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Computer newbies: T6524 emachines
Strange Comment
by Tconley2 - 10/26/05 7:53 PM In reply to: Strange comment :"good for Gateway" by GsteeleI respectfully disagree that eMachines was a great value 5 years ago. Most eMachine configurations did not allow upgrades or expansions at all. If you wanted to expand RAM you had to toss the machine for many models. Gateway purchased eMachines to provide a more flexible supply chain offering. Gateway bought eMachines in the same way HP bought Compaq. It is interesting to note that many Compaq systems are competing directly with eMachines.
I am not 100% sure but I don't recall any model produced by eMachines in 2000 that is comparable to the 6524 in today's terms. I am not saying they produced a bad product. Instead, I am saying I would have bought an HP or Dell 5 years ago but I don't see a difference today. If eMachines was such a powerful company it seems odd that there products are more plentiful and respected more after someone else bought the company. It seems very basic to me. However, all I have is an opinion.
Wasn't emachines fan
by yorba - 10/27/05 7:22 AM In reply to: Strange Comment by Tconley25 years ago, I was not an eMachines fan either. I was extremely happy with my Dell 4100, my mother-in-law was extremely unhappy with her eMachines bought around the same time ... even though she had two computer tech son-in-laws. That system was nothing but problems, and back then you voided any warranty by opening the case and breaking the seal. If you wanted to add memory even, you were supposed to take it to a certified eMachine service center ... DUHHHH!!!
Today, I feel that Dell and eMachines have swapped positions. Dell has the most horrible tech support, hard to get through to, don't understand or speak English beyond the scripts they are given and trained in, useless as far as giving help that doesn't fit into the scripts ... if you can even understand their scripted speech. Ask something out of the script, and they ask your name over and over <LOL>.
eMachines on the other hand has reasonable (not great) tech support. They use more generic type parts, open to upgrade, and not junk. My T6524 has impressed me so far as a very good, quality machine. It's not a killer system, but I didn't pay for a killer system. It is good quality though, and upgradable.
Install Questions?
by vicsrealms - 11/14/05 4:58 PM In reply to: Wasn't emachines fan by yorbaWhen you bought the system, did it come with the discs (OS, Driver, Apps)? Or did you end up with a chunk of your hard drive reserved for reinstall?
Hold On Man.
by isanglitro - 6/19/06 2:11 PM In reply to: Strange Comment by Tconley2I just bought a dell 6 years ago after I had emachines computer for 5 years before that. That little emachines could out run my dell on day to day computing. It could not out run it in gaming. But I have a probelm with dell. My probelm is that every thing you get has be made by dell or has to the most expensive brand to work in it. Oh yea I just bought a Emachines about to days ago and AMD processers run alot faster and cooler then Intel. And get this man I only paid $300 for Emachine Computer vs $1200 + $350 in upgrades for the Dell computer.
Power Supply
by Tconley2 - 10/12/05 9:15 PM In reply to: Question for you by yorbaThe power supply amounts you quote are peak amounts. I did not upgrade the power supply since I will only use about 280 Watts peak. If you change the power supply I recommend that you transfer the PC to a new case with a 480 power supply. The biggest issue is finding power supply that will fit your case. The installation is very simple if it fits. I have an older HP that I modified the case to accept a 350 Watt power supply. We used the AGP slot on that one and was pushing the 200 Watt OEM supply beyond its specs.
I have a new Dell for business use and only 350W. Check out the following link for a test of your system. This should help you decide what to do. Also, note that the PCI-e slot is powered by the system making it less of a power hog. Great advancement in add on graphics.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
Note that you will void the warranty if you transfer the unit to a new case. I have heard some suggest that adding the video card may cause an issue but the company told me that was not true before I bought it. Good luck.
T6524 Power Supply
by yorba - 10/13/05 7:43 AM In reply to: Power Supply by Tconley2If size is an issue, it might just be better to go with what eMachines has to offer as they shouldn't be offering an upgrade that doesn't fit their own product. Thank you for the lead to that power supply calculator. It doesn't show the Radeon PCI-e cards though, nor the Athlon 3500+ that's in the T6524. I came in at 295W selecting the highest rated or closest devices, such as the 3400+ cpu. As for swapping cases, I had no plans for doing so.
Looks like a ATX powersupply
by bbcamp2 - 10/13/05 11:31 AM In reply to: T6524 Power Supply by yorbaThe ATX standard dictates the physical size and mounting for power supplies, so just find one that has the power you need and drop it in.
Power Supply
by Tconley2 - 10/13/05 7:05 PM In reply to: T6524 Power Supply by yorbaIt is my opinion that a PSU upgrade is not needed. I have consulted with several IT pros and they seem to have the same confidence level. Please assume that your card is consuming 100 Watts of total power. You should still fall below the peak watt of 300. Note that the site tells you that peak usage is below the numbers shown. I don't see changing the PSU but it is a personal decision.
