# Gateway vs. Dell



## rylz (Aug 31, 2000)

Hi everyone...

Which is the better PC: Dell or Gateway?
(just for home and some office work only)

Thanks!


----------



## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

I was disappointed recently to see that Dell will no longer tell people how to get rid of Spyware on their PCs. 
But I hink I would still go with someone other than either of those two. Just my opinion.


----------



## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Dell has some really good deals right now.

And I don't see why they should need to assist people in getting rid of spyware  It's not their fault..........


----------



## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

Apparently they are not *even allowed* to tell customers about Spyware removal progs. I'll post the thread when I find it again!


----------



## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Oh, I think I saw it 

And it's probably called CYA since they have no control over what the removal programs COULD do to a system, if it's not done correctly...........


----------



## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

Here it is! 
http://forums.techguy.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184904&highlight=Dell+spyware


----------



## Big-K (Nov 22, 2003)

Acacandy: the computers come preloaded with spyware, they're gettin paid i think.


----------



## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

No, the computers do not come preloaded with spyware, it's just that if somebody has a problem with their computer being slowed down, and the problem happens to be spyware, then there's nothing Dell will do about it, except probably try to convince you to buy a new one.


----------



## sleekluxury (Oct 5, 2003)

Yeah like McTimson said, they don't install spyware, they just wont help delete it, Dell is the way to go, i get great help and it's affordable.  :up: 

Give me a money amount of what you want to spend and i can build you a Dell System online, and show you


----------



## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

Building your own would be my preference....give me the amount you want to spend, and I can build you a real, non-proprietary computer with free tech support that will tell you how to get rid of spyware.


----------



## sleekluxury (Oct 5, 2003)

, Nah i can build a Dell, we are here to remove spyware, why would u make a call to do that? Lol


----------



## sleekluxury (Oct 5, 2003)

> _Originally posted by McTimson:_
> *No, the computers do not come preloaded with spyware, it's just that if somebody has a problem with their computer being slowed down, and the problem happens to be spyware, then there's nothing Dell will do about it, except probably try to convince you to buy a new one. *


Buy another or ReFormat the Hard Drive


----------



## GoJoAGoGo (Dec 26, 2002)

Dell is my choice ... :up:


----------



## sleekluxury (Oct 5, 2003)

Alright GoJoAGoGo
:up:


----------



## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

sleekluxury, you don't 'build' anything when you buy a Dell, they build it for you. My point was, you can get a better computer for cheaper than Dell offers, using non-proprietary parts, and get free tech support here. Why would you make a call for tech support for anything when you have this site?



> Buy another or ReFormat the Hard Drive


See, that's my point, they'll either have you reformat or buy a new one, when all you have to do is run one program. Would you rather lose all your data, or take 2 minutes to run a simple program?


----------



## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

> _Originally posted by McTimson:_
> *sleekluxury, you don't 'build' anything when you buy a Dell, they build it for you. My point was, you can get a better computer for cheaper than Dell offers, using non-proprietary parts, and get free tech support here. Why would you make a call for tech support for anything when you have this site?
> 
> See, that's my point, they'll either have you reformat or buy a new one, when all you have to do is run one program. Would you rather lose all your data, or take 2 minutes to run a simple program? *


----------



## ComputerFix (May 27, 2002)

My fiancé uses a Dell for work, and I have never seen a PC burn up components as fast as her first, then second, system have. (two boxes in 3 years is a bit much as well!) 

Granted, it isn't like a floppy drive, for example, is expensive or difficult to replace, but given how infrequently she used it (the drive), I think that it should have made it longer than a year on one, 6 mos on the current (and needing to be replaced again!)

As for Gateway...no experience first or second hand.


----------



## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Good mornin' CF 

My first computer was a Gateway. Still use it for business.
But talking about defective parts:
The CD rom went bad under warranty-replaced free
The mouse went bad under warranty-replaced free
The keyboard went bad under warranty-replaced free
The monitor went bad just out of warranty 
The hard drive went bad just out of warranty (interesting light show from the underneath of it, however)
The first install CD was defective

I'm now more of a mind to build or buy at an auction.
Recently picked up a P11 450 Dell for $20 at a Lexis Nexis auction, to play with  Gotta love the value of 'old' tech


----------



## aineo (May 3, 2003)

My first computer was a Gateway also and it sucked!!! I had to replace the modem 9 times (Yes, 9), the soundcard 3 times, and the monitor twice. Fortunately it was all covered by warranty, but it still sucked. My second computer was a Dell and I highly recommend them! I have not had a bit of trouble out of it. That's my 2 cents worth.


