eMachines T2042 PC Desktop

Pros: Great Price - Great System
Cons: Support not Toll Free. May need upgraded speakers.

As a computer novice (took some classes on internal computer parts in college) but by no means a computer expert I decided on purchasing an Emachines. I was not sure I wanted this at first. I always hear, "you get what you pay for", but honestly I didn' ...

Pros: User friendly, very easy to set up & it looks good!
Cons: To get a good deal you have to do the rebate thing. I hate rebates.

When you are looking for an affordable PC that is easy to set up, choose the eMachine T2042. I did & I love it. The silver & black case looks so sophisticated & modern, everyone thinks it cost a lot more. This is the second eMachine I have used. I...

Pros: Rock-bottom price - good performance - attractive case - small footprint
Cons: Anemic 128 MB of RAM - No AGP slot

UPDATE - January 6 2004 In the time that I've owned this PC (Since I wrote the original review), I've been very pleased with it's performance and reliability. Yes, I have indeed noticed some of it's limitations, related mostly to the Celeron ...

Pros: Inexpensive- you can buy a more expensive machine and get the same quality
Cons: Can't find one.

This desktop is a work horse. I have never had a single problem with it. I am a graphic artist. I run intensive programs on it with no problem (yes I upgraded the ram and the graphics card). I do not have a problem booting up at all.

Pros: Inexpensive
Cons: Below average performance vs other mfgs similar configs,VERY slow booting

I've owned probably a dozen different PCs and the T2042 is one of the worst. Yes it was inexpensive but my intent was only to use it for my kids games and some basic internet browsing. The real issue I have with this box is the amount of time it takes to boot. On average it takes 8 to 10 minutes to boot!! I have no programs that open on start up, and there are only 4 items on the desktop. Any suggestions to improve the time it takes to boot?

At this point I plan on stripping all the apps off this box, and only having the kids games which require very little in the way of graphics. I'm open to suggestions to improve performance that won't require me adding additional hardware to this machine.

Thanks