eMachines updates line with new desktops, displays
By Conrad Quilty-Harper 
posted April 15th 2007 12:04AM
posted April 15th 2007 12:04AM
eMachines has a new range of desktop machines and displays for you this weekend with the T3612, T5008, and T5226 coming in with the usual mix of low- to mid-range specifications. At the core of the range is a selection of Intel Pentium processors, ranging from the Celeron D 360 in the T3612 up to the dual core Intel Pentium D 925 processor running at 3GHz in the T5226. The rest of the specs are relatively standard with memory configurations bottoming at 512MB and topping out at 1GB, yucky Intel 950 GMA "graphics cards" in the entire range, a 120-250GB SATA Hard Disk Drives, and all format DVD writer drives, and 15-in-one memory card readers rounding out the rest of the specs. All of these machines run Vista Home Premium, and the top end machine will cost you one cent short of $500 with the lower end T3612 and T5008 priced at $349 and $399 respectively. Expect to see these flogged to bewildered customers everywhere from today. eMachines is also making available a 19-inch widescreen LCD for $209.99 and a 17-inch model for $179.99, although they didn't elaborate on precise details.[Via Mobile Whack]
When I worked at BBY, everytime I sold one of these I secretly wanted to scream "NO~ DON'T DO IT!" :{
70% of the time I'd see the same customer a few days later...
LOL... I can one up that jessica...
Everytime I worked at BBY I too wanted to scream "NO~ DON'T DO IT! :{" However... everytime (4) my brilliant Father bought one I DID scream DON'T DO IT. He never did listen to me... and he is still taking the last one back (the middle two died the 400mhz celeron "sort of works") Ugh I hate emachines.
I bought an Emachines like six years ago, and I have to say it has never let me down. I love it.
Same here jorge. I know a lot of people with emachines that have never had a problem.. They are pretty faithful. I have never understood people that thought they were crap..
I have had a couple of Emachines and they work fine for years. Years ago they were dicey but in the last 5 years or so they have gotten much better. Good bang for the buck I say.
I second that, the ones made in the last 4-5 years are pretty "faithful".
I'll be sticking with my HP though :)
Seriously, what's the problem? The specs on these machines for the price they ask is a pretty good deal. Granted, no serious computer guru or gamer would want one -- but everyone else? I'd recommend them any day.
Yeah, eMachines are ok I guess. They do perform well enough, and do great basic things. But they're not really stylish. It's a good computer to buy if you're low on cash, but just need to buy a computer for necessity. If you wanted a cheap computer that would look good, some of the HP lines are nice, and so are some of the Dell lines.
(coming from a computer reviewer)
My Media Center I built is a Emachine. It's on all day recording shows and has not ever broke or let me down. Got it for $150 dollars on thanksgiving too. HAHahahahah
who cares?
emachines are such peices of crap. i have nver heard if one lasting for more then a wek without catching fire/dieing/frieing a peripheral
CUSTOM BUILT. HOW HARD IS THAT?
It's very easy and efficient. Newegg.com ;)
The 17 and 19 inch eMachine monitors have been available since the Vista launch. The 3612 runs Vista Basic, not Premium. They're all junk.
I have to push these things daily, and while most of the people who buy them will probably not notice how slow and miserable they are (they honestly aren't a bad business system if all you're doing is secretarial stuff) I still get at least 3 customers a week who are there to buy a 399 eMachine because they want a "gaming system".
I used to be nice and say no you can't do that on here. Now I just let people buy them and watch them come back 2 weeks later out side of BBY's return policy and say tough shit. I'm done catering to morons.
The anti-eMachines myth came from the fact that they used to sell really lousy machines around 10 years ago.
Those were 'equipped' with Cyrix processors (remember those?), half as much RAM as you might need, the slowest hard disks on the market, and TONS of 'free-software' such as AOL, Compuserve, and all kinds of other garbage that clogged up your system.
Salespeople like Jessica tried to dissuade me from buying my m5310 notebook almost 4 years ago, perpetuating a rumor that everyone kept alive. Chances were, the chief reason people brought machines back were because they had 'friends' like Chris who scoffed at them for buying one and subsequently decided to return it.