----------



## shadowboss (Jan 13, 2004)

I've been using a Dell Inspiron 8200 1.6GHz P4 mobile and 512M RAM for about a year and 9 months with no problems. While I can't speak firsthand about Gateway, most IT departments in the companies I've worked for seem to prefer Dell.


----------



## brite750 (Mar 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by shadowboss:_
> *I've been using a Dell Inspiron 8200 1.6GHz P4 mobile and 512M RAM for about a year and 9 months with no problems. While I can't speak firsthand about Gateway, most IT departments in the companies I've worked for seem to prefer Dell. *


If it's like my company, it's not that they prefer Dell, the company probably has a contract to get service and better pricing if they buy Dell. The IT has no choice. The problem with Dell and Gateway is they buy their components in massive numbers for the cheapest they prices they can find. If you notice on their sites, they don't name their components, except video card, you get what ever they have on the assembly line at the time your pc gets built. I like build it yourself or small local companies (with good reps) they build a system with the parts you pick, sure you have to do some homework, but you end up with alot better product. I do 3D CAD work so my company spent $3000 on a Dell Precision 650 Xeon workstation with a $1000 video card, I spent $1000 on a XP2500+ system that smokes it in ever way. So keep being lazy and sending you money to Dell/Gateway.


----------



## prospect (Jun 13, 2002)

I have a friend that just bought a Dell. Well it didn't take her long to screwup her OS. It is Dells' version of XP. And boy does it suck! 

I'm running XP Pro/sp1. It does everything for ya.

When I got Dells' version of XP to go in, it didn't installl any of the drivers for anything. There was a seprate disk for the drivers. And I had to call there support in India to get the righ drivers off the disk.  

It was a mess. But after it got it up and running it seemed ok. But ya have to write down everything about the drivers.  

Otherwise you'll forget. And it always happens when the tech support is done.


----------



## brite750 (Mar 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by prospect:_
> *I have a friend that just bought a Dell. Well it didn't take her long to screwup her OS. It is Dells' version of XP. And boy does it suck!
> 
> I'm running XP Pro/sp1. It does everything for ya.
> ...


That's just more reasons not to buy mass market machines. Buy local, support your neighbors, not some guy in India. Keep your local economy going. When you build-it yourself or buy from local pc shop, you get OEM disks for everything, you pay your $30 and get all OS/drivers everthing loaded and ready to go. If you have a problem, you can take box to shop in person, no shipping crap, and talk to someone that not only speaks engish, they may be the person who built your rig.


----------



## shadowboss (Jan 13, 2004)

> _Originally posted by brite750:_
> *If it's like my company, it's not that they prefer Dell, the company probably has a contract to get service and better pricing if they buy Dell. The IT has no choice. The problem with Dell and Gateway is they buy their components in massive numbers for the cheapest they prices they can find. If you notice on their sites, they don't name their components, except video card, you get what ever they have on the assembly line at the time your pc gets built. I like build it yourself or small local companies (with good reps) they build a system with the parts you pick, sure you have to do some homework, but you end up with alot better product. I do 3D CAD work so my company spent $3000 on a Dell Precision 650 Xeon workstation with a $1000 video card, I spent $1000 on a XP2500+ system that smokes it in ever way. So keep being lazy and sending you money to Dell/Gateway. *


Brite750, It's actually not about being lazy! I have built many systems before, but have you ever tried building a laptop? That's why I chose Dell. It's a trade off--time for money--in most cases. Some people don't have the time to assemble a system even if it is a cheaper way to go. For them, the convenience is worth paying a little extra $$.

Also, I find it hard to believe that building your own system is cheaper than buying one from a PC mfr. Many times you'll see a system from a major brand advertised at $799 or less. When I built my own systems, just the motherboard and CPU can run nearly $500. That's not even counting the cost of a Hard disk, RAM, or even the tower.

Lastly, I suppose I should have qualified my statements a little bit when I said that IT departments recommended Dell. I have friends who work in my company's IT dept., and my friends have recommended Dell. This wasn't just because it was the patent "company mantra". This was from friends who have actually had to troubleshoot, repair, and maintain systems from many various makers.

