Entered CNET Catalog: 02/02/2007
SKU: T5224
Manufacturer: eMachines
Manufacturer description
The eMachines T5224 desktop features a powerful Intel Pentium D Processor with dual-core technology to get the most out of your demanding applications and home entertainment. Windows Vista Home Premium makes it easier, safer than ever to enjoy all of your work and entertainment in a rich, new interface. Intel Viiv technology allows you to access, share and manage your digital media through the Internet throughout your home and enabled electronic devices. Enjoy more of your games, multimedia and digital entertainment with 1GB of memory and enhanced Intel graphics. Transfer MP3s, digital photos, video and more with ease utilizing the high-performance 15-in-1 Digital Media Manager, then burn personalized DVDs using the DVD±RW optical drive.Product summary
The good: Sharp new design; affordable, powerful-enough Windows Vista configuration; DVD burner and 15-in-1 media card reader give you lots of removable storage options.
The bad: An equivalently priced AMD chip would likely deliver more bang for the buck; gaming is not an option with the integrated 3D chip.
The bottom line: It has a sleek new look and it runs Windows Vista as well as you'd want, but we wish Gateway had taken more risks with the new eMachines T5224 desktop. This system delivers respectable budget performance with most of the features you'd want, but we think you can find a better PC for the money if you shop around.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 02/05/2007
Before we even knew about HP's Pavilion a1750e, we looked at the eMachines T5224 and its Pentium D 820 chip and thought that a similarly priced PC with an Athlon 64 X2 3800+ chip would be a better idea. We showed a while ago that the Athlon is faster than Intel's old-school dual-core chip, and knowing that Dell had used AMD to give its some strong bang for the buck, we wondered what HP had to offer in this arena as well. Sure enough, HP has a new line of Vista-fied Pavilions, including a $600 PC with the very AMD chip we had in mind. We don't want to say that it's a faster PC without doing hands-on testing, but on paper, it seems like it has a better foundation than the eMachines T5224.
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Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
That said, we were pleased with the eMachines' overall performance. We've reviewed only $800 and up Vista-based PCs thus far, so we don't have benchmark results for anything approaching an apples-to-apples comparison. Still, you can take heart that the eMachines was consistently faster than a laptop CPU-powered Shuttle, and it came within striking distance of the unimpressive but significantly more expensive WinBook PowerSpec T470 on a few tests. The eMachines wouldn't play Quake 4, and on our most forgiving F.E.A.R. 3D gaming test, it turned in 3 frames per second, an unplayable score that doesn't even warrant a comparison chart. Given its integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 chip, we're not surprised that its gaming score is so lame. So it's not for gaming, but it should get you through most day-to-day tasks and light digital media editing with little effort. Still, we're anxious to take a look at that new HP system for comparison.
Alongside the Intel chip, eMachines includes a 250GB hard drive and 1GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM. As our tests showed, that's an adequate amount for Windows Vista and even Vista's AERO visual effects, but we think photo editors and others will benefit from at least doubling the memory. Thankfully, there's room inside for more. Additionally, extra hard drive and optical drive bays let you expand the T5224's removable and internal storage space if the default 250GB hard drive isn't enough.
We're happy to see a DVD burner and a media card reader on this system, as they seem to be near-universal accessories at this point. There's also room inside for a few expansion cards, including a PCI Express graphics slot, should you want to turn the T5224 into a more capable gaming system. A 300-watt power supply will let you upgrade to only a low-end or a midrange 3D card, but any improvement over the integrated graphics chip will have an impact.
As we said, the eMachines T5224 features an updated design over last year's models. It's still a fairly sleek-looking PC, and as long as HP sticks with its boring old all-gray design, eMachines will remain our low-end aesthetic pick. The changes are mostly cosmetic, though. Gateway, eMachines's owner, made a point to show us the removable faceplate on the bottom half of the front panel when it gave us a preview of its new desktops at CES 2007; it may one day offer a customization option for the front panel. Whether you can ever make it your own, we'd rather Gateway find a way to make it less of a lint magnet: within five minutes of putting the eMachines T5224 on our Labs' bench, the plate was covered in dust.