Power Supply
by yorba - 10/14/05 7:01 AM In reply to: Power Supply by Tconley2Actually, I like what I see here http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp if we can pick our specs 
This power usage calculator shows the Radeon X800XL as using 90 Watts, the only place I've found so far actually listing the exact card and it's power consumption. And it shows the T6524 using 299 Watts total with the CPU at 100% utilization, that drops as CPU usage backs down. At 80% usage, the watts drop to 265. Adding in a Soundblaster card, 7 Watts, would take this system over the supposed limit. These figures are based on 100% usage of all selected devices, with the CPU being a variable selected by the user. Now that is based on two optical drives, and most likely, you'll only be using one at 100% if playing a game. That allows you to drop off 25 Watts. And the whole thing is based on whether the power supply is truly capable of outputting its full stated capacity, unlikely, and all other devices actually running at 100%, and the system being as it comes other than the added video card. The addition of any USB or Firewire devices relying on the system for power would add more load to be supported. I'd feel OK using it as is, but would feel more comfortable with a bit more power to spare ... if I can get a power supply that fits. I have not had the system out of box yet though, that's tonight's pleasure .. finally. And we will run it stock for a while to see how the video is, so we can have a comparison after adding the card. So I haven't had the case open yet to even get a look inside to see what the oem psu looks like, and how much room may be available in there, if any. I did learn, from eMachines tech support, that the motherboard is an MSI MS-7184. Don't look at MSI's site for info, there is none. This is a low-end or entry level motherboard that they make for HP/Compaq and eMachines as an oem board. HP's site will give you info and specs and even a picture on the motherboard itself, for those who may be interested.
T6524 PSU
by Tconley2 - 10/14/05 10:41 PM In reply to: Power Supply by yorbaAgree. I spoke to my IT director today who is also a gamer. He said he prefers 400 watts if you add USB devices, etc. His recommendation is to upgrade to the 350 Watt sold by eMachines if and only if you have problems. He noted a crash without notice, game shuts down all at once, or similar transactions as evidence the PSU is too light. He also noted that a basic reboot can help the PSU recycle and actually use less power. He supported the concept of keeping the 300 Watt PSU until there is an issue. The only purpose for our T6524 is gaming. Good luck. Thanks for the other link.
Agreed
by yorba - 10/15/05 6:02 AM In reply to: T6524 PSU by Tconley2I agree with that 100%. If getting automatic reboots when using the computer at any time, it's time to unstress the psu and go up value. I'm glad to hear that the new ATI card is working great for you as the system is. I'll definitely try it that way first before giving any more money out. You're quite welcome as for the link. I just stumbled on it trying to find the power usage of the card. It was more up to date than the other power converter, listing both the actual card we have and the cpu, whereas the other stopped at the 3400+. Good luck back at ya ... my pleasure conversing and comparing notes with you.
Please post the link to the MSI MS-7184 specs
by playadel2001 - 11/26/05 11:20 PM In reply to: Power Supply by yorbaPlease link to the specs of the MSI board on the HP site. I need to know how to set the jumpers to reset CMOS. I upgraded the power supply on my emachines T6524 and now I can't get into BIOS. I just get a blinking cursor.
Motherboard Jumpers
by yorba - 11/27/05 8:19 AM In reply to: Please post the link to the MSI MS-7184 specs by playadel2001Go here http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00378480&product=unknown&dlc=en&lang=en for specs and a picture of the jumper to clear CMOS. Before doing so, verify that you have correctly connected the cables from the new power supply. Make sure that the plugs are properly aligned, no pins missed or bent. Also check the data plugs on the hard drive, CD drives, etc., and their corresponding motherboard connectors. It is quite common when working inside the case to brush against data cables slightly disengaging them. The last step before closing the case should always be to push on each connector to ensure it is fully seated.
Also
by yorba - 11/27/05 8:25 AM In reply to: Please post the link to the MSI MS-7184 specs by playadel2001Should all else fail, put the original power supply back in the system to determine if the new power supply is faulty. If the system still does not power up fully with the original power supply, get out the magnifying glass and check every pin on the power supply to motherboard connector to verify that none are bent over.
Thanks - installed PSU and 6600 GT
by elmerfudd2006 - 1/12/06 7:06 AM In reply to: Also by yorbaYorba and all,
Thanks for all of the great postings on this topic. It really helped me when I was upgrading. I did find the Startech 400W PSU at Techonweb.com for cheaper than Gateway's website. It was $39.76 + $5.91 shipping. It was easy to install. The only difficult thing was finding room to store all of the extra cabling inside the case.
Also - FYI - I noticed that the 300W PSU that shipped with my T6524 had 16A on the +12V line. I think I remember reading someone saying it only had 10A. Maybe theirs did and Gateway changed the PSU they installed in later units.
The 6600 GT works great in this configuration. To give you an idea of the improvement over the x200 IGP that comes with the T6524, the framerates for the x200 in FEAR were running an average of 47 FPS at 800x600 resolution. With the 6600 GT, the average was about 67 FPS at 1024x768 resolution with all the extras turned on (by setting the overall graphics card setting to "High" in the FEAR options menu). The difference was amazing.
Thanks again.
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