eMachines releases five desktops for cash-strapped students

Even though summer has only barely begun, Gateway's eMachines is already looking ahead to the upcoming school year, having just announced five new Vista-ready desktops for the student on a budget. Starting at the "top of the line," we have the T6536 (pictured, with optional monitor) and T6534, which both feature Athlon 64 processors from AMD (3800+ and 3700+, respectively), nVidia GeForce 6100 graphics, and 250GB of storage, but the extra $90 you're spending on the $540 T6536 doubles the RAM from 512MB to 1GB and bumps the OS up to Windows XP Media Center Edition. Next in line is the T5046, which will set you back the same $450 as the T6534 but changes up the specs with a hyper-threaded Pentium 4 processor, Radeon Xpress 200 graphics from ATI, 512MB of RAM, a 200GB HDD, and the same dual-layer DVD burner found in both members of the 6000-series. Finally, the super-budget-conscious consumer has the option of either the $350 T3506 or $380 T3508, with the former machine offering a Celeron D352 CPU, Radeon X300-based graphics, 512MB of RAM, 120GB HDD, and a CD-RW/DVD combo drive, while the latter rig steps it up to a Celeron D356, Radeon Xpress 200 chip, 160GB hard drive, and that good old multi-format DVD burner. All of the new machines are available immediately, which gives you plenty of time to load up the software you'll need for surviving next year's vigorous academic schedule -- namely tunes, vids, and games.

Read- T6536
Read- T6534
Read- T5046
Read- T3508
Read- T3506
[All models via Yahoo]

[Andrew C @ Jun 27th 2006 7:11PM]

I once bought the lowest end computer they made, I would not recommend those. Although I'm sure it has a lot to do with all the spyware viruses etc that my Mom and little sister over the years have put on it.

That being said, I at the same time (this was about two years ago) bought the nicest one they were selling as well. That thing is still going strong to the day. Great computer. It has a 3200+ Athlon processor, 160 GB HDD, 512 MB, DVD burner etc etc. It was only like 600 hundred and still works wonderfully. That was a pretty damn good computer 2 years ago too. I'll probably pick up another top of the line in their series a year or two after vista launches.

[kerunt @ Jun 27th 2006 7:28PM]

As always, it's cheaper to build a better machine yourself.

[emmzee @ Jun 27th 2006 8:06PM]

I can't say whether eMachines are good quality pcs, but in terms of specs, the lowest-of-the-low listed should be good 'nuff for students that aren't interested in 3D gaming. Why would someone need more horsepower than that just to write papers, surf the web, play mp3s and IM?

[tiuk @ Jun 27th 2006 8:58PM]

emmzee - Exactly. People ask me all the time what kind of computer to get, and when I tell them they only have to spend like $500 it's almost like they don't want to believe me. Nobody can understand the concept of not having to spend over $1000 for a basic system that can do everything but the latest games.

[Paul @ Jun 27th 2006 9:38PM]

Couldn't agree more. I am constantly having people in small business (ie. realtors, insurance sales) ask me what to get. Their corporations, associations and such sell $1500+ laptops and desk tops, but they are over loaded for what they will be using it for. I can honestly say these would be fine for them, they are disposable (nearly) at this price. Hell, they could buy three of them for the price of the "starter" PC their associations are pushing.

[Superdotman @ Jun 28th 2006 2:03AM]

My eMachine holds a special place in my heart as the computer that made me give up PCs for Macs. It just stopped working one day, forcing me to use the family G5. I'm gonna use a friend's PC to get my old data onto the MacBook that will soon be mine.

[kattheworld @ Jun 28th 2006 9:03AM]

when I switched over to mac, I bought a titanium powerbook for like $2000, and I only used it for writing novels, IMing, MP3s, and surfing. so when it ran out of gas I bought an ibook for half the price, and even it has too much power & gewgaws for what I need. I wish we could all be more realistic about what we actually need from a computer, instead of automatically buying more just because we can.

[AJ @ Jun 28th 2006 9:10AM]

I have had an Emachines cheap desktop for 4 or 5 years now. I can say that it works, plays games, good with office suits etc. The one nag I had was that the Power Supply couldn't take 2xHDD 2xCDROM Drives, well that is easy to upgrade. Windows slows after about a month and a half anyways. I have had no hardware issues with it. I still re-install windows every 3-5 months due to my brother.

[Keith @ Jun 28th 2006 11:13AM]

That's not a cheap price for cash-strapped students. The specification does not even really match that of the some latest release. Judging from the market devaluation of the computers, those systems were like a few years old, and as such, depreciation happens. The prices may be lower than some of the retail price in store, but the specifications are that of 1-2 years old. Okay, but if you are truly cash-strapped, these machine may possibly last you for the next few years at least. Nowadays, people go for laptops.

[Hawkeye @ Jun 28th 2006 12:56PM]

I have the predecessor to the high end one mentioned in this article (AMD 64 3500 Venice) and it's a great system. I've since upgraded the PSU and added a 7900GT to the PCI-E slot and it performs great for the price. I've even analyzed all the internal parts, and they use high quality boards, disk drives, and optical drives. The dvd they used is a high end Lite-On burner. And there's a nice MSI motherboard in there as well. Only thing I don't like is that I can't overclock my processor since it's disabled in the BIOS. Overall a great value for these systems.

[Russ @ Jun 28th 2006 2:37PM]

I've had a middle of the road eMachine for about 4 years now, and it's still working fine. I upgraded the power supply so I could add memory, a second hard drive, another video card, and other PCI cards. I edit video, store all my music, play games, and generally use it up. I haven't gotten around to reinstalling Windows, but it still does what I need it to. My original investment was under $400 at Sam's. As some point I'll probably buy another one.

[Draconis @ Jun 29th 2006 1:41AM]

I recently got their T6520 which has an AMD Athlon 3400 which is upgradable to the faster version once those go down in price. It was a very good deal. It was fine for schoolwork and ok for gaming. One ATI X1300 and Soundblaster Audigy and a MadDog 400 power supply later, it is a pretty kick-butt system. After this initial experience with e-machines, I think it's a viable alternative to rolling your own PC as the cost is pretty close.

[web design uk @ Jun 29th 2006 9:06AM]

It's good to see some cheaper products for the students who are tangled up in loans and debt.

Great stuff

[Gary @ Aug 21st 2006 10:12AM]

Can anyone tell me where I can buy an emachines T5046?
Their website tells me no retailer nor online merchant is selling them! Need something quick! Thanks,