New Computer - Low Budget

New Computer - Low Budget.

I have an acquaintence that is seeking to purchase a new computer. No monitor as he wants to purchase a monitor separately - a large one. He uses computer mostly for email and web searching. A little photo editing. No movies. No sophisticated programs.

He does not want a used or remanufactured computer.

My view is that the more RAM the better. There are less expensive computers but with less RAM.

He thinks that "Pentium" is better than AMD. I tried to explain that both manufacturers now make multiple chips with some being better than others with each brand.

What is your opinion of Intet chip versus AMD chip?

What is anyones opinion of the below new computer?

For US $398.00.



CPU1 : AMD Athlon™ II X2 dual-core processor 235e
(2.7GHz, 2MB L2 cache)Operating System2 : Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bitChipset : NVIDIA® GeForce® 6150 SEMemory3 : 6144MB DDR2 dual-channel (2 × 1024MB + 2 × 2048MB)
Expandable to 8GB
4 DDR2 slots (total), 0 DDR2 slot (available)Hard Drive4 : 750GB 7200rpm SATAOptical Drive : 16x DVD±R/RW Supermulti drive
Write max: 16x DVD±R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 5x DVD-RAM, 48x CD-R, 32x CD-RW
Read max: 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CD-ROMMedia Reader5 : Multi-in-one digital media card reader
CompactFlash® I & II, CF+ Microdrive, Secure Digital™ (SD) Card, miniSD™ Card, MultiMediaCard™ (MMC), MMCmobile™, MMCmicro™, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard™ (RS-MMC), xD-Picture Card™, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO™, Memory Stick Duo™, Memory Stick PRO Duo™, Memory Stick Micro™ Video : Integrated NVIDIA® GeForce® 6150 SE graphicsAudio : 8-channel (7.1) high-definition audio
USB SpeakersCommunications : 10/100 Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)Peripherals : eMachines® PS/2 keyboard and optical mousePorts/Other : 6 - USB 2.0 (2 front, 4 rear)
2 - PS/2 (keyboard and mouse)
1 - VGA
6 - Audio jacks
1 - Headphone jack
1 - Microphone jack




1 - RJ-45 EthernetDimensions : 14.2" H x 7.1" W x 16.2" DWeight : 18 lbs. (system unit only)Warranty6 : 1-year parts and labor limited warranty with toll-free tech supportSoftware :

• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Adobe® Flash® Player
• Adobe® Reader®
• eMachines® Recovery Management
• Google Toolbar™
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)7
• Microsoft Works® 9.0
• Nero® 9 Essentials
• Norton Internet Security™ 20098
• WildTangent® demo games

Price : $398.00

Jonathan_King said:

That does not seem like a half-bad machine to me. Who is the manufacturer?

This is a Gateway eMachines.

That machine will actually be overkill for the stated intended usage. For the stated price it seems to be a good value. From the eMachines site it is a eMachines ET1331G-03w. While there are faster machines available, this machine will be a screamer compared to the fastest machines that were available 2-3 years ago.

I think the limitation on this machine is that it has integrated video and I can't tell if it has any PCIE slots available should it be desired to upgrade the video in the future.

I love how the price of technology keeps going down while the performance keeps going up. This machine costs less than what I paid for my first hard drive in 1985, a 20M drive cost me $500!