Re:

[Joanie]

And Kitty Kat I just heard that QVC, the Shopping channel is going to launch the Gateway Pentium IV at midnight eastern tonight.



Beware folks we hate to see anymore friends left out in the cold like we all were with Quantex.



Thanks Fred Langa and Scuzzy.  All the more reason to think Dell.



Joanie



 

[query]

The only reason -not- to think of Dell for desktops is that they don't offer AMD Athlons - you either have to take less performance for slightly more money (the PIII), or less performance for a lot more money (the underwhelming Pentium-4, released today).



Sooner or later, the large gap in Intel's offerings (between the 1 GHz PIII and the 1400 MHz P-4) will force Dell into offering AMD processors.







 

[scuzzy]

Yep, you're right, query. Although Dell is still my favorite, I'm disappointed that they don't carry a line of computers with the Athlon processors. Sooner or later, that has to change.



 

[Joanie]

QQQ, The Athlon is sounding pretty good to me right now but I would never buy any computer this time of the year. The write ups and reviews have all been so positive.



Joanie



 

[Bubba]

Gateway !!!!?!??????



My son got a Gateway delivered last Monday,,,five days later the hard drive died !!!  Tech line responded well,,, said they were sending out a new drive, and would have a guy come out and install it,,, ok,,,, any 'puter can die, it was just weird. There are two other Gateway users here in town,, who said they would "not" get another one.... looks like Dell is king-a-the hill for right now.



 

[query]

Gateway and Dell use identical hard drives from identical manufacturers - having one die is no more likely with one company than with the other.  About all they can do is send a replacement - and if Gateway came though with that, it's exactly what Dell would have done.



I don't think there's as much difference between Dell and Gateway as some would have you believe - both make nice mainstream machines, and junk low-end machines - but Gateway has the advantage over Dell that they don't lock you into buying an overpriced PIII or hyper-overpriced P-4 - you have the choice of buying a Select system with an Athlon processor, which is a lot more value for the dollar.







 

[scuzzy]

You're right, query. I couldn't agree with you more. However, alarms go off everywhere when people are treated the way Fred Langa was. For the management of Gateway to become arrogant with their customers is of concern. I know Dell customers can come up with their own horror stories, too, and I am also beginning to believe that Dell is overpriced compared to similar systems. But I also know that I've consistently received excellent customer service from Dell. - SCUZZY



 

[query]

I don't know if Dell is overpriced for the level of service it usually offers - one of the biggest problems in the PC industry is that people demand the lowest possible prices, without realizing that there are compromises in quality and service that go with a low price.  



I do know that while Dell generally receives high marks, that I've had some experiences with their support people that have been less than great, mostly through my former employer.  No company is perfect - but people will probably hold Dell to a higher standard, partly because of reputation and partly because of price, just as Toyota is held to higher standards than is Dodge - expectations are in part based on price, and part based on experience.







 

[Don G]

quote:

.....- one of the biggest problems in the PC industry is that people demand the lowest possible prices, without realizing that there are compromises in quality and service that go with a low price.  





 

Admittedly a very big problem, but not limited to the PC industry. Seems to be prevalent, in most, if not all, industries.



Don G

[query]

You're absolutely right - it's especially pervasive in electronics.  Now that there are $50 VCRs, most manufacturers have cut costs and quality, and no longer offer the solidly-built models of past years - you have little choice but to buy a disposable unit now.



Although it may be better for the economy, I wonder about the impact on the environment - you can't easily recycle a VCR once its now-shorter lifespan is over.







 

[mowman]

After reading this thread the other day, and talking to some other folks, paid a visit to my local GW Country Store. I looked over the merchandise, then went home and ordered a Dell!!

No slam on GW, their people were very nice, and knowlegable, just had to go with my gut feel, along with other information gained from this site and others.

System is P111, 1Ghz, 128meg, 40hd. Ship date is 12/4. More news later.



Mike C.

[scuzzy]

I think Gateway may be going the way of Quantex if something doesn't change. It looks like Fred Langa is having troubles with them. The following quote is from his Langa List:

quote:4) Gateway Blows It



Over the years, I've bought many many PCs. I've rotated through a number of vendors and chip types, and probably have bought more boxes from Dell, Gateway and Micron than from any other sources. I've gotten good PCs and service from all three companies.



But now, I'm taking Gateway off my list.



Last month, I ordered a new system from Gateway--- a top-of-the-line unit running an AMD 1.2GHz processor and equipped with all the bells and whistles. I knew that the 1.2GHz processors were in short supply, so I expected a delay, and indeed, at order-time, I was given a projected ship date that was further out than usual.



The date came and went. I contacted Gateway. They cited the chip shortage, and gave me a new date. OK. That was not too unexpected. But then that date came and went without a peep from Gateway. When time continued to pass and nothing was happening with my order, I finally called Gateway to cancel. I bounced through their phone system and human operators until I got to a person who supposedly was high enough in the food chain to be able to cancel my order. She argued with me(!), and wanted to talk me out of canceling. I finally said something like "Look, I just want to cancel the order, OK?" She wished me luck (!!) and hung up on me.



I've written to Gateway and asked for in-writing confirmation that my order was cancelled, but so far have heard nothing back. As of this morning, the Gateway automated order-tracking service shows my order is still in the system.



No, I won't accept delivery of the system if it comes, and yes, I will tell my credit card company to withhold payment to Gateway.



But you know, when supervisory-level account reps are hanging up on customers, you know something bad is going on inside a company. It will be a very, very long time before I consider any Gateway PC again, and I suggest you think long and hard about risking your money on a Gateway system, too. FRED LANGA