er1p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Erik Riedel) (11/13/89)
I am looking to buy a new 386-based PC system and I am seriously
considering buying from a company called Gateway 2000 (they seem to have
some of the best prices around). Does anyone have any experiences (good
or bad) with their machines and/or the company itself? I will most
likely be buying a 20 Mhz 386 system. Thank you for your support!
Erik Riedel
er1p+@andrew.cmu.eduunkydave@shumv1.uucp (David Bank) (11/14/89)
In article <0ZLWYd_00WBLQ0w3JO@andrew.cmu.edu> er1p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Erik Riedel) writes: > > I am looking to buy a new 386-based PC system and I am seriously >considering buying from a company called Gateway 2000 (they seem to have >some of the best prices around). Does anyone have any experiences (good >or bad) with their machines and/or the company itself? I will most >likely be buying a 20 Mhz 386 system. Thank you for your support! > >Erik Riedel >er1p+@andrew.cmu.edu A friend of mine purchased a 16 MHz 80286 from them. He'd ordered DOS and a mouse with it and they forgot to ship it. To their credit they apologized and shipped both items Blue Label. I find them to be a bit pricey. You CAN get better prices if you are willing to take the time/trouble. But their hardware is OK. Like every mail-order company, the love to hear from you on their sales line and tend to put you on "Ignore" when you call for a complaint ot tech support. Unky Dave unkydave@shumv1.ncsu.edu credit, they apologized
qz@maxwell.physics.purdue.edu (Qin Zhao) (11/15/89)
In article <4525@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> unkydave@shumv1.ncsu.edu (David Bank) writes: > > I find them to be a bit pricey. You CAN get better prices if >you are willing to take the time/trouble. But their hardware is >OK. > > Like every mail-order company, the love to hear from you on their >sales line and tend to put you on "Ignore" when you call for >a complaint ot tech support. > I don't agree at this point. I don't know about other mail order company, but for Gateway 2000, their tech support is satisfied so far. They will try hard to contact you if you tell them you want to talk them, and they are not available immediately. As for the machine they made, I don't have any opinions now since I got their machine one week ago ( 386SX ). Their price is not the lowest, but closer. I order form them because I heard some good things about them from this news group before, and their price is pretty good. I am still testing machine, and also have some thing needs to talk with them. I may give some more information about their machine and service in the future.
torkil@psivax.UUCP (Torkil Hammer) (11/17/89)
So far my experience with Gateway 2000 has been: * They are busy to the max. There's gonna be a lot of 386SX's under those Xmas trees this year. * Their advertised price for their standard 386SX is $2395 but the actual is $100 lower "due to instability in the computer chip market etc". This beats whatever I have seen _advertised_. Some say you can get it for less. Are you perchance referring to a minimum configuration or stuff from the grey or black market? * No built in surge protection. I bought a basic surge protector for $15 at a hardware store. This is highly recommended. If you are going to use modem you should get one that protects the phone line, too. * When I first called them I didn't know that they cook each to order. They will mail you brochures with options. You specify disk, Ram, video ram, disk backup, and monitor configuration. They put the system together and burn it in. Shipment is 2 weeks after you order. * The sales reps know their product. Slots (6+2), free slots (4+1), standard (2x1 MB SIMM) and max (8 MB) ram configuration, VGA colors with and without the VGA card upgrade, max disk bays (3+2) etc. * They don't sell printers. Buy one locally. * They return phone calls, but it can take days. They were faster in October. This is the season for buying discount computers anyway. * My SX will be shipped on 11/21. I'll keep you posted. Torkil Hammer
russ@prism.gatech.EDU (Russell Shackelford) (11/17/89)
In article <2936@psivax.UUCP>, torkil@psivax.UUCP (Torkil Hammer) writes: > So far my experience with Gateway 2000 has been: > > * They are busy to the max. There's gonna be a lot of 386SX's under [stuff deleted about Gateway and their operation] > * No built in surge protection. I bought a basic surge protector for > $15 at a hardware store. This is highly recommended. If you are > going to use modem you should get one that protects the phone line, too. I emphatically disagree that a $15 surge protector is "highly recommended", and I DO agree that ADEQUATE surge protection IS recommended. Based on my experience, a cheap surge protector is worse than nothing: it lulls you into thinking you are protected when you are NOT. The basic problem, as near as I can tell, is REACTION TIME. A cheap surge protector WILL cut off the power to the machine, but will react so slowly that it will flip its breaker AFTER the damage has been done!!!! The key to surge protection, as far as I know, is to find one that reacts FAST ENOUGH. Personally, I've had pretty good luck with Datashield 85's. I get'em discounted for about $50 apiece.... The ONLY thing a $15 surge protector is good for is: the convenience of a single on/off switch.... which really isn't much use as you should leave the cpu box on all the time anyway.... -- Russell Shackelford School of Information and Computer Science Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332 russ@prism.gatech.edu (404) 834-4759