Fact is, the parts in these computers nowadays are all A-list companies. eMachines doesn't make any of it. They just get a logo stuck on it for arranging the deal. In fact, the only reason my notebook died (after traveling around the world) was because the Western Digital hard disk kicked the bucket. But then that tends to happen when you forgot that you left your computer on, then stuff it in a backpack and run around outside on a 100 degree day. The Seagate that Best Buy replaced it with lasted even less time.
The only complaint I have is against Best Buy for not honoring their extended warranty by replacing my machine on the 4th incident (battery), claiming that the machine had to be SENT OUT for repair 3 times first. This was nowhere in the agreement, but I wasn't in town to deal with it by the time the warranty ran out, so my loss.
And BTW, my sister's HP also lemoned 4 times in 3 years. Sh!t happens and Sony makes exploding batteries.
Hey, Darwin. Battery replacement doesn't apply to the 4 strikes.
You have a part fail at least 4 times and the unit itself needs to be sent out on each occasion, so in-store replacement negates it if you decide to do it that way. It says this under No-Lemon Policy in that booklet. Usually no one even reads over this stuff or asks for clarification, then complains..
eMachines is a good computer for basic needs only, like word processing and browsing the web, viewing pictures and listening to music. That's about as far as it'll take you.
Usually the eMachines power supply will fail first. 3 instances of this in one day. The motherboard also fails often.
Hey V3ctor. That's the problem. I read the No Lemon Policy carefully and that wording did not appear in my booklet. Here is what does, with truly irrelevant stuff left out:
"After three service repairs have been completed on an individual product and that individual product requires a forth repair, as determined by us, we will replace it... Technological advances... reserve the right to issue a voucher... original product and purchase receipts must be returned to Best Buy along with authorized service repair receipts from three separate service repair incidents to qualify. One service request number, requiring functional part(s) repair/replacement is the equivalent of one repair... Preventative maintenance checks, cleanings, product diagnosis, customer education, accessory repairs/replacements, computer software related problems and repairs done outside the USA are not considered repairs... This benefit does not apply to Renewal PSP's."
It then goes on to list General Exclusions:
"repairs caused by accidental or intentional physical damage, spilled liquids, insect infestation, misuse, abuse, altered serial numbers or damage caused by non-authorized repair personnel... consumable parts (knobs, remotes, cartridges, drums, etc.), cosmetic damage and problems due to improper and/or non-factory authorized installation or repairs."
Nothing in the list indicates batteries or being sent out to a service center, just a service repair.
But they already had my computer and I had to leave the country for several months, so what could I do?
My power supply was made by LiteON and never failed, despite being used in 5 different countries. The motherboard is Arima and that never failed. Considering that I didn't play any 3D games on it and actually included 512MB of RAM stock at a time when most computers had 256, it was actually more than I needed. The only issue I had was USB integration into the motherboard, which occasionally caused Delayed Write Failed errors, but I see that as a motherboard mfr issue.
well tell u what... its funny how people "think" they know whats in an emachines as far as it being "A-list" components that is a bunch of c***. I am a warranty technician for a service center which will remain nameless... none the less if you think FIC Computer is A-list there is something wrong with you and that being said that is the major mainboard provider for emachines today not 10 years ago TODAY... well anyway on an average week i would say i probably repair about 25-30 newer emachines units which are still under mfg warranty due to a very common problem of dead PSU (power supply) and MB (mainboard) i would way they outnumber every other manufacturer over 10-1 EVEN COMPAQ what does that tell you? plus anyone try to run vista on 512? if you do i hope you like waiting like 5 min for you computer to boot...
Poor George. But wait- he should be happy, lots of business, right? I'll go with several other posters and say I've had good luck with emachines as a solid, low-end computer that has just kept working for customers of mine. Just my experience- who knows ... you might have the nightmare of E-xistence George is bemoaning.
I would point out that you'd want at least a representative sampling here- so if George says eMachines coming in for repair "outnumber every other manufacturer over 10-1," let's look at 100 as a representative number for the TOTAL number of ALL NON-eMachines George has worked on. Just 100, that's all. After all, we're looking at "every other manufacturer." So, for every 100 computers from every manufacturer George works on, there are 1000 defective eMachines.
Sounds real reasonable, doesn't it?
I dont see the problem with emachines i've had one for about 5 years and its still running strong the only problem i had were with the speakers that went out two year after i bought it... so i think ill stick with emachines!