Ok, I hope that sheds some light! But like I said in the beginning, I can't speak to the performance of Gateway since I have never owned one. They might be just as good for all I know.

Cheers!


----------



## Big-K (Nov 22, 2003)

I agree with the part about homebuilts costing more. Someone i know(my age) built his own rig, it cost him over 1000 bucks i think(not positive), either way, its not ALL that much better than mine which cost me 325 with shipping(stormtek thunder). He did however chose each part himself so he knew everything about it, although he does still ask questions on tsg.


----------



## brite750 (Mar 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by shadowboss:_
> *Brite750, It's actually not about being lazy! I have built many systems before, but have you ever tried building a laptop? That's why I chose Dell. It's a trade off--time for money--in most cases. Some people don't have the time to assemble a system even if it is a cheaper way to go. For them, the convenience is worth paying a little extra $$.
> 
> Also, I find it hard to believe that building your own system is cheaper than buying one from a PC mfr. Many times you'll see a system from a major brand advertised at $799 or less. When I built my own systems, just the motherboard and CPU can run nearly $500. That's not even counting the cost of a Hard disk, RAM, or even the tower.
> ...


It is about being lazy, many people who buy Dell or other mass market pc's, tend to know nothing about computers, don't want to know nothing about computers, and that's fine, in fact that's the way Dell markets them. Watch the commercials some time, Dell says call us and tell us what you want to DO with the pc and we will spec it out for you. This way you don't have to know gigs, megs, ram, dual-channel this, Raid that. For those people Dell is good choice, but I still think you should buy local from a reputable dealer. BTW I didn't say it was cheaper to build your own, it may or may not be, my point was that by telling Dell what I needed I ended up with a $3000 pc, when I spec'd it myself after a little research, I ended up with a better pc for $2000 less, that's a savings. As far as laptops go, don't have one, never wanted one. Our sales engineers that travel all over the world need them, I don't, they are a very expensive toy, but they serve a purpose. I have heard that Toshiba is the best, a friend of mine had a Dell and it was a piece of junk, but that may have been operator rather than hardware related. Please do not take offense of the word lazy, I meant lazy in that people don't want to do alot of research about something that they have limited interest in, not weather or not they build their own, I don't have the time or inclination for that either, just put it on my desk and fire it up.


----------



## brite750 (Mar 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Big-K:_
> *I agree with the part about homebuilts costing more. Someone i know(my age) built his own rig, it cost him over 1000 bucks i think(not positive), either way, its not ALL that much better than mine which cost me 325 with shipping(stormtek thunder). He did however chose each part himself so he knew everything about it, although he does still ask questions on tsg. *


I looked at the specs of your pc, and yes you can get some good deals on AMD Duron comps, with onboard everything. If you post your friends pc I'm sure for a $1000 that the parts are not the same, however if your pc does what you need it to do and is reliable, then you got a bargain. You could use some Ram though, TSG has said many times that XP needs 256 just to run properly.

Stormtek Thunder / AMD Duron 1.6GHz / 128MB / 20GB / CD-RW / NIC / 56K / XP Home Edition 
Features
AMD Duron 1.6GHz Processor 
128MB Onboard Memory 
20GB Hard Drive 
CD-RW Drive 
1.44MB Floppy Drive 
6-in-1 Flash Memory Reader 
32MB DDR 3D SiS AGP 4x Graphics (Onboard)

10/100Mbps Ethernet Adapter 
PCTel HSP56 MR 56K Modem 
PS/2 Keyboard 
PS/2 Scroll Mouse 
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Wouldn't mind something like this for my daughter for $350ish


----------



## shadowboss (Jan 13, 2004)

No offense taken at all brite750. My Dell laptop is of the classification "desktop replacement". It is bulky, large and heavy, but it also is much more compact and saves me a lot of footprint space. I've had very good performance out of it, and that's basically all I wanted to share with the original poster.

I agree with you that it is probably better for your local economy to purchase and service your PC locally. But, I think you end up paying more for it because the mom and pops don't have the supply chain infrastructure of the big PC makers. Not that that's good or bad, it just is what it is.

