For home use, the Gateway Performance 1500 is like owning a Ferrari in a retirement community where the posted speed limit is a mere 20 mph…BUT that doesn’t mean that it is not an excellent computer.

The generic stats for the computer I purchased include the following:

1.5 GHz Pentium 4 Processor
16x DVD ROM
4x/8x/32c CWRW
40 GIG UTLRA ATA Hard Drive
64 MB DDR GeForce Ultra 2 w/TV Out by nVidia
3 Com NIC Card
19” Monitor (.26 aperture grill)
128 MB pc800 RAM

Now I am not one of your typical computer geeks by any sorts. But I do consider myself, in the intermediate category of users. I utilize my computer to work at home and for gaming purposes. It is the second reason that I bought such a “hardware-geek” type computer. I thought that I needed to take advantage of the latest computer technology that supports high-speed bus speeds. The Pentium 4 does that with a front-side bus (FSB) of 400 MHz. That is also the reason I chose the GeForce 2 Ultra Graphics card by nVidia. I wanted the most life out of my graphics capability considering I do not plan to purchase another computer for the next 5 years….my old computer, a 233 MMX satisfied me for 5 years…I figure this one will do at least the same.

THE PACKAGING/INSTALLATION

I purchased my computer online for $2600 and it was delivered to my door-step within 10 days. The UPS man delivered 3-boxes to my door. One box was the speakers, the other the CPU, and the biggest box was my monitor. I removed all of the components from the box and sorted them accordingly. The set-up was a snap as each component was color-coded for easy installation. The whole process took me 15 minutes to get my computer up and running.

TESTING

The first thing I did with my computer, although I was very excited to test out my new graphics card, was test all of the components. I tested my DVD Rom, my CD writer, my floppy drive, and my modem and NIC card. After testing, I noticed potential problems with my DVD ROM.

At lower speeds, my DVD drive would make a loud humming noise. This did not please me one bit. The drive worked, but was extremely loud. However, this was minor considering that my computer froze every time I attempted to access my CDRW drive. This had me worried. I was concerned because I had waited for the computer, and did not want to send it back to Gateway to get it fixed. So I called customer support.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

The customer support I received was fantastic, and is the true reason for me writing this epinion. Upon calling the 1-800 number, I was connected to a female that was more than knowledgeable and extremely friendly. We trouble-shooted the problems I had encountered. The first problem we discussed was the CDRW. Through a few steps we discovered that the cable was disconnected during the shipping process…case closed.

The second issue we discussed was the DVD ROM. I explained that the drive was working properly, but it was making an excessive amount of RPM noise. After discussing, placing the phone up against the drive, the customer support representative stated they would send me out a new one for “customer-service sake” but could not guarantee that the noise would not continue. I agreed to have another sent out, and 4 days later, I had a new DVD ROM that fixed the problem! I returned the old DVD ROM in the box the new one came in placing a UPS label on the box that was shipped with the replacement DVD ROM. It was easy as 1-2-3….

What I was really impressed with Gateway customer support though is the fact that the person I spoke to was personable. We discussed her family, pets, and her computer background as we solved my problem. I feel that we had a “connection.” It was a real contrast from the old-hat type of computer geeks that you talk to like SNL’s “Nick Burns the Company Computer Guy.”

OVERALL COMPUTER RECOMMENDATION

For home usage, I would definitely recommend the Gateway company to purchase your computer product. You will be very happy that you did...especially if you need to talk to one of the computer reps.

As for the computer that I built myself, I am sure you could get away with purchasing the computer with a 1.3 GHz processor versus a 1.5 GHz and save you a couple of bucks. But is you want your computer to last, definitely upgrade the internal components like a large hard-drive and good graphics cards for enjoyment in the years to come…


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 2600
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40