eMachine eOne 433
- — 21 January, 2000 10:40
Translucent and looking strikingly similar to Apple's popular Bondi Blue iMac, the eOne will set you back just $2299.
The all-in-one eOne incorporates a 433MHz Intel Celeron processor, 64MB SDRAM, 15in (14in viewable) display, 6.4GB hard drive, 24x CD-ROM, a floppy drive, 3D PCI audio card, and an 8MB ATI Rage XL 2x AGP graphics card. Add to this your standard PC ports such as PS/2, parallel, serial and two USBs, plus a game/MIDI port along with two PCMCIA slots, and you have a machine able to handle all but the most stringent of tasks. The PCMCIA slots can be used with digital cameras or for adding expansion cards - something more commonly found on notebooks. The inclusion of an internal 56Kbps V.90 modem, a 10Mbps Ethernet connector, and a second phone jack complete a well rounded system. This second jack - a built-in 1Mbps Intel Any Point Home Network port - allows multiple PCs to share files, printers and even an Internet connection at the same time.
Set up of the eOne is a breeze. Finding the right port for the matching "cool blue" translucent mouse and keyboard is as simple as comparing colour codes. The keyboard even features one-touch Internet, e-mail and sleep buttons. On starting up, we were met with a tutorial on topics such as mouse use and Windows 98.
The eOne's biggest drawback is the fact that it is non-user-serviceable. This means that you won't be able to upgrade your RAM or CPU in years to come. For those who like to explore the insides of their machine and tweak and upgrade as time goes on, this is worth remembering. For a lot of home users this really isn't a concern, for, by the time an upgrade is needed, it's often easier and cheaper to buy a complete new system.
A microphone comes built-in, as do the speakers, which are a tad on the tinny side, though a speaker-out jack fixes that problem. Speaking of music, the CD-ROM doubles as a stand-alone CD player - complete with a small LCD display. Another neat feature is the ability to hook up a PlayStation using the video and audio-in capabilities. You have a choice of standard formats such as PAL or NTSC and can even record the video input to the hard disk.
Although it has drawbacks, the eOne nevertheless does what it sets out to do: provide a compact solution to the entry-level PC consumer.eMachine eOne 433Price: $2299Distributor: epacificPhone: (02) 9906 1778URL: www.epacific.com.au
