casey@gauss.llnl.gov (Casey Leedom) (03/15/91)
Ok, here's the summary I promised. Thanks to all who replied to my
original posting!!!
Casey
--------------------
From: casey@gauss.llnl.gov (Casey Leedom)
Date: 2 Mar 91 23:16:10 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
I have a friend (who doesn't have any network access) who is looking at
buying a new computer. He currently has an old Leading Edge IBM PC clone
which is still working but he wants something faster. He's seen an ad
from a company called Gateway 2000 with the following salient features:
25MHz 386
4Mb RAM
32Kb cache
1.2Mb 5.25" floppy disk drive
1.44Mb 3.5" floppy disk drive
80Mb, 17ms IDE hard disk drive
16 bit VGA with 1Mb of RAM
Gateway Crystal Scan 1024ni color monitor (my friend was very
unclear about this. I couldn't get him to settle on
what the scan rate was (60MHz or 70MHz) or what the
pixel pitch was, etc.)
1 parallel port
2 serial ports
DOS 3.0 or 4.0
Windows 3.0
total price: $2,500
Gateway 2000 is located in North Sioux City, South Dakota.
Does anyone have any experience with this company or this package? Does
anyone have any suggestions for what they feel are better
companies/better deals? Please send all replies directly to me and I'll
summarize back to these news groups. Thanks for your time and attention.
--------------------
From: raymond@math.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen)
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 91 16:29:47 PST
Organization: U.C. Berkeley
ftp the file math.princeton.edu:pub/rjc/csip/products.Z for discussion of
Gateway computers. [[Here are the responses edited out of that file
dated 18-Nov-1990:
ins_arm@jhuvms.bitnet (Roslan MdZaki) 30 Mar 90
webb@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Thomas Webb) [negative] 10 Apr 90
MHS108@psuvm.psu.edu (Mark Solsman) 9 Apr 90
There [sic] salespeople are fantastic!
gerry@cive.ri.cmu.edu (Gerry Roston) [positive] 11 Apr 90
GOLDSTN@MAINE.BITNET (Michael E. Goldstein) 7 Apr 90
yjkim@milton.acs.washington.edu (Yong Kim) 7 Apr 90
Their salespeople don't seem to be great, but their computers are
good.
keegan-edward@cs.yale.edu (Edward Keegan) 9 May 90
PC Resource magazine rates the Gateway as a best buy in the May
1990 issue.
ucoerp@swuts.swbt.com (Robert B. Paster) [uneventful story] 25 May 90
cohend@dg-rtp.dg.com [positive] (Dave Cohen) 31 May 90
landry@csgrad.cs.vt.edu (Kenneth Landry) [recently purchased] 20 Jun 90
kens@hplsla.HP.COM (Ken Snyder) 27 Jun 90
about a gazillion people have bought Gateways and 99.9153% of
them are happy customers. I am included in this group.
ucoerp@swuts.swbt.com (Robert B. Paster) [highly recommend] 28 Jun 90
kens@hplsla.HP.COM (Ken Snyder) [very happy] 29 Jun 90
torkil@psivax.UUCP (Torkil Hammer) 20 Jul 90
It is great. Telephone service is difficult to get, like with
all mail order places.
verket@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM (Paul Verket) 24 Jul 90
We bought a 33MHz 386 ... and it has worked very well. My only
complaints were a case that was sloppily put together and an off
brand of hard disk.
fs@uwasa.fi (Filip Sawicki) [summary] 24 Jul 90
In all of [the replies] opinions were absolutely positive.
[Though a common complaint was that some troubleshooting was
necessary, but technical support was very helpful.]
jsims@vuse.vanderbilt.edu (J. Robert Sims)
Edward_Engler@transarc.com
goldston@med.unc.edu (David Goldston)
hargrove@cbnewsj.att.com
RPI360@MAINE.BITNET
fad3@cbnewsj.att.com (frank.decosta) [summary] 11 Jul 90
kens@hplsla.HP.COM (Ken Snyder) 16 Oct 90
Gateway is THE most customer oriented mail order company I've ever
dealt with. They have bent over backwards and done things for me
that I consider to be above and beyond the call.
