mms00786@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (06/05/89)
Well, you are right and wrong. Right, because their deal cannot be beat. I just bought their 20MHz '386 machine with 4 Meg ram and 80 Meg SCSI drive. Obviously, after I installed every last bit of software I own, the harddisk crashed. I don't know whats wrong, but it only boots up once out of 4 times. Their tech told me to format my HD; no luck. I also got an 800x600 VGA. It came with some ORCHID VGA graphics card, which seems to screw up in autoswitch mode. Everything autoswitches to CGA! Also, though their tech support people are quite patient, they are hard to get hold off. I priced CompuAdd's system, and they are something like $700 more. I wonder if my woes are generally attributable to buying mail order or whether I might have been better off getting a more expensive system, like CompuAdd's. Anyways, even if I bought the cheapest system on the market, I still paid close to $4000. For that kind of money, the least I expected was a Hard Drive with MTBF > 6 hrs! Only comfort is their 30 day money back guarantee. For now, they promised to ship me a replacement HD and an ATI VGA card. If those don't work out, well, they can sure count on losing a sale.
sac90286@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (06/09/89)
/* Written 8:41 pm Jun 4, 1989 by mms00786@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu in uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:comp.sys.ibm.pc */ they are hard to get hold off. I priced CompuAdd's system, and they are something like $700 more. I wonder if my woes are generally attributable to buying mail order or whether I might have been better off getting a more expensive system, like CompuAdd's. /* End of text from uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:comp.sys.ibm.pc */ We have about half a dozen CompuAdd systems here (more if you include those purchased by our employees for their personal use) and the only real problem was a VGA monitor which had some picture distortion until it warmed up. That was replaced via Federal Express in 2 days with no hassles. In addition, CompuAdd is now giving away free on-site service contracts with their high-end machines (286/20 through 386/25). I have no connections with CompuAdd other than those of a satisfied customer (with a 386/20).
mms00786@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (06/14/89)
For what it matters, here is what happened after my hard disk crashed. They sent me a replacement MFM drive and card Fed Ex, which arrived next day. Very nice, except they sent no documentation, so when the ROM BIOS setup asked what type of HD I had, I was stuck. Easy enough to fix, though. The worst surprise was when I had the HD going and finally installed Windows/386 to do some multitasking; no go. Windows crashed the first time any app went to read the HD. I called Gateway up, and then they told me that they had had no luck with Windows/386 themselves. This is after I had confirmed that it ran Windows/386 with the sales rep before buying the machine. They offered to send me DeskView 386 free of charge, but I was seriously annoyed and wanted a full refund. Call CompuAdd, and now they renege too. Nope, we cannot guarantee Windows/386 either! So here I am, with a very, very fast ... IBM PC!