Emachines 3230

The eMachines 3230 is a budget system. I've owned it for a few years now. In this review I'll tell you the good and the bad about it.

The 3230 is very well built and reliable. The price makes it very attractive as well. It includes a copy of Windows XP Home Edition which was typical at the time I bought it. The manual is very well written and includes plenty of tips and advice on opening and using your PC. This computer comes pre-installed with a few basic programs like Microsoft Works, Microsoft Money and all the standard Windows XP programs (Internet Explorer, Notepad, Paint etc.) which are great for getting started with, all you'll need is a decent Anti-Virus.

Unfortunately this PC will need a few upgrades to make it brilliant. The Intel Pentium 4 Processor is pretty fast but the measly 256MB of RAM is a little low and this machine could really do with something towards the 512MB mark. The supplied speakers are awful and sound really tinny and sharp. The mouse included feels like you're using a slug for a mouse.

To conclude the 3230 is ok out of the box but with a bit more RAM, a new mouse and some decent speakers the eMachines 3230 would make a great budget system.