eakin@rsmas.miami.edu (C. Mark Eakin) [positive] 17 Oct 90
mahler@rouge.usl.edu (Mahler Stephen J) [positive] 17 Oct 90
djbpitt@unix.cis.pitt.edu (David J Birnbaum) [positive] 17 Oct 90
gould@pilot.njin.net (Brian Jay Gould) [positive] 19 Oct 90
Very few problems. Tech support is above average.
pokey@uncmed.med.unc.edu (Patrick O'Brien) [summary] 19 Oct 90
lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Greg Lee) 6 Nov 90
Aside from the fact that it is not working right now, I have some
minor reservations about the system.
dve@mace.cc.purdue.edu 7 Nov 90
I'm having very bad luck with Gateway 2000.
bicker@cbnewsi.att.com (Brian Kohn) 7 Nov 90
Most of the comments, including my own, have been overwhelmingly
positive.
brian@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Brian Hoffman) 7 Nov 90
I received about 20 responses from satisfied Gateway 2000
customers and only one are two negative reviews.
ESR@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (Ed Russell) 7 Nov 90
September 25 issue of PC Magazine [contains a survey of Gateway
owners]
S: Re: Gateway 2000 [another positive vote]
rmf@bpdsun1.uucp (Rob Finley) 9 Nov 90
I recommend them. The other's aren't necessarily worth the extra
cost.
draper@buster.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Draper)
[a friend] Gateway Fed Ex'd a new monitor the next morning at
their cost. He didn't even have to return the defective monitor
first.
tdtyl@hubcap.clemson.edu (theodore d taylor) 11 Dec 90
I am quite impressed with one exception: Occasionally I get a
HDD failure on startup. Technical support is great, though it
may take some time to get through.
afzal@cui.unige.ch (Afzal Ballim) 12 Dec 90
I think the Gateway is a great machine, and would thorougly
recommend it to anyone.
tedyoung@panix.uucp (Ted Young) 15 Dec 90
Although they advertise on-site repair along with overnite
replacement parts, they neglect to say that it can take 4 days
for it to get out the door! you can bet Gateway2000 won't be
getting my recommendation.
clong@remus.rutgers.edu (Chris Long) 16 Dec 90
I've had absolutely no problems with them, and ditto for most of the
people I've talked to.
joec@Morgan.COM (Joe Collins) [posted a summary] 8 Jan 91
ekman@wdl1.wdl.loral.com (Donald Ekman)
I would certainly buy again from them.
uunet!hub.ucsb.edu!6500boo%ucsbuxa (William Bushing)
Based on what I've seen and heard, I don't think you can go wrong
with Gateway.
uunet!waii.COM!rob (Rob Freyder)
A Great Machine. Go for it.
uunet!iti.org!john (John Sauter)
I am really pleased with the product and the prices.
uunet!bighorn.uswest.com!rml (Robert Lund)
I have been very satisfied with their system and service.
joec@Morgan.COM (Joe Collins) 28 Jan 91
So far I am quite happy.
arc@reef.cis.ufl.edu (Anthony Cherry) [summary posted] 5 Feb 91
I'll be glad to offer further help if anyone needs it, just mail me
jin@spdcc.COM (Jerry Natowitz) 6 Feb 91
I feel they are getting sloppy. I did not receive all the manuals,
etc.
]]
--------------------
From: jin@ursa-major.spdcc.com (Jerry Natowitz)
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 91 20:25:09 -0500
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
I bought a Gateway 2000 system about a month ago. I love it. I bought
their 386SX-16 system, but if I had $800 more I would have bought their
386-33 "Best Buy" system. That system is essentially the same as the one
your friend is interested in but faster and $100 more.
I feel that Gateway gives you about the best bang for the buck.
On the negatives: they are a bit sloppy - missing documentation, a bad
video board, customer service lines are busy. $95 for shipping and
handling (sent by Fed Ex Economy service - slow).
On the postives: customer service will work with you to fix the problem
and will over-night Fed Ex replacement boards.
Would I buy from them again - absolutely!
--------------------
From: William Stephen Kish <wk0x+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 91 01:58:51 -0500 (EST)
Organization: Carnegie Mellon University
I have a Gateway 2000 i486 box. I have had no trouble with it. I would
recomend Gateway without hesitation.
