Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!ateng!howard
From: howard@ateng.com (Howard Morales)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Gateway 2000
Message-ID: <2563161C.21006@ateng.com>
Date: 16 Nov 89 20:18:35 GMT
References: <0ZLWYd_00WBLQ0w3JO@andrew.cmu.edu>
Sender: howard@ateng.com
Distribution: usa
Organization: A T Engineering, Tampa, FL
Lines: 60

Subject: Gateway 2000


>From: er1p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Erik Riedel)
>     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!


>From: troj@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu (Kevin Trojanowski)
>For the past few months I've been helping an acquaintance determine what
>sort of '386SX machine to purchase.  He'd limited his choices down to
>Zeos, Austin, or Gateway 2000.
>  ...
>One thing to note, however, is that DOS 4.01 (possibly 3.3) comes pre-loaded
>on the hard drive.  My guess is this mean that no manuals are included with
>the system.

	Wrong, all of the standard manuals are included.
>
>From my conversation with the salesman it sounds as if few, if any, parts of
>the package are etched in stone.  Instead, they're willing to change things
>around at the buyer's request.  Some changes cost money, some reduce the
>charge, some leave it alone.

  I bought an AT system from Gateway in late June 1989.  It was 16Mhz 80286,
two floppy, 40 Meg HD, VGA with DOS 4.01.  I did a lot of shopping around
amoung the mail order companies and it came down to the same three, Zeos,
Austin, and Gateway.  Zeos had the advantage of same day delivery (vs two
weeks) while Austin claims to be made in the U.S.A.  But I decided that
Gateway had a significantly better value for only a couple hundred dollars
more.

  The salesperson I talked to (Nancy) was great, and very knowledgeable.
They are willing to add or remove components with appropriate adjustments
in price.  I upgraded my monitor to a NEC MultiSync 2A (?).  When I called
for sales information they did try to get me to place my order immedately
by offering an extra discount ($50?), but I was able to get the same price
when I called back several days later.

  I am very pleased with my system except for the fact that 386 systems have
dropped to the same price that my 286 cost in June.  Maybe I should have
waited.  The only problems have been a loss of CMOS memory (this has happened
three times since June) and an annoying rattle/buzz from the cover.  The
VGA display is spectacular.

  Their service seems to be pretty good. They will call back the same day or
at a specific time if you request.  They don't have any Saturday or evening
hours unfortunately.  I did have to talk to two or three techs before I
finally got hold of someone who really knew how to setup my CMOS so that
it worked with expanded memory.  The one really bad thing is their mother-
board manual.  It is full of misspellings, bad grammer, etc.  Some parts
are only barely understandable.  The rest of the documentation is good.

  I fully recommend them based on my experience.  I think that they have the
best fully integrated complete system for the price, and they use quality
components.  And they have a good guarantee. 30 days no questions asked,
you only pay postage back.