I had an emachine from 6 years ago. The DVD drive died within 3 months, and the PSU died after 2 years. What a piece of shit. E machines, never again.
The only problem I saw with more than one eMachine was a dying CPU fan, which is obviously essential, but super cheap to replace. Aside from that, I did see another one cease to be of use because the little plastic piece holding the CPU's heatsink down broke completely off.
This was out of about 10 that we had at work, and I figured the plastic snapping was just a fluke, so the only issue I saw with them was someone decided to put a cheap fan in those models. Other than that, they were pretty reliable. Just run-of-the-mill budget PCs.
Celerons... they still make those?
Since the Gateway takeover of eMachines its just downhill for them. The most attractive part was its low price while buying direct and leaving out the retailer. But when you check prices for those 19" and 17" screens they are priced to high. You can buy monitors with better specs from a local retailer such as Costco or Sams any day.
Pentium D and Celeron? Pass.
My first Windows machine was an eMachine a couple years ago. It was a great start. Incredibly cheap and easy to upgrade with a roomy case that allowed me to take the machine to the level of performance I wanted for significantly less than buying and assembling the same parts from Newegg. Of course, I had to deal with loss of pride every time someone saw my "eMachine" but the bottom line is that it got me through the door for next to nothing and gave me a lot of fun and freedom.
My friends that tell me horror stories about their grandma's eMachine are referencing parts and machines from 5+ years ago. It's just not the same company or product. They're starter computers, and they're priced accordingly.
I would just like to say (without malice or contention) for those of you who have had a good experience with Emachine, Bravo, you lucky bastards! out of 4 machines, only one is "slightly" working. that one is probably going on 5 or 6 years (I say slightly, because if I sit down and try to work on it, its so slow, I end up cussing, and hitting way too many buttons waiting for the START menu to pop up....) anyway. The brand new emachine sitting at my house (A year and a Half old) has been to Best Buy Twice... they have replaced both the MOBO and the PSU to no avail. my mom uses this computer for BASIC internet, and freecell :-p. it routinely locks up on her. and I KNOW there are others out there with my experience. Again, you guys that don't have a problem with emachines, "Lucky!"
All the major computer manufacturers have undergone some form of redesign since Vista has come out. The new HP's aren't bad to look at, the new Gateway's have someone risen in the looks department as well. All but Vaio's, really.
But as far as eMachines lasting, working on the Geek Squad, I see at least one or two a week come through our store that has had either a power supply, motherboard, or both fail. But then it amazes me to see a few eMachines laptops come through, still kicking around...
And the new retail Acer's, they aren't anything to gawk at. Out of every three we sell, two are returned, and that goes for the Acer laptops especially!
I find the emachine threads kinda like mac vs. pc threads. Lots of anecdotals and lots of preformed opinions. all computers can break, every make has machines that have problems. Is it higher for emachines--maybe. I know early on that seemed to be true, but there seems to be some revamping.
As someone who's assembled his own machines off and on for almost 20 years, I bought an emachines T3085 4 or 5 years ago for around $399 after rebates (all came through). the spec to price ratio was very high.
It's been mostly flawless for me for throughout. The DVD burner weirdly conked out a year ago and just as I was about to replace it, it worked again. go figure. otherwise...
shop wisely and best of luck.
I am going to echo exactly all the E-Machines gripes. They are completely junk! I have advised friends not to buy these from my experiences working in Repair Centres as we used to see, without fail, at least 40-50 E-Machines per WEEK all with blown PSU's or motherboard capacitors. As most of the E-Machines PSU's were proprietory size the customer used to have to make a decision and either replace the chassis & PSU or go for an upgrade, either of which was equal to almost what they paid for the system in the first place including labour charges.
I have had 2 friends from the same family recently buy E-Machines systems & one of them has had to send the base unit back 7 times now since October due to hardware failures (and the base unit has been exchanged completely already once), the other person of the family has had nothing but problems with theirs as well (and not all user related). They were both sold systems that were not what was they asked for by the staff at stores either, yet the stores refund or exchange policy has small print in it stating that once the software has been registered or activated then they are up the creek without a paddle & everything then reverts to E-Machines (whom obviously did not sell the customer the system in the first place).
just build a real computer and be done with it, unless it's a laptop there is no reason to buy a POS prebuilt box.