Now take this with an ounce of humorous sarcasm ok? No offense intended, but getting back to the principle of being lazy for a second. I suppose, if I weren't so lazy, I would do some research, go out and buy all the necessary parts, and build my own car. I don't even know how to fix my car to be honest with you, and I just don't have the time anyway. I'd rather pay someone who invested their time in learning about auto repair to fix my car. Sure, I know some basic auto repair, but there's no way I'm going to jump in there and replace a timing belt! HAHAHA Anyway, my point is that the same logic applies to PCs. For some people, they see their PCs as a tool, not a toy. All they need it to do is perform a particular function. So I don't think it's fair to label these people as lazy which implies that they lack some sort of mental fortitude. In the end, I suppose it's about your priorities. For you and me, we like to know what's going on under the cases of our PCs, but for others, they couldn't care less.

Oh, and before I forget. I happen to agree with you that it is despicable for Dell to say, "...just call us and tell us what you want to do, and we'll customize a PC just for you..." I think this opens way too big of a door for gramma and grampa to get screwed over when all they need to do is check email from their grandkids. Just seems like a way for Dell to take blatant advantage of people who don't know anything about computers. Consumer beware.


----------



## Big-K (Nov 22, 2003)

> _Originally posted by brite750:_
> *I looked at the specs of your pc, and yes you can get some good deals on AMD Duron comps, with onboard everything. If you post your friends pc I'm sure for a $1000 that the parts are not the same, however if your pc does what you need it to do and is reliable, then you got a bargain. You could use some Ram though, TSG has said many times that XP needs 256 just to run properly.
> 
> Stormtek Thunder / AMD Duron 1.6GHz / 128MB / 20GB / CD-RW / NIC / 56K / XP Home Edition
> ...


Nice job there brite, but thats not my specs I have 256 onboard(i added a stick of 128), a 40 gig hard drive, a cd-rw combo, no idea waht the graphics was but i upgraded it from onboard to a radeon 7000 64mb, i think it came with a modem, it had no os, and it only cost me 300 or so, 323 with shipping. I dont know seriously what his specs are, i can ask though. Hes already got somewhere from 384-512 and is upgrading another 512 cuz its not fast enough for him. Hes got 4 usb and is gettin a new card with 6 usb. Very sweet computer. Mine works great though. If you need a computer fer your daughter for 350 or so, look in the hardware section. Theres a twopage thread called Upgrading Ram, I posted a link to a very good computer alot like mine for 350 or so. It does come with XP and a burner.

Either way the supplier of your specs was wrong. I can get you the original page for my computer though if you want it, its in the tigerdirect archive.


----------



## skyman (Jan 30, 2001)

In today's computer age you have 2 types of people.

One, the people who know all the ins and outs of computers and know exactly what works best for they want. They know and understand all the hardware that will create a great system and know how to build it and make it work for them.

Two, you have the average user who wants to experience 
the web, email, word processing, a calendar, a file that they can put their recipes in, a simple spreadsheet or database program and have someone to call when they have a problem.

Both users have a place to go. If you are in the latter category,
Dell is the best way to go.

Dell is cheap and offers the most for your dollar and is more than the average user will ever need.

Is Dell the system for everyone? No but it is the best that is out there for the AVERAGE user...


----------



## brite750 (Mar 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by shadowboss:_
> *
> Now take this with an ounce of humorous sarcasm ok? No offense intended, but getting back to the principle of being lazy for a second. I suppose, if I weren't so lazy, I would do some research, go out and buy all the necessary parts, and build my own car. I don't even know how to fix my car to be honest with you, and I just don't have the time anyway. I'd rather pay someone who invested their time in learning about auto repair to fix my car. Sure, I know some basic auto repair, but there's no way I'm going to jump in there and replace a timing belt! HAHAHA Anyway, my point is that the same logic applies to PCs. For some people, they see their PCs as a tool, not a toy. All they need it to do is perform a particular function. So I don't think it's fair to label these people as lazy which implies that they lack some sort of mental fortitude. In the end, I suppose it's about your priorities. For you and me, we like to know what's going on under the cases of our PCs, but for others, they couldn't care less.
> 
> Oh, and before I forget. I happen to agree with you that it is despicable for Dell to say, "...just call us and tell us what you want to do, and we'll customize a PC just for you..." I think this opens way too big of a door for gramma and grampa to get screwed over when all they need to do is check email from their grandkids. Just seems like a way for Dell to take blatant advantage of people who don't know anything about computers. Consumer beware. *


 The car anology is good, in fact in the old days when cars were simple, most people did probably work on their own cars, but today, well, just look under that hood, I'm lucky if I can find the windshield washer reservior. Lazy is probably the wrong word I'm looking for, lets' put it this way, before you buy something like a car or pc you should know alittle about what your buying, otherwise like you say, grandma and grandpa, are going to get ripped off.


