Disagree with Consumer Reports eMachines Budget Desktop Pick

My eMachines T6420 died about 10 days ago. Looks like a system board problem and, quite frankly, not worth the cost and effort of replacing an out-of-warranty motherboard. So, I’m in the market for a low-cost desktop PC to replace it. Consumer Reports (Sept. 2008 issue) has a bunch of computer picks in various categories. The three listed in the Budget category are the Gateway GT5670, Dell 530S, and eMachines T5254 (FYI, eMachines was bought by Gateway which in turn was bought by Acer). I have a real problem with them recommending any eMachines model. And, here’s why. I’ve bought five (5) eMachines desktop PCs since 2002. They were the clear price leader with what seemed like decent components in them (for the price). The problem is that I’ve had major component failures in four of the five in that time period. Moreover, these were the kind of failures that I have not seen in PCs from other manufacturers in the same time period.

For example, the photo above is a section of the motherboard of a eMachines T1840. It quite literally fried. Capacitors all over the motherboard erupted and look like the cluster pictured above. I tried to contact eMachines to say: Hey, I know my PC is out of warranty. I am not asking for repairs. But, you should be aware that you may have a safety issue should this model go up in flames. All I received back was a form email pointing me to their replacement parts ordering page. I have never seen any other motherboard in a PC purchased during this same period have this kind of problem. I’ve also had three (3) CD or DVD drives fail in various eMachines PCs. And, I think I’ve had memory DIMMs go back in three of five eMachines PCs too. I have not seen this kind of problem in the various Dell PCs I’ve bought and used over the same time period. On the other hand, all three of my Dell Latitude notebooks have required motherboard replacement during their three year warranty period.

So, my objection to the Consumer Reports pick of the eMachines T5424 has nothing to do with its specs or price. However, after a series of component failures (including the spectacular capacitor flameout in the T1840), I know I’m not going to purchase another eMachines PC.