eMachines T6534 Desktop Computer
posted Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 by Andy Gore
If you’re in the market for a barebones computer, you probably won’t be interested in the eMachines T6534 desktop computer. Yes, its $449.99 sticker (after $50 mail-in rebate) makes the T6534 about as cheap as it gets. But with an AMD Athlon 64-bit processor, 200GB hard drive and 16x Dual-Layer DVD-RW drive, it can hardly be considered barebones.
Value. We’ll cop to having a certain fondness for eMachines. Yes, their computers will probably never be guilty of overt coolness or jaw-dropping performance. But when it comes to building a solid, reliable, moderate-performance computer with good customer service and a great price, no one beats eMachines.
Over the years we’ve tested several eMachines systems and they’ve always compared well to equivalently-equipped systems from competitors like Dell, Sony and Gateway. But perhaps more important, we’ve even acquired a few systems for our kids – the ultimate torture testers. And although eMachines has suffered unspeakable abuse at the hands of The Geek Beat offspring, thus far they’ve emerged triumphant at the end of each day.
The T6534 is an evolution of eMachines’ line of desktops, offering a few more bells and whistles than last year’s models. For example, the T6534 now comes with an Athlon 64 3700+ processor running at 2.2GHz and with 1MB of Level 2 cache. That CPU by itself sells for about $100 sold separately, which makes the $450 total system price even more impressive.
Other T6534 goodies nclude the 200GB hard drive and Dual-Layer DVD-RW burner mentioned above, plus 512MB of RAM (expandable to 4GB), 100BASET Ethernet, 56K modem, 9-in-1 memory card reader, 5 USB ports, 5.1 channel audio, keyboard, mouse, amplified stereo speakers, tons of bundled software, and NVIDIA GeForce 6100 integrated graphics processor. This last bit is a little under-powered for the target audience, high school and college-age students, who will likely want to play games in addition to do their homework. Luckily, the T6534 comes with an unpopulated 16x PCI Express slot for that powerhouse graphics card of your dreams.
Don’t Do The Bundle. While the T6534’s value pretty much speak for itself, we don’t recommend buying your monitor from eMachines. The company offers the E15T4 15-inch color LCD, which you can bundle with the T6534 for an additional $179, after a $50 rebate. Although the screen was bright and offered good color saturation, we just can’t justify $179 for a 15-inch display with only 1024 x 768 maximum resolution and a 16ms refresh rate. At press time, you could buy the Hanns-G 19-inch widescreen display with 5ms refresh time at NewEgg.com for the same price. The Hanns-G comes highly rated by NewEgg’s customers and certainly offers way more bang for your buck (look for a review of the Hanns-G in a future update.)
Geek-o-Meter: We give the T6534 a “8″ for value and reliability. Yes, the built-in graphics controller is weak and it would be nice to see the base configuration offer a full 1GB or RAM, but otherwise it makes a great option for students or customers short on cash but not on need. Just avoid the LCD – there are better deals to be had.
The Specs
Retail Price: $449.99, after $50 rebate
System
- CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ processor (2.20GHz, 2000MHz system bus, 1MB L2 cache)
- Operating System: Genuine Microsoft Windows XP Home (SP2)
- Memory: 512MB DDR (1 × 512MB), 400MHz (PC3200) Expandable to 4GB
- Hard Drive: 200GB (7200rpm, 2MB cache)
- Optical Drive: 16x multiformat dual-layer DVD±RW
- Media Reader: 9-in-1 Digital Media Manager (Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro®, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, CompactFlash, MicroDrive, SmartMedia, xD-Picture Card, USB 2.0)
- Video: NVIDIA GeForce 6100 integrated graphics solution Up to 128MB of shared video memory; PCI Express (PCIe x16) slot available
- Sound: 6-channel (5.1) high-definition audio
- Network: 10/100Mbps integrated Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
- Modem: 56K ITU V.92-ready fax/modem (RJ-11 port)
- Peripherals: Premium multimedia keyboard, 2-button wheel mouse, amplified stereo speakers (USB powered)
- Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 (1 in Digital Media Manager, 4 in back), VGA external connector, parallel port, 2 PS/2 ports (keyboard and mouse), 5 audio ports (2 in front, 3 in back)
- Dimensions: 14.25″H x 7.25″W x 16″D
- Weight: 22.5lbs
Software
- Microsoft Works 8.51, Microsoft Office 2003 Student Teacher Edition trial, Microsoft Money 2006, Adobe Reader 7, CyberLink DVD Solution Suite (PowerDVD and Power2Go), Microsoft Windows Media Player 10, Microsoft Digital Image Starter Edition (60-day complimentary trial), RealNetworks RealPlayer, Quicktime, Napster 3.0 (30-day trial), Microsoft Internet Explorer, AOL 9.0 (6-month membership included), Google Toolbar, McAfee Internet Security Suite (90-day complimentary trial), BigFix 7 (identifies and resolves problems that affect the system before they occur)
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