----------



## brite750 (Mar 16, 2002)

Big-K
I just did a google search and that's what came up, no big deal. Ah so you upgraded it after the $300, so now your up to maybe $400 or $450 depending on what you spent, plus an OS, win2000 just set me back $159. I'm just looking at the total cost of pc, although it sounds like your friend has upgraded as well.


----------



## Big-K (Nov 22, 2003)

Yeah it had no OS so we installed our copy of XP on it. Ive put in a 128 stick of ram, which we already had. Since i have only one upgrade slot(256 onboard) im going to buy either a 256 or a 512 stick of ram for it. Ive also bought a Radeon 7000 for $50 or so, next day of course they put a 20 dollar rebate on the same product. Ive also added on one Cd-rom drive(slid in)


----------



## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

> _Originally posted by brite750:_
> *The car anology is good, in fact in the old days when cars were simple, most people did probably work on their own cars, but today, well, just look under that hood, I'm lucky if I can find the windshield washer reservior. *


Lol, sometimes, it's hard enough trying to figure out which side the gas cap is on.

Has anyone rented a car lately?????? Tell me you didn't have the windshield wipers on for a couple minutes cause you couldn't figure out how to turn them off


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

OK I did not have that trouble candy renting a car.


----------



## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Well, then you don't count


----------



## michael_jii (Feb 19, 2003)

gateway, i have heard you can only upgrade dells with dell components, expensive,

michael


----------



## Wyndia (Mar 22, 2004)

The upgrading using only their parts is (from what I've heard and seen) is practiced by many companies.

When I bought a Dell about 6 years ago, I was very pleased with their customer support and the very strong build of the computer. Then, my brother bought one years down the road and it wasn't built as well. Now, they seem as if they are producing for the masses. Lack of quality over quantity.

I don't have much experience with Gateway, but I do remember back in the day how horrible their customer support was.

At one point I would pick Dell not only over Gateway, but most companies. I guess I'd go for Dell since they have good prices, but I'd rather build my own PC.


----------



## deuce (May 26, 2001)

If your choice is between these two companies, Dell and Gateway, or really any other mass-produced company, I would definitely go with Dell. On a whole, they are reliable, have good support and everyone I've seen has had a good experience. I would stay away from Gateway. I have huge problems with them that deal with ethical decisions made by the various conceited bigheads that have run the place over the years. However, none of it concerns anybody here, except Candy on a few things.  But aside from that, I'll still recomend you stay away from Gateway, because Dell makes a better product anyway.

*HOWEVER*, I would strongly recommend EVERY person in the market for a computer to go with one of these 3 routes: (in order that I would recomend them)

1.) Build it yourself. Typically cheaper, but on a basis of VALUE, always better. (quality) You know everything that is part of your computer, and it's there because you put it there, because you need it. You have strict control over your components, and can easily build a system that will last for years without the need for an upgrade. You also get the satisfaction of knowing that you built it yourself. I built my last computer almost 3 years ago, and it still runs very well, and fast enough for me. It is a 1.4 Ghz P4 with 640 mb RDRam, Radeon 7200 64 mb ddr, 48x tdk cd burner, lite-on dvd=rom, sound blaster audigy platinum, 100 and 120 GB HD, 10/100, XP Pro. All for about $700 which at the time was really good.

2.) Have a local shop with a good reputation and competitive prices build you a computer. It will be almost as good as building it yourself, but will be a little more. You will get the quality parts you pickout, and won't have to deal with all the stupid crap the mass-produced companies (a.k.a. dell and gateway) load on your compuer. You'll also have local support, which means fewer hassels than with a compaq. 

3.) If you don't feel comfortable or don't have the time to build it yourself, and don't have a local shop to do it for you, go with one of the discount-built systems that you would find at Staples or Fry's--just make SURE you aren't getting sh*tty parts that will fail in 3 months. Typically, some of the discount-systems at these stores are a good compromise of a bare-minimum solution. (i.e. come with ONLY an OS, no monitor, no other software) I good idea is to post the components of one of these and let people here pick at it.

If it's a laptop you need, than I would go with either Dell, Toshiba or HP (laptops only....never buy an HP *cough* compaq desktop).

As a final note, *NEVER EVER EVER* buy a Compaq!!


