phredgreen

last christmas season i sold emachines at costco... the e machines were the lowest-priced models we had, but they were also the most basic machines we had in the warehouse.

e-machines has had a nasty stigma over the last few years that is the result of really bad equipment, but i feel that they've really improved their machines lately, quality-wise. if all you need is a basic machine that dosen't have lots of bells and whistles, and you're not picky about the name on the outside of your box, i say go for it. they're not poweruser machines, but for someone just getting started in computing or someone who just needs a basic internet/homeoffice machine, i'd say go for it.

the one thing i'd worry about is the combo drive. i've heard some bad things about combo drives losing functionalities (dosen't burn, stops playing dvd's, etc...), but that should be covered by the manufacturer for a reasonable amount of time. that is the one blessing of buying a branded machine, most of them have some kind of waruntee for a year or two covering the equipment in case of malfunction.

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