Posted on 05/22/2005 9:40:24 AM PDT by sirthomasthemore
Feeble minded, at least when it comes to computers. (I know- those who have read my posts consider me feeble-minded, generally)
I use a PC for basic word processing and Internet. My only other interests would movies and music.
Im looking at Emachines T2984; Celeron Processor 2.93 Ghz, 512 Ram to 2GB; 8o GB HD, Intel Extreme Grphics; 16XDVD; CD-RW 48X; 8-1 Media Mgr;5 USB 2.0; 1 serial; 1 parallel; 2 PS/2 ports;1 VGA External; 10/100Mbps Ethernet; Windows XP-
Its about $500.00. Is it a good buy? Will it suit my needs? Any other recommendations?
Any help appreciated. Put downs and criticisms graciously accepted. :0)
I would never buy a celeron. I'd rather spend the same to buy a slower pentium/athlon. A celeron is fine for light duties. But I wouldn't want to do anything graphical with them. There's no chance you'll regret a pentium/athlon. With celeron, the chances are pretty good.
Guide Review - eMachines T2984
10/5/04 - EMachines is a well known company in the budget market segment that was recently purchased by Gateway. Previously eMachines almost exclusively used AMD processors for their systems, but that has changed with more recently offerings including the T2984 budget desktop.
Powering the T2984 desktop is the Intel Celeron D 340. This is a bit more powerful version than most competing budget systems that helps boost the performance slightly. Matched with this is 512MB of PC2700 DDR allowing it to run most applications smoothly.
Storage for the T2984 is average. Hard drive space is handled by an 80GB drive that should be more than enough for the average user. Optical storage is provided by a 48x CD-RW burner and a 16x DVD-ROM drive. Also included is an 8-in-1 media card reader for digital cameras or MP3 players.
Graphics for the T2984 are average for a budget desktop, but that also means they are extremely limited. The integrated Extreme 2 graphics processor uses up to 64MB of main system memory and provides very dated 3D performance. Don't expect this system to be used for video games. Also, the system lacks an AGP or PCI-E expansion slot for graphics upgrades.
While the T2984 does have a bit of a speed advantage over its competitors, it has a hard time competing against itself. Their AMD based system priced only a bit higher offers a lot more for the money. "
I want to recommend a couple very good vendors who have been very good to me: tigerdirect.com and zipzoomfly.com.
There's a lot of wisdom in this thread, but I want to take special care to associate myself with one particular piece of advice regarding memory.
You want nothing less than 512mb of memory, and if you can, try to specify that all memory be in one stick (leaving an open slot for later memory expansion).
If you get a computer with two 256mb sticks of memory, later when you add memory, you'll actually have to delete some of your existing memory. EXAMPLE: If you buy a stick of 512mb, you can either put it in an empty slot, for the full gig (good), or you will be forced to pull a 256mb stick to add the 512mb, for only 768mb at same cash outlay (bad).
Better systems might have three or four memory slots, but most have two.
Hi Cow,
Sorry, my post 63 should have been directed to you. If you have an opinion on what you would create, I'd love to hear it.
Again, if it's an imposition, please disregard. You've been vert helpful.