----------



## jdemnyan1116 (Mar 18, 2000)

Everyone can praise Dell but my daughters company just purchased 75 new dell computers and they have to have 2 tech reps on site to keep them running. This was 3 months ago and the technicians are still there and still as busy. A local banking firm around here with many branches just purchased some dell computers and for two weeks they were practically shut down. Customers were not too happy. Finally got them working but usually one out of the three are down at least twice a week.


----------



## Lurker1 (Jan 30, 2001)

Since the title is Dell Vs Gateway Pick a Dell as Gateway may not be here much longer.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/36745.html


----------



## Big-K (Nov 22, 2003)

I just realized how dell gets so much money!
As soon as you set it up, you got tech support with you 24/7, whether you like it or not!


----------



## matthewnj (Mar 5, 2005)

Dell has by far the worst tech support and customer service. You will hold for over 1 hour to get a tech support rep on the phone, and they will be in India.
If they don't know the answer to you rproblem they hang up the phone. And you will have to start over from the beggining.

There is no number to compalin or get a credit for you plan, they give you an address to write to, I wrote 8 letters. I never got a response. 

Whatever you do, do NOT buy a DELL


----------



## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

If you've not seen it, there is also a thread here http://forums.techguy.org/t334161.html pertaining to Dell pc's. This thread http://forums.techguy.org/t315250.html also has some pertinent info. My mom has a Gateway, she loves it. Bro in law family has a Gateway, they love it. However, both are ~2-3 year old machines, nothing really recent. Yet, support has been great for both parties. But again, I would go Apple, build my own, Dell, and then Gateway.


----------



## Fidelista (Jan 17, 2004)

skyman said:


> In today's computer age you have 2 types of people.
> 
> One, the people who know all the ins and outs of computers and know exactly what works best for they want. They know and understand all the hardware that will create a great system and know how to build it and make it work for them.
> 
> ...


I agree 100 percent :up: .
Most users are just that ,USERS. They have no interest in PC's internals or software, and woulndt open a case for any reason.
For them , I believe a Dell is a very good deal.
A friend just bought a mid-level Dell >>>>4700 with a 2.8 P-4 chip----512 ddr ram---80 gig hd---17 crt monitor--everything needed for about $700.
A fairly powerful PC that will do almost anything well {hes not a Gamer}.
I think it was a pretty good deal.
As far as tech help goes , I am not impressed with any companies help. I would use it only in event of hardware failure.
The last two machines I have bought were Dells {8100} {8200} and I have been very pleased, no problems but the ones I created!  >f


----------



## tdi_veedub (Jan 29, 2004)

I've worked with a few Dell's and find that some of the software they preload on their machines really eats up resources. Once all of that is disabled, they are nice little machines. For a general use PC they are pretty good value for the money.

Dell should not be responsible for what people install on their machines. Noone else is, or should be. I don't understand why people feel that a corporation must kiss the ground their customers walk on. Too many people must be reading slashdot.


----------



## CouchMaster (May 26, 2003)

I vote GateWay - they come with Microsoft Office/Works etc.


----------



## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

skyman & Fidelista, I too agree, but with a disclaimer... seems to me that too many things in life are dumbed-down and/or people allow the technology around them to overwell them, w/o taking the slight bit of effort/time to investigate and learn about the products, options, and different paths. Yes, it is a very very confusing jungle/swamp. Yet, w/ a bit of perseverance and common sense, a person can wade through it and survive. Unfortunately, vast majority of people buy a Dell or G'way on price alone, as if that is the only important criteria - and then beetch an moan an have unpleasant issues when the tool they acquired doesn't perform at all or live up to their expectations. True, I go the other route, in spades...  as I will normally investigate things to death; as I'm wayyyyy too curious, about too many things. Yea, still get burnt at times. However, then at least I'm somewhat less ignorant about the situation. Back to pc's, I still agree that Dell and G'way and their clones are good for most people, as you say, but... to up the quality and to have a better experience, there are better options... [Mac mini... ]


----------



## deuce (May 26, 2001)

The solution to the Dell/Gateway debate:

buy a Fujitsu Lifebook.



That is what I plan to buy when I am able to replace my current laptop, but if if Fujitsu isn't an option I will get a Toshiba instead. I've "heard" good things about Fujitsu and know good things about Toshiba from experience, but it really just comes down to the fact that those are the only two companies I trust for a damn right now.


