http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=W3644 I'm not exactly working off a fixed budget, as I'm spending most of my time doing school stuff. I have $374, and this computer totals out to be exactly $324.07. My question is, is this a piece of junk, should I save my cash for a bigger one? eMachines seem to be sturdy, I've had mine for 9 years. My current system is a Windows ME, so I need the upgrade ASAP.

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There have been mixed reports on E-Machines. I have one that is 10 or 11 years old (Win 98), and have never had a problem with it. It lives on my home network, and does email and text editing just fine. There have been complaints more recently about quality control and access to tech support, but it is hard to find a computer manufacturer these days that doesn't have problems providing good, free tech support.

Judging from the specs at your link, they are making compromises in reasonable places: they are using 2x 512 MB memory modules, so you would have to replace both if you wanted more than 1 GB. They also "share" some of it for graphics memory, which saves them (and you) money. The video card has just recently dropped off the list of current cards (PDF) at MSI. The 6200, in the same family, is still there. Note in the e-Machine picture: Display sold separately. The monitor in the picture might well set you back as much money as the computer.

Unless you got an advanced monitor with your present computer, you may find that today's software is hard to read. You may find a medium-resolution monitor (e.g. 1280x1024 on a 17" or larger screen) necessary for today's software. See: resolution.

I don't know what your applications are, but if you are in school, you might be interested in Linux. A 160 GB drive is big enough to dual-boot Windows and Linux. (On the other hand, if you're into music, video or high-resolution photography, nothing will be big enough!

As the world economy slows down, look for deals!

 

 

 

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I know there's no monitor. I have a semi-recent monitor, 1024x768. I can also get a monitor at Circuit City for about $100, and I got gift cards for there. As for my programs, I'd be runnung AIM, MSNmessenger, Multimedia Fusion 2(which runs on a ME, so yeah), firefox, and maybe some basic microsoft apps, like word. I think this is more than enough to run that stuff.

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eMachines is known for making refurbished machines. For that money, you could build your own new system. You could check your local home computer store. Most AMD machines are very cheap right now since AMD dropped their prices like crazy recently.

xboxrulz

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I wish I knew how to do work on computers, but I have no idea. i'm better off buying a new machine. I would like a better allaround computer anyway.

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Disabling onboard video Emachine W3644
This Emachine, Worth The Cash?

I was just wondering if there is a way to disable the onboard video on an Emachine W3644? Have found nothing in bios to disable it. Can disable thru control panel in windows but with the bios still having it enabled it shares memory to it. Have new Card installed and seems to work fine. Just wanted to get back the shared memory and remove the old video from windows completely.Tech support was pretty much a waste of an hour.

-question by Barry

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Well if your new card is taking most of the heat then why would you want to disable the onboard anyways if its working fine...im probally misunderstanding something.

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There are computers that cost about $300 w/ no operating system which are new. However, I can't direct you to one since all my sources are Canadian sources.



You don't have to disable the onboard video. Once you insert a new card, the onboard chip powers down. It's only used if the system can't find an AGP/PCIe card.

xboxrulz

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Are there any good british versions/alternatives?

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1) You can try getting another motherboard or what some shops/electronic outlets call a barebones setup. They're typically under $200 dollars. And you would get some a new motherboard, a compatible processor, and sometimes some memory. Other upgrade options would include a case and power supply if your new setup requires it. And then with your left over equipment, you can just move everything over to your new computer.

You can save heaps of money in the long run or if you don't want to purchase that new computer just yet.

2) On the the eMachine ad, It looks like they are selling dated equipment. You could take thoughs specs to another vendor, or pc shop can ask them if they have an equivalent model or if they can build a similar setup with their spare parts they don't need. You just may save more money or come out with a better performance pc.


Good luck yo!

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