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Skitter302
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Desktop Computer

Is this a good computer for the money?

eMechine

All the specs are what I need, and it covers every thing that I want to do.
PLZ let me know of anything you know about the computer and/or hardware.

str
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Review by PC Magazine rates

Review by PC Magazine rates this computer as "good" (3.5 out of 5), if their opinion carries weight for you:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2354621,00.asp

Mir
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eMachines

Emachines in my experience are made with low end not quality tested products. i have delt with shoody power supplies, unreliable optical drives, hard disk drives that die soon after warrenty but before their estimated EOL. eMachines is owned by Gateway and i would recomend them before getting an eMachines computer. aslo you can better quality at an equal price. look for refurbs.

NathanJ79
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No

No. That's pretty bad. eMachines are pretty much junk, like Gateway. Didn't know Gateway owned eMachines, but it explains a lot.

For the same price, you can get an HP at Walmart with comparable features.

When it comes to manufacturers, I believe HP > Dell > misc. brands like Toshiba > Compaq > Gateway > eMachines but I could be wrong. And of course this excludes the smaller builders and the premium builders like Alienware (who are owned by Dell now) and Falcon Northwest, but most stores carry neither as either will set you back many thousands (Falcon more so than Alienware, just configured a top-of-the-line rig for fun and it came in at about USD $12,000 -- shame it doesn't let you save the configuration and share it socially).

Here's the thing... At least with Intel (and I suppose also with AMD) they give you a name brand processor, and Windows, because they know that's what most people know. Everything else is pretty much bottom-line, mass produced, and poorly tested, from the motherboard to the power supply to the optical drive to the hard disk to the case itself, which is often designed to prevent you from tampering with the stuff inside.

For just a couple hundred bucks more, you can get the same thing on Newegg.com in parts and build it yourself, and have all name-brand parts. And I can help with advice in that field if you want to build. But buying a premade computer is cheaper and you get a better warranty, you just won't get the same quality. I mean, you could buy that eMachines computer, and I could build a computer with the same specs, and you could use both and agree the one I built runs a heck of a lot better.

So obviously I recommend building... but for buying, I'd have to recommend an HP or Dell.

Mir
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one slight flaw

I believe HP > Dell > misc. brands like Toshiba > Compaq > Gateway > eMachines but I could be wrong. And of course this excludes the smaller builders and the premium builders like Alienware (who are owned by Dell now) and Falcon Northwest, but most stores carry neither as either will set you back many thousands (Falcon more so than Alienware, just configured a top-of-the-line rig for fun and it came in at about USD $12,000 -- shame it doesn't let you save the configuration and share it socially).

Its HP/Compaq btw and they own Voodoo/Blackbird

quality wise i would go along this route for desktops.

Apple>Dell Business>HP>Asus>Lenovo/IBM>Dell Studio>Sony>Gateway>buildmyown>emachines>GP>chinese knockoff

for laptops i would go

Apple>Lenovo/IBM>Toshiba>HP/Compaq>Dell>Asus>Sony>Acer>buildmyown>Gateway>dowithout>emachines>GP

you may be wondering what GP is. GP is a brand sold at some electronic stores for REALLLLY cheap. you can get a desktop for 199$. thing is everything in its junk.

Darkbee
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Good post

Nice! Smile Does "stick your hand in a blender" feature somewhere in those lists, with regards to eMachines? Smile

I would also make a strong argument for building your own, but it depends what your goal is and what your level of expertise is. Naturally, building your own is not for everybody and it's often not the cheapest option either. However, at least you know what parts you're getting and have the possibility of making the machine more upgradeable.

Mir
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in regards to building

in regards tpo building ones own computer to help this person one would need to know space type and use of the machine. i'd personaly have no problem recomending this mobo for 300USD that now has slots for 4 hexa-core processors.

then agian i would also have no issue recomending a Zotac Ion FE with dualcore N330 Intel Atom and built in wifi which is an ITX based motherboard.

as for sticking a hand in a blender i would rather stick my tounge on the top of a fully overloaded capacitor from an Emachines than stick my hand in a blender. i need my hand Wink

NathanJ79
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Quote tags

Quote tags, Mir, quote tags...!

MirIts HP/Compaq btw and they own Voodoo/Blackbird

Not sure about Voodoo and Blackbird (???) but yes, while HP owns and makes Compaq now, it's like Chevy and Cadillac. General Motors makes both, but a Cadillac is much nicer than a Chevrolet. The engine and powertrain are the same GM quality, but the options are nicer on one. See also: Ford and Lincoln, Honda and Acura, Toyota and Lexus, and others. An HP is going to be superior to a similar Compaq most of the time. It's like you yourself went on to say, you put Dell Business ahead of Dell Studio, and I think we can all agree that an Alienware beats a Dell, even a Dell XPS.

MirApple>Dell Business>HP>Asus>Lenovo/IBM>Dell Studio>Sony>Gateway>buildmyown>emachines>GP>chinese knockoff

Oh man, you trust Gateway over yourself? Gateway has gotten better, I've heard, but I still don't trust 'em. And Apple, yeah, that's a given, but I was just talking about straight up PCs. Though I guess you can dump OS X for Windows 7 at this point, but for that money, why bother? Better to dual boot, especially on a proper Power Mac. But then you're locked into Steve Jobs' world (as long as you stick with OS X) and from what I've seen from iTunes, the iPhone, and the iPad, I want no part of that world. I like the freedom a PC affords. (I say this, and then I go and game on an Xbox... I know... hypocritical... but PC gaming is pretty bad, between anything related to Activision and Ubisoft's always-connected DRM...)

Mir
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always linux

Gateway is too cheap to use propriatary drivers anymore so linux runs quite well on them. :3. Also i suck at building desktops. i am far superior at rebuilding laptops (smaller more propriatary) than i am building a desktop.

OliverK
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current reports say that asus

current reports say that asus and toshiba have the best reliability for laptops.

I will never buy a newer HP. The old ones are great, but the new ones are shit

Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world

Skitter302
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New link

Load the App and Play :evil:

Skitter302
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HP

I have heard of many problems with HP and when i use an HP i have many problems. I will no buy one.

Load the App and Play :evil:

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