--------------------
From: kaufman@eecs.nwu.edu (Michael Kaufman)
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 91 2:13:58 CST
Organization: EECS Department, Northwestern University
Almost everyone I know that has purchased a Gateway computer (maybe 20
people) has been sorry in the long run. There have been hard disk,
video, motherboard, keyboard and most of all service problems. I would
strongly advise against Gateway.
I would recomend Swan for price, and Northgate for great service.
--------------------
From: 6500boo%ucsbuxa@hub.ucsb.edu (William Bushing)
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 91 00:58:28 PST
Organization: Univ. of Calif. Santa Barbara, Marine Biotechnology Lab
Gateway 2000, as you've probably heard, has been extensively reviewed on
the net in the past. Based on what was an over- whelmingly positive
response, I bought a 33 MHz 386 from them last November. I'm not in the
least bit disappointed with it although I did get the NEC 3D instead of
their 1024x768 moni- tor (which I've heard is quite good... my objection
was that it was too large for my desk and I don't believe it was Mac II
compatible). I think you're friend would be quite satisfied with a
Gateway based on my experience although he/she might wait a while longer
as the new AMD 386 and Intel 486 chips may be bringing the prices down
shortly.
--------------------
From: philhowr@unix.cie.rpi.edu (Bob Philhower)
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 91 13:26:26 EST
Organization: CIE, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
I recently (January) purchased a 25Mhz 486 from Gateway and have mixed
feelings about the outcome. I had considerable trouble with the floppy
disk controller. Their tech support lines are always busy (although that
has lighted up somewhat recently). Once you get through, they are
helpful and send out replacement parts before you send back the old one.
I went through two faulty all-in-one controller cards before they sent me
separate cards for disk controllers and serial ports. While this ate up
an extra slot (one of my check points for the purchase) I now have a
reliable machine.
--------------------
From: labraham@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Lisbi Abraham)
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 91 19:41:19 EST
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
I bought a Gateway 386sx last June and I love it. It's a good
computer and I've had very little problems with it. More importantly
I've gotten great service from them. When I first got the computer it
wasn't working right, so I called the company, talked to a technician and
he tried to help me fix it over the phone. When that didn't work he
offered to have a TSR technician call the next day and arrange a time for
an onsite visit. He was also going to Federal Express the replacement
part. I ended up not needing any of this, but it was nice to know that
they would have done it.
In August, Gateway started offering Windows with their package. I
called them up and told them that I was wondering if I could get Windows
also. They said sure, they federal expressed me Windows 3 and a microsoft
mouse at no charge to myself.
I hope this helps your friend decide. The only problem that I've
had is that when you call for service, you end up waiting on the phone a
lot. Although the last few times I've called they arranged to call me
back as soon as someone was free.
--------------------
From: Pratip K Banerji <pbanerji@libserv1.ic.sunysb.edu>
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 91 00:34:59 est
I purchased a 386/25 from them about six months ago and I haven't had a
problem with them. They have great machines, a wonderful repair policy,
and great customer support.
The machine itself is the best for the lowest. The Diamond Speedstar video
card with 2 meg is standard with all there machines now. It is one of the
best cards on the market. The monitor is also new. I believe that the
scanning freqencies are mentioned in their ad.
Take my advice, Gateway 2000 is the way to go. With great prices and great
quality, you can't strike out.
Good luck to your friend in computer shopping!
--------------------
From: psm@manta.nosc.mil (Scot Mcintosh)
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 91 07:38:24 PST
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego
I bought one of their 486/25 systems for around $4k and consider it to be
a phenomenal deal. I'm generally happy with the company. The only
slightly quirky thing that happened was that they took a couple of months
to get the users manual to me. Since I'm pretty experienced, that didn't
matter much. Also, the original motherboard had some kind of interaction
problem with the hard disk controller, and they had to ship me a
different brand of controller. I had to ship the old ones back at my
expense. Kind of irritating for a brand new system. Also made me wonder
why they didn't detect the problem in pre-shipment checkout. Other than
that, it's been running great for a couple of months now.
