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity) 1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold "I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY" Semper Fidelis USMC 1973-1976 |
#14
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Is the nVIDIA® GeForce4™ MX graphics card up to par for gaming. I just need them to run smoothly and be crisp. I'm not asking for perfect shading illumination etc. Also I think the computer has another port for another graphics card if I ever needed to do that.
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W126 1983 300SD 286,000 miles and ticking Baby blue exterior Grey MB tex Recent work: Replaced air cleaner mounting brackets and heat shields Replaced alternator, fan and power steering belts Replaced positive battery terminal Replaced negative battery terminal and cord New Duralast Battery My car needs work. |
#15
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Just an idea... if you're starting to worry about gaming, it's probably best for you to save up and get a good system (preferably one you build yourself). It'd be better to sink $600 into something you like than to sink $400 into something that grows to irritate you.
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