eMachines T2385

WHAT'S NOT: The T2385's biggest drawback is its indifferent speed. With a 2.3-GHz Celeron CPU and 512MB of DDR266 memory, our review system eked out a sluggish 90 on PC WorldBench 4, confirming it as one of the slowest machines we've tested recently.

The system's performance in games was similarly underpowered. Using an integrated Intel graphics chip set, the T2385 posted frame rates below 10 frames per second in both of our test games at 1280 by 1024 pixels and 32-bit color. At the less-demanding resolution of 1024 by 768, the PC managed frame rates barely above 10 fps. We noticed jerky images, spotty textures, and distorted lighting. And there's no AGP slot, so you can't add a more powerful AGP graphics card.

WHAT ELSE: Like other minitowers, the T2385 offers some options for future upgrades. The system has one free internal bay for a second hard drive and two available PCI slots. Getting at the internal drive cages for maintenance and upgrades is easy; they're mounted vertically under the DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives. You'll have to push aside some wiring to get to the vacant memory slot, however.

You can't expect huge, powerful speakers with a PC that costs $810; but even at the T2385's low price, we expected better sound than we heard from the disappointing EMachines brand speakers we received for review. In audio tests with vocal tracks and a DVD movie, we heard dull, muddy bass notes and thin trebles that would be annoying even for casual listening. We'd rather see EMachines omit the speakers, knock a few bucks off the system's price, and let us choose our own set.

UPSHOT: This very inexpensive, stylish machine provides a reasonable selection of components and would be suitable as a second PC or student's system. But don't expect to be able to run the latest games or do graphics-intensive work such as video editing.