E-Machine

[MisticStorm]

I was walking thru Wal-mart yesterday and happened to notice a computer with a price tag of $500. I stopped to look closer. It was a computer called an E-Machine. It had Windows XP and a CD Burner. I"m not sure what else, I didnt' really look at it that close. Currently I have a Gateway Computer with Windows ME. I'm wanting to get a second computer to network with mine. Has anyone had any experince with these computers or know anything about them? Would I be better off just upgrading my computer for now and getting another one later on. Any help would be appreciated.







(BTW, I'm not sure if this is where this thread belongs, but couldn't figure out where else to put it. )

 

[Ecniv]

Its gonna have crap hardware to be honest. They can sell those things for $500 because the cut corners on everything. The only premanufactured comp I would buy, is a Dell.

 

[neb1211]

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
E-machines are crap. My brother has one and i have worked on quite a few myself. You will most likely have to replace the case and psu on it right away cuz it probably only has a 100-150 watt psu.

 

[ADZ]

POS mate, stay away, if u want to do any kind of work to it, you will have to get a new case, its a small TINY POS that is extreemly difficult to work with.

Im talking from experience here, but i nver bought one!

As far as dell does...id stay away from that too

 

[devlish96]

Its gonna have crap hardware to be honest. They can sell those things for $500 because the cut corners on everything. The only premanufactured comp I would buy, is a Dell.

this is soo true! youre better off upgrading your current pc,..than buying a new one than's potentially worth nothing. i also like dell and macs

 

[stormy78]

If you're going to spend $500 on a computer, I suggest buying parts and building it yourself. It's what I did and IMO it works just great. I stay away from manufacturers simply because they're so proprietary and if you try to install an OS other than the one that's on it, it screws up, so I would like to run which ever operating system I would like to on my own PC.

 

[Slam'n Systems]

Let me say something from experience...Many years ago before I could build PC's i bought a 466Mhz eMachine! It was one of the fastest at the time...and I thought it was great till a few years later I've realized what eMachine really stood for! One day the power supply just totally was fried during a game I was playing on the PC and realized how expensive eMachine Power Supplies were so my friend built me one and then I started building them!

ALL IN ALL...

I think they can sell them so cheap cause their cheap quality!

 

[darthparth]

yea they usually come with small amount of low quality RAM and the shittiest 32mb graphics cards not to mention a few other things

 

[MisticStorm]

So I guess getting an E-machine is a bad idea. I had a feeling you guys would say that, but I figured I'd ask anyways. I don't really have the time or expertise to build my own computer, and wouldn't even know where to start. (or really want too) I just want something for internet, and maybe excel and word. Thats about all I ever use on my Gateway. Maybe I could just upgrade to XP for now. How hard is that to do, and where would be the best place to get the software? Once again, thanx for the help guys.

 

[Alexander]

Just a quick note on the "build your own thing". (from what I have seen) If you know enough to hold a conversation around here, can read instructions, and can install your own hardware (video cards, modems, NICs) you should have no problem building your own computer. You end up with a better system for less money with exactly what you want. Check out

http://www.tcwo.com

These aren't the best prices on the net, but they have a great shopping cart on the site that will allow you to play with your configuration and give you an idea of what it would cost "out the door". (They are a local company for me and VERY trustworth)

As far as WinXP is concerned.. You should be able to pick it up for about $100 at any computer store. It's pretty easy to install as long as you take 2 important steps.

1. On the CD (and the microsoft website) there is an XP compatibility test program. RUN THIS. It will detect all of the hardware and software on the system and tell you exactly what you may have problems with and what you will need to make it work properly.

2. Don't do an upgrade. Copy off all of your critical data either on a zip drive or a CDR, format the drive and make a clean install. As with all of Windows systems, an upgrade is just asking for problems.