A New System Question...

[talkitiki]

Hi everybody. I've been looking over this forum you have here and its all very impressive. I'm hoping you all will be kind enough to give me a bit of advice. I'm looking to buy a new computer after struggling with an old 233mhz dinosaur. The catch: I can't spend much money.
I'll be using it for school work (writing papers, making graphs...), surfing the web on a cable connection, and hopefully playing some cool games. I've listed a couple systems from emachines that I've been looking at. They look fairly advanced and cheap to my eyes, but I'm hoping to get some feedback on exactly what these machines will and will not do. Specifically, I was wondering if these systems are capable of playing the very newest adventure games. How bout last years? Can I get by with the video cards/memory? Which system offers more bang for the buck? Any alternative system reccomendations? Thanks for your help.

P.S. I am assuming I'll be able to use my old monitor.

eMachines T3256
Cost: $599.00
Specifications
CPU: AMD Athlon™ XP 3200+ Processor
QuantiSpeed™ Architecture operates at 2.200 GHz
512KB L2 cache & 400MHz FSB
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition 1
Chipset: nVIDIA® nForce™2
Memory: 512 MB DDR (PC 2700)
Hard Drive: 160 GB HDD (7200 RPM) 2
Optical Drives: DVD +/- RW Drive (Write Max: 8x DVD+/-R, 4x DVD+/-RW, 32x CD-R, 16x CD-RW; Reads 40x CD, 12x DVD); 48x Max. CD-ROM Drive
Media Reader: 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager (USB 2.0, Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Micro Drive, Multimedia Card)
Video: nVIDIA® GeForce4™ MX graphics (1 AGP 8x slot available)
Sound: nForce™ 6-channel Audio
Modem: 56K ITU v.92 ready Fax/Modem
Network: 10/100Mbps built-in Ethernet
Peripherals: Premium Plus Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers
Dimensions: 7.25"w x 14.125"h x 16"d
Internet: AOL Membership Included (Additional phone charges may apply. Click here for details.)
Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 ports (4 in back; 1 in Media Reader), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio-In & Out
Pre-Installed Software: Microsoft Works 7.0 1, Microsoft Money 2004, Microsoft Picture It! Standard Edition, Encarta Online, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™, Microsoft Media Player, Real Player, Nero 6 Suite, PowerDVD, Internet Explorer, CompuServe®, Norton AntiVirus 2004 (90 day complimentary subscription), BigFix®


eMachines T2984
Cost: $480.00
Specifications
CPU: Intel® Celeron® D 340 Processor
Operates at 2.93 GHz
256KB L2 cache & 533 MHz FSB
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition 1
Chipset: Intel 845GV Chipset
Memory: 512 MB DDR (PC 2700)
Expandable to 2 GB
Hard Drive: 80 GB HDD 2
Optical Drives: 48x Max. CD-RW Drive; 16x Max. DVD Drive
Media Reader: 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager (USB 2.0, Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Micro Drive, Multimedia Card)
Video: Intel® Extreme Graphics 3D
64MB Shared Memory
Sound: AC '97 Audio
Modem: 56K ITU v.92 ready Fax/Modem
Network: Intel PRO 10/100 Mbps built-in Ethernet
Peripherals: Standard Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers
Dimensions: 7.25"w x 14.125"h x 16"d
Internet: AOL Membership Included (Additional phone charges may apply. Click here for details.)
Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 ports (1 in Media Manager; 4 in back), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio-In & Out
Pre-Installed Software: Microsoft Works 7.0 1, Microsoft Money 2004, Encarta Online, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™, Microsoft Media Player, Real Player, PowerDVD, Internet Explorer, CompuServe®, Norton AntiVirus 2004 (90 day complimentary subscription), BigFix®

[saphalline]

The T3256 is much more powerful all around. DVD burner, faster CPU, bigger hard drive, better onboard video, etc. It's also 25% more money, so that has to be taken into account. However, if I were you, I'd start looking at some eMachines using the AMD Sempron processor. The Sempron is much cheaper to produce and will bring the cost down significantly, or you could look for a slower Celeron D system. I also see that only one of the eMachines you listed has the DVD burner. Is this important to you or are you just shopping around for now?

On the software end, neither of those has Office 2003, which doesn't surprise me. The big OEM's are getting reigned in by MS now, and I've noticed that even the more expensive PC's (both desktop and laptop) are only getting 90-day trial versions of Office. After that, you must pony up the full amount for the software. Are you concerned with getting MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel? If so, go through your school. MS always gives a discount to places and people involved with education.

My advice at this point would be to do one of two things. Either keep an eye on the local ads and wait for a good deal on a PC that would fit your needs well (this requires a lot of discipline on your part for the mail-in rebates) or go to a store that will let you configure your own set-up (this will let you tailor your own system but at a higher price).