RE: Dell vs. Gateway

[Jo Ann]

 brainpause
i got an emachine at bestbuy...and it was.

[MOcamper]

 brainpause
I have a DELL desktop and a laptop,and both are great computers.

[slowpez]

 brainpause
Dell

[NCSunshine]

 brainpause
I went with Gateway for customer service, great!  I have a desktop and a laptop.  By accident they sent two laptops, so we sold the second to my sister instead of them having it shipped back.  Had a bad CD rom in my desktop, bought from a Gateway store.  They shipped us the CD rom and a man to come and install it for us at our home, way to go Gateway.  Other than that no problems and still loving Gateway.
 
 Have had no experience with Dell, so I can t compare.

[brainpause]

 brainpause
Thanks to all for the replies! Keep them coming! It is a major purchase, so I wanna do the right thing.
 
 Larry

[campingcop]

 brainpause
Emachine,got one for dw,came with windows xp,256ram,cd,cdr dvd rom,60gig hard dive, 17"  mon. 4usb ports,and a few other things I can t think of right now but it coast less than $800.00 out the door with a 2yr. warrenty.
 
 This was on sale prior to Christmas

[labontefan]

 brainpause
We use Dell equipment at work and it seems to do fine. However, at home, I m on my 3rd Gateway. Bought the first one in 1996, upgraded that one in 1998, and just purchased a brand new whiz-bang model with flat screen monitor, DVD drive, and CD burner this past June.
 
 I ordered the 1st two Gateways by phone. The last one I drove to the local Gateway store to place the order. I already knew what I wanted...just kinda wanted to take a look at it and talk to someone about it.
 
 The one I purchased in 1998 is still working...it s in one room and the new one is in another.
 
 I ordered the 1st Gateway because I liked their ads better than anyone else s! The second one I debated between Gateway and Dell, but Gateway had the software I wanted. This last time I also debated between Gateway and Dell. Got a little upset with Dell when I e-mailed them with a question about shipping and sales tax. After several days I got a reply, but the reply they sent was a canned response that did NOT answer my question. So I sent another e-mail, asking the same question. That was sometime last year and I m still waiting for the answer!!! Since I spend about 8 hours a day answering customer s e-mail...and we can usually guarantee an answer within 8 hours, I was not impressed with their customer service.
 
 The few times I ve had to contact Gateway for service, I ve had good experiences. The monitor I purchased with the 1998 system started dying around Christmas 1999. The system was purchased in January of  98 so it was almost 2 years old. The monitor finally wouldn t come on at all. I called Gateway tech support. I was prepared for a long wait on hold, but got right through. I told the lady that my monitor was dead. She asked what it was doing. I said, " Nothing. The screen is black."  She told me to try a couple of things and I did. She asked what the monitor was doing now. Same answer: " Nothing, the screen is black."  We tried one or two more things, and I gave her the same answer. Then she said, " OK, we ll send you a new monitor."  I was a little surprised...I didn t realize it was still under warranty. She said the new monitor would be there in 4 to 6 days. It was there in about 3 days! It came with a letter telling me to put the old monitor back in the box after I took the new one out, and send it back to Gateway. They included prepaid shipping labels. The new monitor worked fine...and it s still working!
 
 That s my idea of customer service!!
 
 I m a big fan of Gateway, but I don t think you would go wrong with either.

[tlhdoc]

 brainpause
My second computer was a Gateway and my third is a Dell.  We went with Dell the second time, because they are supposed to have better support (I haven t needed it).  With my Gateway I spent hours on hold waiting to talk to their support people.  The other reason we went with Dell is that they had a better price for what I wanted.  Gateway said they would match the price, but they changed the video card, modem, speakers and processor.  It was not the same computer.  We had the Gateway for 7 years and my sister still uses it for email.  The Dell is going on 3 years.[]

[CamperJones]

 campingcop
I have a new Dell and it really has been a great investment for me as my previous computer lived a long and happy life running on Window95 until I retired it a few months ago.  I did read the Consumer Reports computer comparisions and the most interesting thing that stuck out in my mind about the article was that those that purchased their computers online were MORE pleased than those that bought theirs in person.  I found that to be very interesting and so I didn t feel uncomfortable going online to Dell and putting together what I needed.  However, the model I did go with was considered " over kill"  by Consumer Reports standards as they pretty much touted both Dell s and Gateways more entry level models.  However, for the most part Gateway, Dell and Apple were crowd pleasers in the report.  This probably doesn t really help you much in your quest but if you listen to the folks here and configure what you need (hard drive capacity, etc) and then compare the costs I am sure that you will be happy with your choice.  Sadly, no matter what you buy it seems that as soon as you get it home and unbox it something new and better will be ready to take its place!  But as one who has lived through many hard drive crashes in my business computers the only thing I can say is to buy the best you can afford and then backup religiously.  After all, they are just a machine and they will eventually fail just hopefully not until AFTER your friends start making fun of you for having a " dinosaur"  on your desk - LOL!  Good luck in your purchase!