--------------------
From: Lee M. Bollard <bollard@hpspkla.spk.hp.com>
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 91 09:20:54 -0800
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Spokane Division
Gateway is a good company with a good product. The only problem is
getting ahold of tech support. They normally have to call you back
(which they DO). They are very helpful and federal express the parts if
replacements are needed.
I own a Gateway, and am preparing to buy another.
--------------------
From: Stephen M. Smith <smsmith@hpuxa.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 91 12:27:19 est
Organization: The Ohio State University
Gateway is an excellent company. I almost bought a system from them but
they didn't have the configuration and components I liked. You can't go
wrong with Gateway. Talk with Joe Gondek if you call them--he's very
knowledgable and helpful. Ask them to send you literature; it will
arrive very fast and it includes a number of reviews they have gotten in
magazines.
Also read the monthly posting in comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc under the subect
"Frequently Asked Questions." This file tells you how to access a file
called "products" which contain a number of people's opinions on
different mail order companies.
--------------------
From: Larry W. Seals <seals@uncecs.edu>
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 91 13:29:19 -0500
Organization: Trailing Edge Software
There was a query made on one of the comp.sys.ibm.* boards a while back
(late fall, maybe) about the Gateway 2000 and then a summary of the
replies. The overall view was that the company's product was sound and a
good value for the buck. However, there has been some static lately that
this has caused Gateway some problems with late shipments and declining
quality (both in the hardware and in customer service). A friend of mine
just purchased a 2000 (late Dec.) and he loves it. No problems, no
hassles. But since nothing in life is 100%, it may be that the static I
read was just some minor bellyaching.
--------------------
From: wjyoung@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Bill Young)
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 91 14:33:49 -0500
Organization: Oakland University, Rochester MI
I have a Gateway 2000 386sx-16 I purchased in the summer of '90. I
have had no problems with it at all. I know some other people who have
Gateway 2000 machines, and they are all happy with them. I bought mine
mostly because it was THE best deal around. As for customer support, I
have a friend whose Gateway 2000 monitor died a few months ago. They
sent him a new one next-day air. They are a very good company, in my
opinion.
--------------------
From: kwong@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Ka Chin Wong)
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 91 12:01:05 -0800
Organization: Cal Poly State Univ,CSC Dept,San Luis Obispo,CA 93407
Get the 33Mhz one. Consider the additional cost and the cost /
performance ratio, 33Mhz is the best deal.
--------------------
From: STX1077@uoft02.utoledo.edu
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 91 00:13 EST
Organization: Medical College of Ohio, Information Systems
Gateway 2000 has a very good reputation in the industry. I can't speak for
there service people or anything like that, but I have seen more than a
few of their machines and have been impressed on each occasion.
My most recent exposure was to their 386-33. My boss just got one and it
runs circles around the Compaq 386-25 that it replaced. It is also hooked
up to an ethernet network running DEC software and has been very reliable.
--------------------
From: "Ian J. Hogg" <ianhogg@cs.umn.edu>
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 91 15:33:45 -0600
Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, CSci dept.
I recently purchased the following system from PC Express in Mpls:
386 33 Mhz with 64K cache
4 MB Ram
1.4 Mb 3.5" floppy
1.2 Mb 5.25" floppy
Seagate ST1144a 125Mb Hard Drive
Diamond SpeedStar SVGA w/1mb memory
Panasonic 1381 SVGA Monitor
DOS 4.x or 3.3
Full size tower case
Total Price - $2650
Note the price was with the Mini Tower but the new motherboards don't fit
in it so they gave me the full size case for the same price.
Their address is:
PC/Express PC/Tronics
1420 E 78th Street
Richfield, MN 55423
1-800-937-1100
This system is not listed in their catalog so you must talk to
Mr. Kelly McKenna to receive the above price.
--------------------
From: @Dave Butler <davelb@hpgrgb.gr.hp.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 91 16:40:24 mst
Organization: Hewlett Packard
I am currently considering buying the same PC. I know someone who bought
a Gateway 33MHz 386 from Gateway and they said that they got good
response from them. The system has had no problems. He recommended them
ok, but if you want to save a few bucks you could do better with someone
like California Microchip or FastData.
