eMachines, now part of the Acer computer family based mostly in Irvine, finally offers up a PC just $2 shy of $300. It’s a 25 percent price drop from its $399 price tag that eMachines slapped onto PCs 10 years ago, which changed the entire price scene of the PC market. Until now.
Its first small desktop computer, the EL1200 Desktop Series PC, is an interesting offering for the brand, which isn’t known for its pretty PCs. But this must be different. Even the press release calls it ’stylish.”
eMachines has come out with sub $399 PCs before but those usually had lesser hardware and weren’t that interesting. The brand started in Irvine, was later acquired by Gateway, which in turn was acquired by Acer last year. eMachines and Gateway are now brands of Acer.
All I can say is - About time! eMachines should have led the latest trend of budget-priced PCs (see “Netbooks everywhere. Do consumers really want them?“). The small form factor has already been done by everyone else, including Gateway. Dell has really nice-looking ones in the $599 range.
Getting back to the latest machine … The EL1200 is “one-third the size of a traditional PC,” according to the company. It’s 40 to 55 percent lighter than eMachines smallest desktop. Yet, as with traditional eMachines, the series “pack as much computing power as most mainstream full-size towers.”
The goods?
It has a 64-bit AMD Athlon 1.5 GHz chip (OK), 1 to 2 GB of memory (can add more cheaply), NVIDIA GeForce graphics chip (not bad), 160 GB hard drive (the going rate) and a DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash technology (fun!)
A nice touch: a low-power 15-watt CPU that uses less energy than a standard desktop (let’s hope so).
Two versions are available now. The $298 is at Wal-Mart. The $349 version, which has a larger hard drive and faster chip, is at Best Buy.
The new eMachines EL1200 models are available now. The EL1200-05w, available at Wal-Mart, has an MSRP of $298. The EL 1210-01e can be purchased from Best Buy, and has an MSRP of $349.
Specs are after the jump:
eMachines EL1200-05w:
AMD AthlonTM 2650e 64-bit Processor (1.5GHz, 512KB L2 cache and 800MHz system bus)
NVIDIA® GeForce® 6150SE integrated graphics
1MB DDR2 memory
160GB SATA II (7200 RPM, 8MB cache) hard drive
18x DVD±R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring LabelflashTM Technology
14-in-1 digital media card reader
Microsoft® Windows XP Home with SP3
7 USB 2.0 ports (3 front / 4 rear)
$298 MSRP
eMachines EL 1210-01e:
AMD Athlon 2650e 64-bit Processor (1.5GHz, 512KB L2 cache and 800MHz system bus)
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8200 integrated graphics
2MB DDR2 memory, dual channel
320GB SATA II (7200 RPM, 8MB cache) hard drive
18x DVD±R/RW SuperMulti Drive featuring Labelflash Technology
14-in-1 digital media card reader
Microsoft® Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
7 USB 2.0 ports (3 front / 4 rear)
1 HDMI port
1 eSATA port
$349 MSRP
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Tamara 'the Gadgetress' Chuang
