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The last time we reviewed an eMachines computer we criticised it for underperforming and looking plain. That was two years ago, which has given the American company enough time to reassess its position in the PC market, design a new range of desktop computers and launch its first notebook - the M5116.
Rather than use a Pentium-M processor, eMachines has opted for a 2.4GHz Mobile Celeron. This keeps the cost down but means no Centrino wireless technology. Although many notebook manufacturers are proud to show off their Centrino stickers and fast Pentium-M processors, it seems eMachines is aiming its notebook at users who don't need the most powerful hardware out there. However, there's still a generous 512Mb of memory and a 40Gb hard disk, which will take a while to fill.
In our tests, the M5116 gained an average system performance score - nothing out of this world but certainly enough to execute most Windows tasks.
Still, for the £899 price tag, it is good value, more so when you bear in mind the 15.4in widescreen display. With the DVD-ROM/ CD-RW combination drive, it's a good system for watching movies. Sound quality isn't great through the integrated speakers, but watching DVDs on notebooks is usually done while travelling, so the headphone socket will suffice.
The wide screen is also good for viewing many things at once. That little bit of extra screen space may not seem much, but it's enough to put two Word documents, or an internet window and email program, side by side. It's also good for viewing more data on spreadsheets, landscape documents and horizontal image files. We were impressed by the overall screen quality, both in Windows applications and DVD movies.
3D games won't look that good, though - not because of the screen, but because of the Intel Extreme integrated graphics. Just what exactly is Extreme about Intel's graphics technology is beyond us, as most notebooks that come with it seem to struggle in 3D games. However, it did offer a respectable battery life of three hours.
Although the M5116 isn't equipped with Centrino, it's still packaged with Wi-Fi technology and eMachines has integrated the latest 802.11g wireless standard. This is the fastest Wi-Fi connection available and operates around five times faster than the older version, 802.11b. There's also a network socket for wired connection, plus a built-in modem.
The build quality is good, with plenty of room for your hands to rest on while typing and shortcut buttons for email, internet, Windows Media Player and volume. It's also quite light at 3.1kg.
It doesn't come with an S-Video socket for connecting to a TV but there is a VGA port for hooking it up to a monitor. There are also three USB 2 ports, a mini-FireWire port and a PC Card slot.
There is a decent helping of software - Microsoft Works 7, Money 2003, Encarta Online, Power DVD and a 90-day trial of Norton AntiVirus 2003. There's also a helpful utility called BigFix, which allows users to gain remote technical support over an internet connection. It also comes with a one-year parts and labour warranty.
Contact: eMachines
www.emachines.com
See also:
A solid notebook computer that aspires to replace your desktop machine. 05 Jan 2004
An impressive widescreen notebook, perfect for watching films on the move. 23 Dec 2003
Notebooks are undoubtedly getting cheaper all the time, but do they still have as much to offer? 17 Dec 2003All Notebooks & Tablets PCs
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