um, i'd reccomend neither
eMachines systems probably come lacking features, and of the high end companies (I am anti-OEM, as you probably all know, so i'm always gonna say build your own first)
but of all the high end companies out there, the one I hate least is VoodooPC
mainly VoodooPC gets my acceptance because they do things that the average builder CAN NOT DO (for example their Omen system, has a non-standard case, while the cooling inside is probably beatable with a DIY water cooling system, the case is something I can't just goto newegg or ZZF and buy, their silent PC's case is buy-able, BUT it's only avliable from one retailer that i've seen (it's $1300) and Voodoo warranties theirs (if you buy the one from Xoxide (it's a Zalman, same thing Voodoo has) you sign a waiver incase your hardware overheats due to the lack of cooling that they don't gotta pay for it (afaik that is what the waiver is), i'd rather have a warranty to replace the hardware
VoodooPC is also REALLY expensive (which is why i hate them, mostly is that their systems are like $6000+ no matter what....)
Alienware is a sell out of a company any more
3 or 4 years ago they were like Voodoo, pushing the envolope to make nice systems, but now their jsut a sell out
Falcon Northwest only has 1 feature that you can't get on a custom build, their casing
and believe me, i'd take my Enermax case over one of theirs (even with the custom painting and laser cutting)
ALSO
you can buy case skins, to get simmilar effects to theirs, or air brush your own case
for low end i'd say you wanna go with whoever has the best deal at the time
as all the low end machines out there are basically the same thing:
moderate CPU
no RAM
crappy graphics
under-powered PSU
bad cooling
junk mobo
good price
pick the logo you like best
as for Apple comment:
i feel Apple's systems are nice, but their compatability is poor
the thing i sort of see if Longhorn's rumored subscription fee comes true, is that most will move to Apple or Linux (the rumor is that you will have to pay a monthly or yearly fee to use Windows Longhorn, as long as you own it...so M$ can make more $$, if that is the case, expect to see a PowerPC replacing my AthlonXP...oh wait, it's WinXP, so it has no fees, ok, expect to see a PowerPC joining my AthlonXP (there we go, lol)