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From: v053qgzj@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (David M Snyderman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Gateway 2000 Computers
Message-ID: <64275@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU>
Date: 10 Mar 91 02:35:53 GMT
References: <1991Mar8.011318.28717@mathcs.sjsu.edu> <wbqJ5Sm00Wg1M8hdpI@andrew.cmu.edu>
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In article <wbqJ5Sm00Wg1M8hdpI@andrew.cmu.edu>, jc58+@andrew.cmu.edu (Johnny J. Chin) writes...
>In summary ... I have to say DO NOT BUY THEM! ... I have heard from too many

I disagree-- buy them (as you will see below) if you don't expect to need a lot
of tech service.

>people here (on campus) and back home in NYC who have bought a GATEWAY computer
>because they are CHEAP.  And that is exactly what they are ... CHEAP ... in

Disagree.  I have had no problems with mine-- I've had it since the end of 
November.  Everything has worked fine and all of the components seem to be of
high quality:  I've popped the top off several times and everything looks good 
to me-- by that, I mean that the boards are well constructed, well soldered
(if you've done any soldering, even if you can't do it yourself, you recognize
it when you see it), without kludged circuits.  In addition, everything seems
solid.

>price as well as quality.  Many of them had problems with right out of the box.
>Things from not running protected-mode software properly (ie. freezing after a

Haven't tried any OS/2 (is that what you mean by protected-mode?) but everything
that I have tried, has run fine, including Windows 3 in 386 enhanced mode (I have
an uncached 386-25).

>few minutes) to system dropping dead altogether (things such as motherboards
>and power supplies).  My friends, who have used GATEWAY said that they will 

I would.  I think the quality for the buck is unmatched.  I think that any 
manufacturer is going to ship a few duds; just because your friends have 
gotten them does not imply that ALL the machines Gateway ships are of poor
quality.  I sympathize with your friends, but the general opinion of Gateway
on the net has tended to be positive.

>never buy one from them again; and will spend a little more money and get a
>much more reliable system.
> 
>I hope this will guide anyone of you planning on purchasing a new computer
>someday soon.

My complaint about Gateway:  Tech support is tremendously overloaded.  That's 
why I mention the caveat above about not needing a lot of support.  If you
are new to PC's and think that you need someone to guide you through a lot of the
first few steps, maybe youshould stick to someone with empty, 24 hour support
lines  (Zeios or Northgate) or a local office (like your local Compuadd store).

It should be noted that Gateway has promised (to me and others) that they are 
training many more support personnell.  They are also (supposedly) considering
going to a 24 hour support system.

Another *big* plus for Gateway:  they shipped exactly on time.  With all the
complaints about other mail order houses....
Also, keep in mind that Northgate is supposedly on shaky financial grounds.
And who knows about some of the other fly-by-night firms?

Enough commercial.  For the record, I don't work for Gateway and do not intend
to.
David M. Snyderman
V053QGZJ@UBVMSB