Gateway computers

[j-lantern]

Does anybody have any experience with the quality/customer service of recent Gateway laptops? I'm thinking about buying one of their lower end products, but don't want to throw cash down for a mickey moused system. Thanks

 

[dthrock]

Originally posted by j-lantern
Does anybody have any experience with the quality/customer service of recent Gateway laptops? I'm thinking about buying one of their lower end products, but don't want to throw cash down for a mickey moused system. Thanks

I just finished doing a demo on a gateway, dell, and toshiba laptop for the purchase of 100 units. It wasnt the low end models but out of the three I preferred the toshiba. With computers the old saying "you get what you pay for" holds very true. Any of the big name computer companies that you buy a low end system from, well, you get a low end system. Spend an extra couple hundred bucks and get a P4 processor instead of a celeron and put at least 512M of memory in it for WinXP.

Dave

 

[SuperSix]

Dell leads for a reason..

If I were in corporate IT, It would be Dell all the way.

 

[striker_29]

Actually for the money, the new Compaqs are hard to beat (can't believe I just said that). My company sells both Gateway and Compaqs, and right now the Compaq laptops are far superior dollar for dollar. IMHO Dell leads because of some excellent marketing/ advertising, theres nothing "magical" about their components. After the sale, it all comes down to service and support, where Dell may excel. Make sure you get a decent warranty, and if you'll be using it for much more than surfing and email, you may want to stay away from a low end machine as dthrock pointed out.

 

[Redline]

In my opinion Dell makes the best laptops and has the best customer service.

 

[machinegun]

I am in corporate IT and the Dells well they just do not get it as far as I am concerned. Laptop keyboards are always coming loose, video cabels doing the same. Broken latches are the norm and let us not forget the missing screws. They always ask you that. Desktops are ok depending on the model. I have some of the clamshell precision ones and they are horendous. They never close back properly and am consistanly getting them with loos cables or the drives not al the way seated on their bays. However the usually turn on and are ususally easy to get repaired. I hate compaqs and am not a gateway fanatic. The Dells are better than most but still have issues. I wish Acer still made their AOpen systems. Those were pretty good and standard components. The dell stuff is made with theirs and no MB upgrades or that type of item. Howver they do seem to perform good and are reliable once all is working. Memory is easily available and so far no drive issues either. I use a Dell at the house and am so far satisfied with it.

 

[V6 Beast]

I was IT Director for 8 years, Network engineer for 9 years before that and the Dells we got were crap. Especially the laptops which just kinda fell apart after a while. The desktops were tolerable. Gateways are even worse. Stryker has a good suggestion. The new compaqs are prob the best for the money. Although some of the cost savings are due to AMD rather than Intel Cpus. I personally prefer the AMDs anyway and run them in both of my Home PCs. The Compaq I just got my mom at Best Buy, had AMD 2200, 512Mb Ram, ATI video, DVD/CDR-W ans was under a grand. $949 after rebates I think. In my opinion, the best laptops out right now are the Sony Vios but they aren't cheap. Toshiba always has a consisent quality product.

Don't be fooled by the advertising, Dells aren't the best just because they say they are the best every 10 mins on TV.

Sully

 

[aperrego]

Dell has some pretty good support.. Compaq is also decent, I wish I could say the same for the gateways...

My needs are like yours but I wanted something that would not break that easy.. So I picked up a Panasonic Toughbook.. Run em over, throw it around, its still good.. Maybe pricey on the retail side of things but at times like mine I can get the refurbs for a fraction..

www.panasonic.com/toughbook

Just-a-thought

BTW: My car is going to have the 07 Model in the centerconsole and video feed to a Sony Multimedia/CD Player in the dash to run T0-Link or Direct Scan..