eMachines intros new slim tower PC

The eMachines EL1200 follows the path of HP's Pavilion SlimLine and Dell's Inspiron 530s desktops. These are not quite Shuttle-style small form factor desktops, but generally the trim profile gives you a bit more upgrade flexibility than the even smaller, closed PCs like the Mac Mini or Asus Eee Box. But unlike the HP and Dell offerings, the EL1200 has no midrange ambitions. Instead, the two EL1200 configurations stand firmly in budget PC territory.

The new eMachines EL1200

(Credit: eMachines)

The specs of each configuration are as follows:

EL1200-05w ($298)

• 1.5GHz AMD Athlon 2650e CPU
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
• Nvidia GeForce 6150SE integrated graphics chip
• 160GB 7,200rpm hard drive
• 18x dual-layer DVD burner with Labelflash
• 14-in-1 digital media card reader
• Windows XP Home

EL1200-01e ($349)

• 1.5GHz AMD Athlon 2650e CPU
• 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
• Nvidia GeForce 8200 integrated graphics chip
• 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive
• 18x dual-layer DVD burner with Labelflash
• 14-in-1 digital media card reader
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• HDMI port
• eSATA port

Considering the larger hard drive alone, the $350 model looks like the better deal of the two. The HDMI and eSATA ports make it more enticing, but of course depend on other hardware to be truly useful. The $298 system is available at Wal-Mart only, while the $350 system will be on shelves at Best Buy.