Avoid Emachines!

In the last 3 or 4 months I have seen numerous posts by people with problems with emachines. These are some of the most cheaply made and shoddy quality computers around. They are similiar in poor quality to some alienware models (now bought by DELL). It is interesting to note emachines is buying Gateway. So you may need to avoid Gateways in the future.

Please save yourself a headache and avoid emachines. I have seen quite a few posts regarding blown-out PSUs (taking motherboards along with it), shoddy motherboards, bad auxillary components, etc....

You get what you pay for. Super cheap = super poor quality. Save yourself the trouble and spend a few extra dollars for a more reliable brand or better yet, build a computer yourself - it's not that hard to do, and you can save a few bucks and learn about computers in the process.

I agree with you completely. In my opinion I would avoid any OEM systems because although it may have reasonable specs, you dont know wether the hardware is manufactured by reliable brands or not.

Of course, the best thing to do is build yourself a pc. Second best would be getting a smallish computer store to custom build it for you.

I really should make a thread which outlines what brands pf particular parts are good/bad. Actually, I think I'll do that now

Regards,

Korrupt

Ive heard that sony vaio's are of a very low standard aswell.

Not only are they low standard, but their some of the most overpriced computers that ive ever seen. A low-mid range viao is 800-1100

yes most OEM machines are cheap, but Emachines have been at the top of the list here at techspot for poor quality for quite some time. I seldom see much complaints about other systems, but Emachine problems are almost posted on a daily basis.

Oy Vey

You aren't just whistlin' dixie about those EMachines! The thing was crap when it was gifted to me and there have been numerous problems with it. Oh and you can buy one at Walmart now too.lol I vowed:approve: to never own one again!!! BUT when it fried I felt like I was at a loss:unch: So I need to fix it. Although we have a laptop and a desktop, the Emachine, as crappy as it was, was a gift. I will be sure to give the gifter my opinionpuke:. Have a wonderful day!

Wal-mart? Your problems started when you entered the door.

I don't shop at Walmart for several reasons.

#1. They support 10% of Communist China's economy and undercut Amercian businesses with ruthless practices.

#2. Most of their stuff is cheap for a reason- it's crap.

#3. I hate shopping with crowds and dealing with ***** customer service personnel. I was carded one time for buying an R-rated movie there. I'm 37 years old and look my age.

#4 Anything electronic there is guaranteed to break within 24 hours of bringing it home.

Hold on!

Ted I did not say I bought the computer.......read further..

I agree about avoiding Emachines, but many of my customer's are disabled or elderly. I may need to remind you fellow techies that these folks don't have much money. Many need to be congratulated for buying a computer in the first place. I have been able to replace motherboards and power supplies to get these lesser systems up and running reliably for under $150, and the customer's are very happy with their refubished computers

I agree with you magic

I have an eMachine T2080 I've been handing down to the kids. It's around 5 years old now. There is nothing on that system that is proprietary. The only part that has ever been replaced is the PSU. And I added an AGP Video card and raised the DDR to a GB. It has been running non stop now for almost a year. It's no performance bruiser especially with an ECS mobo, but the Athlon XP 2000+ is still capable of running anything the web throws at it. computer, 512mb's of DDR, 80GB HD CD-RW and DVD ROM's and the AMD CPU, keyboard, mouse, 17"monitor, and speakers for under $500 And they threw in an HP deskjet.

This isn't the only forums I haunt, and if I was going to pick a problem product, that I see more than anything else, it would be Asus mobos. Not that they are bad, but mostly not user friendly unless you have a bit more skill than a beginner and can understand the depth and complexity of their BIOS settings. As for stability I wouldn't hesitate to recommend an eMachine to someone who is looking for a value entry level system. I sure wouldn't recommend a Dell. Or a Compaq. This all, of course, falls under the IMO category.

sure there are always machines that work, but by and large Emachines are the biggest source of complaints here at techspot.

here's some more!

http://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?p=340539&posted=1#post340539

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic60043.html

I just replaced an Emachines for a customer, with a custom-built Intel Celeron D MSI configuration all for $350. I also have a Sony Vaio PCG-FRV37 in for repair. The CD/DVD R/W, DC power jack and the dual cooling fan assembly need to be replaced. These parts alone are $320

i think that this threat need to go sticky with big red bold letters

My eMachines was trouble from the word go, but, the worst was the lack of support. I found out here that the USB on-board card reader was a known issue. The Windows XP ghosted on the machine had errors which mostly went away when I created my own install disk, and then installed all the drivers separately. Now my bios is dead-ish. I have neighbours with 3 e-Machines and not one problem. Go figure. I have a 5 year-old Cicero (Future Shop built) that is so stable its frightening. I think I have seen only 1 blue screen in all the years I have owned it and it had a pre-release of XP on it.

I have one good thing to say though. Without this experience I would never have dreamed of opening the cover on my computer, never mind changing out components, learning about slipstreaming, or what a FSB was. So thank you eMachines for an education I never really wanted, but am glad I now have courtesy in no small part to Techspot.

emachines

i've worked in IT for 14yrs, these are the worst i've ever seen.

a friend asked me to look at there 2210 model which had stopped workin, just tried a new 400w psu in it.. no good. i'm gonna have to give them tha bad news tomoro. time for a new pc

im using an old cel566 pc i built 6yrs ago, and it'l probably be still workin in another 6yrs, unless its gone to landfill by then!!!

I don't think there is any room left in the landfill!!! Emachine's have taken up all the space!!!!

T-2200

When I bought my T2200, it was not just another "cheap" model.
I bought only the tower at CompUSA and the price was about $700 in the spring of 2003. It has a 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon Processor and it came with 512 MB of DDR Memory and a 100GB WD Hard drive. I really never had any trouble with it until the board died.

Have you found any replacement boards with a 462 pin Socket A made by ECS recently? I was hoping to find one so I could use my restore CD's or I will lose my XP O/S also. I was wondering if any boards could still be used with those restore discs without having to go back to EMachines to buy one.

Thanls for any response you can provide.

Your emachine cd will only work if you get an identical mobo.

Buying another cd from emachine would cause the exact same problem with a non emachine mobo, you would need to buy a non emachine windows cd.