I’m perhaps a few weeks away from replacing my Sony Vaio laptop that was stolen two months ago. I saw this sharp looking e-machine laptop at Costco over the weekend, and am wondering if there is any particular reason I should be scared of e-machines as a brand.
I am not a demanding user, and the most stressful thing I will probably be running on my laptop is MS Word. I don’t play video games. This is basically a desktop replacement that I will use as a browser 98% of the time.
The CNET review is generally favorable, and the user reviews were 63% thumbs up. Of course there always seem to be a few people complaining that this laptop fails to perform as well as $2000+ Dell. Well go figure, this e-machine costs about half of that.
So unless anybody has anything to scare me with, I will probably buy this and pocket the $600 I would have spent on a comparable Vaio or Dell.
I’ve heard nothing but bad things about E-Machines. I know someone who worked for Best Buy Corporate and he said the failure rate on those things was astronomical. When I was looking at computers, I mentioned that the E-Machines were cheap and he shot me down good and proper right there.
If your demands are not that great, I don’t see why you can’t get one of the Dell Notebooks (which start at a lower price than this e-machine) would suffice. I think Dell has a much better reputation, does it not? I realize that the Dells don’t come with all the bells and whistles, but they probably don’t have the same bad reputation as the e-machines.
(Personally, I’d get an iBook, but that’s what I’d get, so never mind!)
Okay, having owned an E-machine for a long time, I can give you my particular take on 'em. YMMV.
My E-machine was amazingly stable, and I had very few problems with it… UNTIL… I tried to upgrade. Emachines are practically -designed- to be un-upgradable. Keep a very sharp eye out for what your future plans are for said computer. If you don’t mind keeping it exactly as it is, I wouldn’t worry about it. Otherwise, I’d steer clear.
I used to do tech support for a non-profit that bought a ton of e-machines because of the price. These are easily the worst box-brand computers I ever dealt with in six years as a pro nerd. Not only does it ship absolutely clogged with junk software that you will never, ever use (educated guess), but the hardware is pure garbage was well. Ask anyone who works in tech support and you will see his shoulders slump at the very mention of this brand name.
Laptops are tough because there aren’t really any “clone” brands available, but I urge you to reconsider your choice and invest in something that works. I have yet to ever meet anyone who has been satisfied with an e-machines purchase.
Okay, having owned an E-machine for a long time, I can give you my particular take on 'em. YMMV.
My E-machine was amazingly stable, and I had very few problems with it… UNTIL… I tried to upgrade. Emachines are practically -designed- to be un-upgradable. Keep a very sharp eye out for what your future plans are for said computer. If you don’t mind keeping it exactly as it is, I wouldn’t worry about it. Otherwise, I’d steer clear.
I bought an el-cheapo E300 a few years back. Still have it, still works fine. The only reason it’s not my #1 anymore is that I needed a faster processor than a 300MHz Celeron.
As for upgrading, I added memory, a DVD drive, and a second hard drive without any trouble.
On the down side, there ARE parts available only through E-Machines and they ain’t cheap…
interface2x’s friend is right. I bought an eMachine from Best Buy back in 1999. Every single time I took the machine back for any problem they didn’t bother reparing it. They just grab a comparable machine out of stock and replaced it. Did that three times before I just decided to build my own.
We’ve got three in the family. All worked great. We had the E400’s id and idx’s . Not too configurable in the BIOS though. Upgrades weren’t a problem. The only thing that wasn’t compatible was the power supply. It’s the new small ATX type. More expensive that a regular 350 watter large ATX style that I’m used to. The front of the CDROMs are different than a standard flat face, but a flat face CDROM will fit just fine. I got rid of mine though because I wanted more speed. And the ATX case was to small for an ASUS board.
Attrayant, have you looked at the Dell laptop page that I linked to? Right now they are offering online rebates and a free upgrade to DVD players with some of them. The prices are good–lower, in some cases, than the e-Machine laptop. I think the Dell would be a much safer bet than the e-Machine.
Date: Thursday, April 03, 2003 10:08:12 AM CDT
Catalog Number: 29 19
Inspiron 1100: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor, 2.4GHz, 15.0 XGA
Memory: FREE UPGRADE! 256MB 266MHz 2DIMM (from 128MB 266MHz 1DIMM) 256MB2P
Hard Drives: 20GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 20GB
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home WHXP
Network Adapters: Integrated Network Card INTNIC
Modem: Internal 56K Modem 56MPC
Fixed CD/DVD Drives: 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive with Roxios Easy CD Creator® 24XCDVD
Productivity Software: WordPerfect® Productivity Pack with Quicken New User Edition ICOREL
Security Software: Norton Antivirus® 2003, 90-day introductory offer
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH
Primary Battery: 94 Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery LIION
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service
Internet Access Options: 6 Months Earthlink Internet Access Included
Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert® Standard
Mail-In Rebate Offer: SAVE $150 with mail-in rebate! System price shown before rebate
Dell Home Customers: Free ground shipping on Dell Inspiron Notebooks purchased on the Dell Home Sales site! -$49.00
All I’m waiting for is the check from my homeowner’s insurance company before I buy the new laptop. Then I saw this e-machine. I guess it was the cool “hotrod” apearance and widescreen display that made me reconsider. That’s why I was hoping to find a lot of people with good things to say about them.
Whatever I end up going with, it’ll have to have at least a 15" screen. Oh well. I still haven’t gotten the check yet, so there is still time left to think about it.
We go through a lot of e-machines at my company. Within a given model, the quality’s pretty consistent, but there’s a lot of variation among models. Some are great, and some aren’t worth the materials in 'em.