[jw010x8941]

Which pc is better HP or COMPAQ and is Emachines crap?

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Consider what comes with the PC, if it has a lot of bundled software, check which versions, having version 5 of a product which currently has version 10 is not much use.

Check with a custom PC build shop to see what you can get for the same money as a prebuilt system

Make sure you will get the XP CD and Microsoft Office CD as these are much more useful than recovery discs

[Retired Tech]

Consider what comes with the PC, if it has a lot of bundled software, check which versions, having version 5 of a product which currently has version 10 is not much use.

Check with a custom PC build shop to see what you can get for the same money as a prebuilt system

Make sure you will get the XP CD and Microsoft Office CD as these are much more useful than recovery discs

[Les1451]

It all depends on the machine specifications, what you want to do with it and how much you want to spend.
I haven't seen many glowing reports about e-machines so either HP or Compaq would probably be better, don't forget to take into account warranties and after sale support etc.
Of course you don't have to buy a brand name pc, there are lots of smaller stores that will build you a pc to your specifications that will perform better and probably cost less.