----------



## vanillag1rl (Sep 28, 2004)

also check out the poll 
http://forums.techguy.org/t329153.html


----------



## rlw (Mar 12, 2005)

That's an easy one.

All gateways are JUNK

Dell has some excellent computers if you jump up to the optiplex 280s and up.
I've sold hundreds of them, the only one I've ever had a problem with was when a lady tipped over a large bottle of water and it drained in to her computer. It fried almost every chip in it


----------



## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

rlw, thats nice, but, can you elaborate as to WHY gateways are junk?
Just curious. Thanks!


----------



## rlw (Mar 12, 2005)

They have a high mortality rate. Parts are hard to obtain once out of production and over priced. I had to order MBs several times to obtain the correct one at a price 3X of what it is worth. Most parts are proprietary.

While this is true for alot of manufacturers some just don't have the high failure rate.
Dell use to be just a bad 6 or 7 years ago but they have brought their quality up above every one else since that time.

Now I'm only considering their business and up systems and note books and in in no way talking about the printers they sell "junk".

So I would go with a dell any day over a gateway.

RE: Fujitsu:

We bought the top end Fujitsu Tablet 4000 series for medical software developement. It's the most expensive so it has to be the best, Right?
Any way we load a couple of our apps on it take it out to demo it and what happens?
It dies during the first demo. The LCD on the tablet screen had to be replaced. They did get us a quick replacement though.


----------



## jillian2 (Sep 11, 2004)

CouchMaster said:


> I vote GateWay - they come with Microsoft Office/Works etc.


So did my Dell.

Jillian


----------



## John Burns (Jul 29, 1999)

tdi_veedub said:


> I've worked with a few Dell's and find that some of the software they preload on their machines really eats up resources. Once all of that is disabled, they are nice little machines.


I just bought a Dell Dimension 4700 at a good price - but I think what you stated is true. Just for my information, do you remember some of the software you encountered? One of them I found was My Way Search Assistant, etc. which I removed - just interested in what I might have that I could remove in addition to that. Thanks.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

My Way Search is blocked in most all hosts files too John as are lot of other sites with myway.

Have you got a good hosts file?

Don't know what all types of junk they have on your new Dell but guess there is a lot. Demo's etc.
But when I was back east I was trying to clean a ton of spyware off my cousins Dell.
Anyhow it got where I need to run a format. They had so many CD's I was not sure what was what. They also had a Windows CD. It was only for that Dell PC. Anyhow I called Dell and asked about just installing the windows and he said I could. It was easy and knew the CD was for that PC. It installed the windows and then I called back and was told where to get the drivers for the monitor, sound card etc from the other CD's. It was all easy really and it still had Dell things install that was installed with the windows. What I mean by Dell things is the Dell update and that. But all the junk was gone now. I installed AVG, ZA firewall, Spybot,ad-aware etc that I had downloaded and burned to CD before I did the format. Now I had to call there cable company to do something so I could get online. Now I got the PC with with some protection so got online and updated the AVG, ZA firewall, Spybot,ad-aware etc first. Then I got all the windows updates that too some time because you have to keep going back. Even when you think you have the last update go back because there are updates for the updates that will show up. 
But they now had a better running PC without the junk on it. They had other Dell CD's for the Nero we installed. But it was great because you could install only want you needed to have.


----------



## tdi_veedub (Jan 29, 2004)

Hewee, I just did the exact same thing to a Dell last week. Formatted, only installed windows (the brown Dell CD), and used the service code to get the drivers from the dell website. I was appalled at all of the useless crap they pre-install. Also, AOL was pre-installed on this machine when she bought it.  My customer does not use AOL. Out of curiosity I also read the terms she agreed to. Goes a little something like this: "You agree that all software installed on the PC is your choice and are bound to the terms provided by the software". SO they made her agree that all the crap that they installed when she bought the machine was her choice, when in fact, she did not even know what she was getting (other than XP, Musicmatch, and Wordperfect). That's pretty snaky considering that as a consumer, you don't get a choice to purchase only the hardware.

But all that aside, it is a good machine, now that it has been decontaminated ...


----------



## John Burns (Jul 29, 1999)

You are right - I removed AOL immediately too - and everything else I could find that I wasn't going to use - IF I could identify it. There was something called My Way on there too which I finally got rid of - but I hesitate to remove something I can't identify - even if some Dell "technical" person suggests it, if he can't identify it either - lol!