Would this system at $592.00 be acceptable
17-inch CRT flat screen monitor AMD Sempron 3000+ processor (operates at 2.0GHz) 512KB L2 Cache and 333MHz FSB 512MB DDR (1 x 512MB) SDRAM (PC2700) Expandable to 2GB 120 GB hard drive nVidia GeForce4 MX Graphics 64MB DDR Shared Memory 10/100Mbps Ethernet LAN (integrated) network Pair of desktop speakers eMachines BigFix feature identifies and resolves problems that affect the system before they occurProtect your new computer from the unknown with preinstalled Norton Internet Security 20052 (Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam, Firewall and Parental Control), McAfee Anti-Spyware3, and eMachines Easily create photo slide shows and burn CDs or DVDs with the preinstalled Nero 6 software Windows XP Home edition operating system pre-installed With the Double Layer 16x DVD +/- RW, store up to 8.5 GB of your favorite video, music, photos or data 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager for: Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Micro Drive, MemoryStick, Memory Stick Pro, Compact Flash, Multimedia Card USB 2.0 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN (integrated) Network; 56K ITU V.90 ready Fax/Modem
ModemWrite max: 16x DVD +/-R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 4x DVD+R Double Layer, 8x DVD+RW, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW Reads max: 16x DVD-ROM disks40x CD-ROM disks nForce 6-Channel Audio Audio nVidia GeForce4 MX graphics; 64 MB DDR Shared Memory 512 MB DDR SDRAM (PC2700); expandable to 2 GBOperating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2 Preloaded with: Microsoft Works 8 software; Microsoft Money 2005; Microsoft Encarta Online; AdobeAcrobat Reader;Microsoft Media Player 10; RealNetworks RealPlayer; CyberLink PowerDVD; Nero 6 Suite
Do you have a model number?
Yep. W3052-
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1361631&CatId=0
250W power supply? Yikes, I'm afraid.
AGP slot means you can upgrade the video. It's the Sempron socket 764, which is the more powerful.
But that powersupply is anemic (should be 350-400 IMO).
Yeah, it'll run fine, it's better than the other one. But that power supply is probably going to wear out early from overheating, IMO.
Thanks, Pet. Will pass on that one.
Every component in the system will be close to the lowest cost alternative, which will probably bite you sooner or later, most likely meaning that you will be looking for a replacement sooner, say in 2 to 4 years, instead of perhaps 4 to 8 years. It will also mean that when replacement time comes, you will be just discarding the old box, not upgrading piece wise.
You get a decent price. My preference would be to go with an outfit that can provide more specific computer expertise, and to get a system that I can work on with pleasure. Working on cheap boxes like these is frustrating, like working on a Pinto or Yugo. Working on nice hardware is more fun, like working on a Harley.
But these are reasonable tradeoffs that one could make either way.
My biggest concern would be the eMachines name -- they have gone through hard times, and have been bought, if I recall correctly, by Gateway, who have a rather poor reputation of late. This probably means that the risk of getting a lemon - a system with an early serious problem that causes you major grief - is higher than it should be.
If you get the lemon, you will look back and say "I should have listened." If you don't get the lemon, you will look recommend eMachines to others. It's the luck of the draw.
Once you get at least 512 Mb of memory, the other hardware details matter little. Like cheap commuter cars, they all go fast enough, they all hold at least a couple of people, and they all get similar mileage and have similar maintenance and insurance expenses. Until they break down, it doesn't matter a whole lot.
What matters on power supplies is more the quality of the components than the Watt rating, so long as you have enough power. That box really won't be pulling more than I'd guess 100 to 150 watts, as equipped. Unless he custom builds, there is no way he's going to get a quality power supply anyway.
So long as he doesn't add a fast disk or a fancy video card, his problem will be that the power supply doesn't last many years, not that it is underpowered. A cheap 400 watt supply would likely die almost as quickly.
One would not choose between a Yugo and a Pinto based on top speed, unless one is racing them - a foolish endeavor. So long as they can go 70 MPH, that's fast enough. They will both turn into piles of rubbish sooner than the neighbors Corolla.
That C|Net review is evaluating the system based on features, price and performance. From that perspective, this is a fine system for the price.
The maintainability and longevity of the system, and the smile, or frown, on the face of someone trying to work on its internals, is not something C|Net could evaluate, or that they made any particular effort to evaluate. So, on those matters, their score simply means nothing, one way or the other.
If you went to the overclocking web sites, they wouldn't let this machine's carcass pollute their dumpster ;). Those guys expect to work on a machine, with pleasure at the design and robustness of the internals.
For normal (no serious gaming) PC use, this can provide about the lowest cost, entirely useful, solution available short of building your own. Even building your own won't save much over this, unless you're like me, and have a room full of spare parts.
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