In our reviews, we've called out eMachines', Dell's, and HP's remote tech-support capabilities, which let you hand over control of your mouse to a company tech for fixing problems that you're not sure about, ever since those companies introduced this plan for their systems. We remain fans of that service today, as it seems to be a feature only large companies have the resources to offer. We're glad that Gateway, among the others, continues to offer customers this functionality with its current desktops, as well. In addition, the eMachines T5224 comes with a year of parts-and-labor coverage. You also get e-mail-based support and phone-based help, but the latter is a toll call outside of the 408 area code. While not 24/7, its seven day, 5 a.m. to 12 noon PT operating hours are still fairly generous.
System configurations:
Dell Dimension E521
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.6GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+; 2,048MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro HyperMemory graphics card; 320GB Western Digital 7,200rpm hard drive
eMachines T5224
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium D 820; 1GB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 224MB (shared) Intel GMA 950 graphics chip; 250GB 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive
iBuyPower Value 640
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6400; 1,024MB DDR2 533MHz SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600GS graphics card; 320GB 7,200rpm Seagate hard drive
Shuttle XPC X200M
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.66GHz Intel T2300 Core 2 Duo; 1,024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Intel 950 GMA graphics chip; 250GB 7,200rpm Seagate Barracuda hard drive
WinBook PowerSpec T470
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6300; 2,048MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics card; 300GB 7,200rpm Samsung hard drive
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5out of 5 user reviews
With me upgrading to 2 gigs of ram - ok - bad sound tho
Pros: Ok - fast over all. Looks great - card reader is super if u do pics.
speakers are great for cheap
over all performance is quick - upgrades are not too expensive
Vista runs all my other stuff - external hdd -does tell me it will but it does.
Cons: They got their last dollar from me. This Emachines has no internal record and said the sound was by Sigma Tell it is by IDT and - - restrictions are built in on the mo bo to keep me from recording and then playing music in an only share chat.
TIGER DIRECT helped me out - Big time - they send two sound cards free - upper end cards. Tiger Direct should sue Emachine's for lying.
While I could have sent the machine back - I had sold the old ram when I put in the new and my friend would have been crushed so I let it go.
Emachine's are well known for their nasty way on the phone. They said they would give me a fix if I signed up for their extra warranty. This is illegal here but I figure they will get their's down the road.
As for working other than the sound problems and the months it took me to get the work around it is ok.
I have to balance the price for what I got and that way it is ok - but nothing will make me but from them again as my guarantee is still good but they just spew how it isn't. Thing is - I get the last laugh as I can spend my money with TIGER DIRECT and avoid Emachine's and their junk and their other partner - gateway and spend my money where I want.
If you want a machine and do need all your sound capability's and you don't mind being talked down to -- then go for one of these.
Just remember where it came from - some very rude people.
out of 5 user reviews
GREAT COMPUTER, Few problems
Pros: Fast, easy to use, Windows Vista, Dvd burner
Cons: The power supply runs very warm, only expandable to 2 Gigs of ram
out of 5 user reviews
Consider very closely
Pros: Quiet, easy set up
Cons: Not too sure about Vista
out of 5 user reviews
Nice But Runs "Too Warm"
Pros: Good PC For The $$$$'s
Cons: Intel Duo Runs Hot
out of 5 user reviews
Best deal out there...
Pros: A minimal dual core gaming processor, but it will hold its ground. Decent amount of RAM, and a decent chipset with 2 PCI, 1 PCI 1X, and 1 PCI 16X
Cons: no monitor and not configurable, max 2 gigs RAM
If you can wait at all! Please do. eMachines is comming out with a newer model with the same basic things except for 1 difference. The processor! It will be a Pentium D 925 instead of a Pentium D 820
