The eMachines T5274 ($399.99 list, $609.98 with 19-inch display) closely resembles its predecessor, the T5254. Its design (or lack thereof) and price are the same, but its innards—specifically, the processing parts—have undergone a makeover: Instead of AMD/ATI processor and graphics, you’ll find Intel parts. The move has largely paid off, with a modest improvement in many test scores and a leap forward in Photoshop performance. This system is a good option for anyone looking to pick up a basic desktop.

The T5274’s chassis has the typical bland eMachines desktop look; in fact, it uses the same case as the T5254. Conveniently located on the black plastic front panel are a 15-in-1 media-card reader, two of the system’s six USB ports, mic and headphone jacks, and a dual-layer “supermulti” DVD burner. This still leaves room for an empty bay that could hold an additional optical drive. Also a PCI-Express x16 slot gives you the option to add a discrete graphics card (which you’ll probably want to do eventually). The T5274 runs a 2.0-GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 processor and previous-generation Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics. A 320GB, 7,200-rpm SATA hard drive and 2GB of DDR2 RAM round out the hardware offerings.

For more information visit pcmag

You may be the one to comment first. Please leave your message below.