----------



## DellHelpDesk (Mar 27, 2005)

I thought I would post this just as clarification to anyone who might own a Dell or a PC in general.

Dell has always offered software support for the customers who are infected with Spyware or viruses.
It is a fee based service and is known as Dell Help Desk Support of which I am an employee.

This fee based service is open to anyone who owns a computer not just a Dell. When a year or two contract is purchased it covers all PC equipment in the home(s) as well.
*The backing up of data and/or Networking issues are a seperate fee based system.

This is the same service that Microsoft, Dell, HP, Symantec and Mcafee all offer. Its a fee based service for various reasons and it stems from the fact that your computer doesnt come connected to the internet which is a consumer responsibility.

I use this site as a resource on a daily basis. 
Google and a boulion search works wonders, it pulls me here from time to time and have created an account to be able to help others if I have some free time.

 

Jason In Canada

p.s. If you have questions about your Dell I could help if you like...I wont charge you this time.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

tdi_veedub said:


> Hewee, I just did the exact same thing to a Dell last week. Formatted, only installed windows (the brown Dell CD), and used the service code to get the drivers from the dell website. I was appalled at all of the useless crap they pre-install. Also, AOL was pre-installed on this machine when she bought it.  My customer does not use AOL. Out of curiosity I also read the terms she agreed to. Goes a little something like this: "You agree that all software installed on the PC is your choice and are bound to the terms provided by the software". SO they made her agree that all the crap that they installed when she bought the machine was her choice, when in fact, she did not even know what she was getting (other than XP, Musicmatch, and Wordperfect). That's pretty snaky considering that as a consumer, you don't get a choice to purchase only the hardware.
> 
> But all that aside, it is a good machine, now that it has been decontaminated ...


I had CD's for everything but that is on a Dell that over 3 years old. Will it was over 3 years old last July and out of wannanty. But they give free life time software support. 
Don't really now what they mean by life time but they did help me and it was easy for them as it did bot take that long at all because they just had to tell me what CD to use. Installed windows and called back and was told where to get the drivers off the other CD's. Plus when I put those CD's in he was telling me how I was to go tru the menu to pick my model out but it already knew and had picked the right Dell Model. 
So it was all so very easy.

He hee that is funny but hey you know they make money from AOL and the others that let them add the junk on are PC. Your right there no way of knowing what all they put on your PC and I have been to there site and there is a lot it does not tell you about what software and hardware brands you get.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

DellHelpDesk said:


> I thought I would post this just as clarification to anyone who might own a Dell or a PC in general.
> 
> Dell has always offered software support for the customers who are infected with Spyware or viruses.
> It is a fee based service and is known as Dell Help Desk Support of which I am an employee.
> ...


Well doing what I did was free from Dell but it was a Dell PC out of wannanty buy a couple months so I got the free life time software support that was great. I never found out what CD was the Full recovery CD either as they had so many and all of them but the monitor was still all sealed up in the package like it was shipped to them. So I had to open the package and open the CD's that were sealed still.

So I was very happy bing able to get the support from deal. 
Guess the only bad then was when I called back the 2nd time it was very very hard to understand the person.


----------



## antonio2090 (Sep 4, 2004)

dell computers come with a system recovery disk??


----------



## John Burns (Jul 29, 1999)

antonio2090 said:


> dell computers come with a system recovery disk??


Mine did not - just with CD's. One for WindowsXP, one for Device Drivers, Diagnostics and Utilities, and Computer Documentation, one for Sonic Record Now and one for WordPerfect. I guess maybe those are called recovery disks? They, however are separate and distinct CD's - not like the Recovery Disk I had from Compaq on the other computer.


----------



## antonio2090 (Sep 4, 2004)

what the winxp cd do???


----------



## John Burns (Jul 29, 1999)

It is a licensed CD of Windows XP - has key - Windows XP was installed on computer when I received it - it's a backup for Windows, I guess, in case you have to re-install Windows.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Then where is the Dell crap/junk recovery CD if all is on separate and distinct CD's?


----------



## John Burns (Jul 29, 1999)

John Burns said:


> One for WindowsXP, one for Device Drivers, Diagnostics and Utilities, and Computer Documentation, one for Sonic Record Now and one for WordPerfect


That's it - that's all I got. Maybe you can request the"rest" from Dell - I'm not sure. My main concern is Windows anyway - why install the rest of the "crap" as you refer to it? lol! I hope to never have to use it anyway.


----------

