eMachines Announces Back-to-School Desktops

eMachines has announced new desktop systems aimed at the back-to-school crowd...and parents who have to spend on gasoline rather than computers.

Gateway (and now Acer) subsidiary eMachines has announced a new line of budget desktop PC specifically aimed at the back-to-school crowd—with wallet-friendly prices that might be persuasive to parents who suddenly find themselves shoveling money into their gas tanks rather than new computer hardware.

“Choosing the right computer to best fit your needs and budget can be daunting, especially for students heading away from home,” said eMachines’ senior manager for desktops Glenn Jystad, in a statement. “These new eMachines desktop PCs offer a range of performance levels and features that not only meet the computing needs of students and families, but offer attractive prices that will appeal to today’s budget conscious consumers.”

First up, the T3656 sports a 2 GHz Celeron processor, 1 GB of RAm, a 160 GB hard drive, an 18× DVD±RW DVD burner, a 15-in-1 media reader, and Intel GMA 950 graphics. The T3656 also offers 100Base-T Ethernet, 5.1 audio support, 6 USB 2.0 ports, along with VGA and audio in/out…and Windows Vista Home Basic. Without a monitor the system will carry a retail price of just $299.99.

Next up, the T5274 offers a 2 GHz dual-core Pentium processor, 2 GB of RAM (but no expansion), a 320 GB hard drive, that 18× DVD±RW DVD burner and 15-in-1 media reader, 100Base-T Ethernet, 6 USB 2.0 ports, and 5.1 audio support. The T5274 still runs Intel GMA 950 graphics, but at least it packs Vista Home Premium; its suggested retail price is $399.99.

Finally, the eMachines W3653 packs a 2 GHz Celeron 400 processor, 1 GB of RAM (expandable to 2 GB), a 16× DVD±RW DVD burner, a 160 GB hard drive, no media card reader, but still packing 6 USB 2.0 ports, 100Base-T ethernet, and 5.1 audio support—but, the entire package comes with an eMachines 17-inch LCD display. Expect to see it available at a suggested retail price of $498.

eMachines has also introduced two new 17-inch and 19-inch LCD displays. The 17-inch E17T6W offers a 1,440 by 900 pixel native resolution, a 600:1 contrast ratio, 250 cd/m² of brightness, an 8ms response time, VGA input, and an anti-glare coating. The 19-inch E19T6W offers the same resolution, 300 cd/m² of brightness, and a 5ms response time, along with both VGA and DVI-D (with HDCP) inputs.