--------------------
From: OOGLA@VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1991 22:43 CST
About a year and a half ago, I purchased the Gateway 2000 386sx 16Mhz
system. This was after about a month and a half of intensive research
(searching through every magazine I could get my hand on for ads,
checking which companies had been around and for how long, charting
available sx systems by features/price, etc.) and at that time found that
Gateway 2000 was un-matched by ANYBODY in features/price. Since then,
there have been manymore comparable system configurations and prices to
match advertised.
One thing about Gateway, though, is that they have lifetime toll-free
tech support (it does get busy sometimes, taking as long as 20mins. to
get a tech rep, but they will call you back if you don't want to wait).
And if anything breaks on your system, they will send you a replacement
NEXT DAY AIR with only a credit card number (in case you don't mail the
defective part back to them). I have had occasion to use this support,
and they are always fast, efficient and friendly. According to the UPS
guy, I've cost them over $100 in shipping costs when I was having trouble
with my monitor. On the flip side, it only cost me about $20 for return
shipping (UPS ground -- those NEC monitors weigh over 30lbs.).
The tech support guys will even help you out with software problems
*that you didn't buy from them*. I was even surprised when one time I
called them about a memory question, they helped me solve my problem on
the first call. Then, two days later THEY CALLED BACK WITH A BETTER
SOLUTION! Now that's service!
I don't work for Gateway, or know anyone who does. I'm just a satisfied
customer. And I know that in a year or two, whenever I choose to upgrade,
I am going to buy another Gateway.
One last note, if your friend does choose a Gateway, don't get the
ClearScan monitor. For only $100, you can upgrade to a NEC Multisync
3D, which has better dot pitch, synch rates, and will automatically
re-size the screen depending on which graphic mode you are in. The
Clearscan doesn't do this and the vert. and horizontal size knobs are
placed poorly on the back, so you either shrink the lower res graphic
modes to less than full screen, or put up with 800x600 and 1024x768 modes
going off the edge of the screen.
--------------------
From: dlm@dlogics.dlogics.com (DAVE MAUSNER)
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1991 16:21:43 CST
Organization: Datalogics, Inc., Chicago
i have a gateway 386sx with xtal-scan 1024 monitor, and my company uses
the 386-25 package you discussed.
i love my machine; the company loves theirs.
i don't have any numbers for you, but i am satisfied that
(1) gateway gives good computer
(2) the price is right
(3) their support is good, too, especially if you can afford to use
the gateway bbs and wait 24 hrs for a reply; i hate to be put on
hold so i am willing to check in to the bbs once in a while.
--------------------
From: Andy Goris <goris@hpfclm.fc.hp.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 91 15:59:12 MST
I too, have been shopping for PCs and am curious for info on Gateway2000.
I have seen their adds in 'Computer Shopper'. Could you forward anything
relevant that gets mailed to you? Thanks. I will also watch for a
posting. I have heard good things about a mail-order company called
Northgate.
The system you described is very similar to what I want, except I'ld like
to go for a 386SX (16 MHz if necessary) to save a few dollars.
I am very curious about the Crystal Scan monitor, as it appears to be
about the cheapest 1024x768 non-interlaced monitor around. The consensus
about 1024x768 seems to be go for non-interlaced (ni) or don't bother.
The NEC 4D monitor goes for $960. Is the Crystal Scan a multi-scan
monitor, or can it only go 1024x768? I presume it is only 14". Another
problem with some hi-resolution multiscan monitors is that when you put
them in low-res mode (e.g., VGA 640x480), there are thin black lines
between the scan lines, making the VGA mode look worse than it would on a
VGA-only monitor.
--------------------
From: John Fowler MRO/CIS 12-Mar-1991 0022 <"opr_fowler"@mcis2.enet.dec.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Mar 91 21:23:46 PST
I believe [the price is] closer to $2700
If you're looking for a complete 386-25 that you know will work well then
this companay is the place to go. You could buy in pieces from other
companies and end up with a mix-n-match type system which may or may not
be up to peek performance and dependability. If you have the money and
want to spare the fustration of buying each piece. I'd say go for it.
They may not be the 'cheapest' but they are a fast growing company due to
popularity and they will be there if you need them. Plus, the old saying
'you get what you pay for' holds true for mail-order hardware!