eMachines eMachines T6536

The T6536's plain black-and-silver PC case will look tidy on a desk, but its interior is a bit awkward to navigate. Though you can remove the side of the case without using a screwdriver, you'll need one if you plan to install a drive into the open drive bays (one internal 3.5-inch bay, and one externally accessible 5.25-inch bay), because screws hold the drives in place. (The system also comes with a 16X multiformat DVD burner, a 250GB hard drive, and a five-in-one media-card reader.) Inside, the cables are neatly tied out of the way, leaving unobstructed access to three open slots: a PCI Express 1X slot, a PCI Express 16X slot, and a PCI slot for adding expansion cards (on our review system, a modem occupied a second PCI slot).

The system runs Windows Media Center Edition, but it doesn't include a TV tuner or a remote control, and neither of these controls is an option. The keyboard and mouse are eMachines' own brand devices, and both felt comfortable to use. The keyboard has a welcome number of media control buttons.

With the system, you get eMachines' basic documentation, including a good fold-out setup guide that shows all of the basic connections, and a printed manual that covers the basics.

We didn't like this system's monitor, but in other respects the T6536 delivered decent performance and a reasonable set of features at a very attractive price.

Richard Baguley