[mike4947]

 campingcop
Having been around computers for going on 30 years ( back in the days when a 8"  floppy drive was a big addition and cost big bucks) and purchased them for both work and home use. I can say that for the average plug it in and use it with no intention of ever opening up the case yourself any of the major brands are sufficent for your uses; and that includes both home and work as long as you really tell the salespeople what you intend to do with the machine.
 Having said that my last two computers were both purchased from a local computer store that builds from components. The equivalent computer from Gateway, Dell, and HP were in the $1700-$1900 range. Mine cost $1100.
 No I didn t get " learn to type on the computer" , " Reader Rabbit" , and the other 98 software titles that very few people ever use and just take up space on the hard drive, but they both came with software suites from either Microsoft or Lotus that more than fill my needs for either home or carry home work. Other were transfered from older computers for specialized applications or for other hardware I ve got connected. I also saved the $90 or so that the big guys charge for shipping and got a killer 5 speaker audio surround sound sytem and top of the line video & sound cards.
 So don t think that the big three are your only choices, take a look around, your local paper classified ads can bring in some real bargins and look for some testimonials from friends in your area as well as your friends here. Don t forget buying from the big guys you re helping paying for those million dollar commercials you ll see on the SuperBowl.

[The Memory Maker]

 campingcop
Larry-
 It sounds to me that you have your reasons for choosing between the two but I might also add that....
 Macintosh has to be one of the most friendliest, and easiest to use systems out there. I teach digital photography at the college level, so I have to be able to teach in both the mac and PC world and he macintosh world is a much easier one.
 Don t just  take my word for it, check out: http://www.apple.com/switch/
 
 
 **PC users- I am not posting this as anything other than what it is, My opinion.

[Y-Guy]

 campingcop
Gateway, Dells, Generics oh my. Gateway, Dells, Generics oh my.
 
 You know I ve purchased both over the years.  Back when Gateway was " small"  and up until a few years back when they were huge. Honestly they are both about the same on quality.  I do suggest the 3 year warranty, just because it seems the monitors and other parts usually go about 2 years before having problems or they go forever without a thing.  I ve outfitted four of the organizations I ve worked for using either Gateway or Dell.  I ve also bought local generic.  I can t judge all generics but I wouldn t buy from the place I did before, after I ve left I ve heard the generics had a lot of problems and were slow on service/parts.  Over the years with Gateway and Dell I ve replaced hard drives, monitors, video cards, etc., after a quick diagnosis they ship the part out FedEx and I can install the next day and be up and running.  Only once did I have them send a tech out.  In our house we have a Gateway from 1996, one from 1998 and a Dell from 2000.  All are running just fine.  If you can get a good deal, free shipping, etc. then go for the one you like that has the best features, best/fastest processor you can afford. Oh and I recall that Costco is now selling Dells too.
 
 The one thing I don t like on the Gateway/Dell s are the cheap keyboards.  They usually feel very hollow, so I opt to buy either a Logitech or Microsoft and not one they have branded with Dell/Gateway.  When they do that they always have a cheap feeling.  
 
 Happy shopping!

[bikolee]

 brainpause
Larry,
 I still say Dell, but it really all depends on what applications you plan on running. I use my machine at home for CAD on the weekends. I am hooked into our network here at work thru a VPN and DSL connection. My computer at home would normally be way overkill for a home machine, but with the apps I have to be able to run, it was needed. I won t get into all of it, but I have 512M of RAM, a 128M video card, 19"  monitor and I run Windows 2000 professional. The apps I run need a NT based OS. Nowadays you can buy a Dell or Compaq, don t really recommend Compaq, for about the same price as a no name. You just need to figure out how much machine you need. But remember, within a year it will be obsolete so buy more than you think you need.

[Redwolf]

 The Memory Maker

ORIGINAL:  The Memory Maker
 
 Macintosh has to be one of the most friendliest, and easiest to use systems out there. I teach digital photography at the college level, so I have to be able to teach in both the mac and PC world and he macintosh world is a much easier one.
 Don t just  take my word for it, check out: http://www.apple.com/switch/
 
 
 **PC users- I am not posting this as anything other than what it is, My opinion.
 

 I completely agree.  I just dumped our PC s in favor of two Macs...a big dual processor PowerMac and an iBook.   I haven t been this excited about using a computer in over a decade.   Easiest and best operating system I ve ever used (and I m a systems programmer).  
 
 Apple s license agreements aren t nearly as abusive or restrictive as Microsofts, too.
 
 

[byrdr1]

 brainpause
" DUDE it s a dell"
 Larry I purcahsed a Gateway for the oldest as she is in college and it has been hastle free. I purchased from Tiger Direct.
 Work I use a nice new Dell GX1 and Dell is what the company is going to. Wife got a new one last week and it was a Dell..
 Mine at work is W2K on the NT framework.
 I haven t had one blue screen since I got this PC.
 But the daughter s works fine and makes digital picture transfers to CD easy as pie. She has WXP.
 randy