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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: edamo who wrote (113175)	3/29/1999 12:49:00 PM
From: Eggolas Moria	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

You make some very good points, which is why I find the eMachine story quite intriguing. When Dell first started with PC's Unlimited (my first machine was in 1988), it undersold the higher-priced competitors who were unwilling to lower their sales prices for a variety of reasons. That permitted Dell to gain a foothold. Indeed, even as recently as a couple of years ago, a Dell system was less expensive than a comparably equipped brand name system sold at retail such as at CompUSA. But something appears to be changing. eMachines is selling the cyrix-based units and the AMD K2 units under $1,000 are being bought by small businesses, but the really interesting area to me is the Celeron-based CPU's. Here, eMachines is using some quality components, including an ATI Rage AGP with 4 MB RAM, a 5x DVD and a Celeron 366 MHz (soon to be a 433) for $599 (after rebate of $50). I don't really care about keyboards, since I buy an IBM keyboard at CompUSA. They're fairly inexpensive. Keep in mind that a number of CNET and ZD articles have been noting the shift by small businesses to purchasing Celeron-based systems, which if I understand correctly differ from PII systems in size of cache only (128 vs 512). Is that correct? It just seems to me that one battlefield is shifting, albeit in its early stages.

To: edamo who wrote (113175)	3/29/1999 12:58:00 PM
From: Eggolas Moria	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

Sub-$600 System Surprises --James E. Powell emachines eTower 333i The emachines eTower 333i comes from Korea's TriGem Computers; the "i" in its name stands for Intel, as in the Intel Celeron 333MHz processor it uses. The eTower, which provides 128KB of full-speed, on-chip, level 2 cache, achieved a very good WinScore of 68--clearly the speediest of the bunch, with performance on a par with other 333MHz Celeron PCs. Its best marks were achieved on our CPU test (where it scored 30 points higher than the Compaq); its worst were in the AutoCAD test. Setup was easy, and the ports are clearly marked; a Windows 98 tour opens when you first boot the system. For business software, there's Microsoft Works 4.5, as well as the standard icons for getting connected to the Internet. Among the eTower 333i's features are an ATI RAGE chip for video (though it only has 2MB of SGRAM), a Seagate 3.2GB hard drive, and a unique design that puts one of the two USB ports and the joystick control on the front of the unit underneath a smoke-black plastic cover. This design makes it a snap to download images from your digital camera via a USB link. The eTower 333i's Desktop is organized for first-time users, with a variety of icons available--including icons to register your system, provide a preview of Works or run a media player from ATI. Unfortunately, users might be overprotected. For example, you'll have to investigate the online manual (in PDF format) to discover that you need to press the Del key to enter setup on boot-up, and even then it's tough to see all those status lines when you're booting. By contrast, both the Compaq and IBM display a short message explaining which key to press to view and change the BIOS setup options. That criticism aside, I'd put my money on the eTower 333i. It's well-built, satisfactorily equipped and a very good performer. Its WINdex rating of 7.0, boosted by great value, features and out-of-the box productivity marks, was the highest in this group. Its lowest WINdex rating was for expandability, but it does provide 2 PCI slots and a total of three available drive bays. For your money, this is a best buy for your business. emachines eTower 333i Bottom Line: Good performance and a great price in an attractive package Pros: Speed; serviceability; front-mounted USB port; software Cons: 32MB of RAM; generic mouse Specs: 333MHz Celeron, 32MB RAM, 3.2GB hard drive, 24X CD, no monitor Price: $499 emachines 877-566-3463, 510-770-8785 From Windows magazine.