The eMachines T3646 series desktop computer is not a cutting-edge gaming system or your best option for photo or video editing, but it doesn't pretend to be. It is what it is: a well put-together desktop computer that will handle the basics of Web browsing and word processing at an extremely low price.

eMachines has been one of the most successful budget computer vendors since it first launched ten years ago. The key to its success is that it delivers solid systems at excellently low prices. The company's new T3646 series is no exception to this general rule.

The T3646 desktop computer is built around AMD's budget Sempron processor. In this era of dual-core and now triple- and quad-core processors, the 2.2GHz single-core Sempron won't be winning any speed records, but it's a decent CPU with a fast enough core clock speed to handle office tasks and light gaming without struggling.

eMachines pairs this processor with 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 memory. This RAM speed is the bare acceptable minimum for running Windows Vista; you do, however, have the option of expanding to 2GB for an additional cost. As we said earlier, these aren't going to be computers that you'll want to overload with memory for editing multimedia.

These desktops ship with the Basic edition of Windows Vista. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Aero graphical interface, but it does give you most of the available system tools -- including Windows Firewall and Backup and Restore -- that the more robust versions of Vista offer. It's a good fit for this budget-oriented desktop computer.

Storage space -- a 160GB 7,200rpm drive -- is adequate. Again, in this age of broadband download speeds and large video files, 160GB is probably a bare minimum. But unless you're planning on installing lots of games or storing lots of videos, it's a decent amount of storage space.

The optical drive on these desktop computers is more respectable -- it's a DVD writer that burns all major formats, including dual-layer media and DVD-RAM cartridges, which can rewritten to up to 100,000 times each. It does not offer disk-labeling capability, but that's pretty nitpicky, even for more expensive systems than the T3646.

Graphics are integrated on these desktop computers. You get NVIDIA's GeForce 6100, which is better than the integrated graphics you'll find in some other machines, but it still shares video memory with the main system RAM, thus limiting its performance capability. eMachines does leave room for a graphics card upgrade in the PCI-Express x8 slot, however, so you can add a more powerful card if you'll be playing a lot of 3D games.

Unfortunately, these computers do not come with a display. If you don't have one of your own, you can add a 17- or 19-inch widescreen LCDs for reasonable price.

Connectivity is adequate on the T3646 desktops. There's both a modem and a network interface, so you can hook these computers up to the Internet via dialup or broadband service providers. There are two USB ports on the front of the black-and-silver midsize tower and four more around back, so you can connect peripherals easily. Additionally, there are headphone and microphone jacks on the front, so you can easily hook up a headset.

There aren't a ton of extras included with these computers. You get a basic keyboard that includes some multimedia controls and a two-button roller mouse. eMachines does, however, throw in a pair of USB-powered speakers; they don't rock the house, but they do provide passable audio output for multimedia files and Web sites.

The standard software bundle includes Microsoft Works 9.0 office applications, Cyberlink's DVD burning software and eMachines' own BigFix troubleshooting tool, in addition to limited trials and demos of some major applications (such as Microsoft Office and Norton Internet Security).

The eMachines T3646 desktop computer line is another worthy entry from this consistently budget-friendly company.


Pros: Great price, decent expandability
Cons: Minimal components, no monitor

Warranty
1 year, limited