The eMachines T5254 personal computer offers enough average computing power for the computer-conscious customer. There’s nothing spectacular about this machine, but the t5254 will get you through most normal and everyday computing tasks.
With 2 GB of DDR2 memory, you’ll be able to do some multi-tasking as well as run a good portion of the software there. If you’re into photo or video, like I am, then you’ll want to add another gigabyte or two or two of memory for better performance.
The hard drive has 320 GB, which is plenty for most people. If you are thinking about putting this computer in your family, then I recommend buying external hard drives. In this way, everyone can have their own space for music stores, photos, videos, etc. I bought this computer for my little one, but I still use it sometimes when I don’t have a laptop accessible and I added an external . hard drive for my use.
Although graphics cards are integrated, it is still Nvidia. The main part of your memory will be taken for video, but they will be rigid. Until the eMachine t5254 the game is not built. Sure, you can play basic games like Zuma, some of the Tycoon Games series and the like , you won’t be able to run games like World of Warcraft, Starcraft, or massive, graphically intensive role-playing or action games. However, you can upgrade the graphics by adding a better one with an available PCI-E slot.
The biggest downside to the eMachine t5254 is the processor. It is the AMD Athlon™ BE-2350 Dual-Core Processor, one of the lower end of the AMD family. In a world of Intel Core 2 Duos and higher AMD X2 processors, computers running single processors tend not to be worth it. You can usually find something with a little more power.
Some other features and software the t5254 offers are: a 15-n-1 media player and a DVD/CD burner. Pretty basic these days. For software you have Microsoft WorksSuite standards and a 60 -day trial version Home and Student version of Microsoft Office. You also get a “60-day” trial version of Norton Antivirus software. Windows Vista Home Premium w/SP1 is the operating system that comes on the machine, but you still need to upgrade Windows to get hooked up to the Internet.
For around $400, you can have a computer that can do some mediocrity for you. I recommend the eMachine t5254 for one of the same reasons I bought it: a first computer for someone who is just learning computers. My son is young and this was his first computer and while he loves it, I find it less advanced than what I need. This budget computer is good because it can be used as a backup computer or as a secondary computer.