Great Specs for a Great Price
Written: Jan 02 '03
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Pros: Computer runs fast and quietly and has a great sound system...and keyboard feels comfortable
Cons: Mid-tower case a little too big, DVD-rom drive sometimes suspect
The Bottom Line: I would definitely recommend the Gateway 700 Series because it is fast, reliable, and offered at a great price.
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| chestnutluvr's Full Review: Gateway 700 XL PC Desktop |
I purchased the 700S Gateway PC when it was priced above the amount it is now. However, I have no regrets about the price I paid for the computer. The computer has been more than satisfactory, and I would not hesitate to purchase another Gateway PC.
I personally ordered my 700S PC at a Gateway Country store rather than buying it online at www.gateway.com. If you happen to have a Gateway Country store nearby, I would recommend that you go to the store to make your purchase or to just check out the Gateway computers. The sales representatives at the stores (I have been to 3 different ones) are very knowledgeable about the computer systems, well-trained, helpful, and friendly. The setup at the stores is also very customer-friendly with home-office and work-office areas that allow you to sit and test-use the latest Gateway products. Once you make a purchase, you receive a nice Gateway folder with your receipt that gives a description of all the components that come with the desktop and paper that lists all the tech support phone numbers. Your computer will be shipped to you usually within two weeks, and you will be able to track the order status as well as the shipping status of your computer.
The 700S PC comes with a LCD flat panel screen, three speakers (one of which is big for great acoustics), a keyboard, and an optical mouse rather than the mouse with the little ball. The optical mouse is therefore very easy to use and control. The pc also comes with a box full of CD's -- a master CD that allows you to restore your computer system if something goes wrong, a Windows XP Home CD, the whole collection of Microsoft Works Suite CD's, and various other software programs that you would need for your system.
Once you get the computer, you will have an easy time setting everything up, as all the parts are color-coded and instructions are clear. The computer, even with all its power, runs with very little noise. The fans inside the pc are barely audible. The computer also runs very fast...even if you use the modem to connect to the internet rather than using DSL or broadband, the webpages take very little time to download. The software programs also open quickly, and because of its significant hard drive and memory capacity, you are able to save a lot onto your pc (which is especially great when downloading mp3's).
The LCD flat panel screen, in comparison to a regular monitor, causes less eye strain, and you get clearer graphics. I have a 15" LCD, but the screen does not seem small at all...I like it better than my old 17" regular monitor. The LCD comes with buttons that allow you to change settings easily, and it takes up very little space. The only complaint I have about the LCD is that you cannot rotate just the screen; you have to move the whole LCD if you want the screen to face another direction.
The speakers function as a great sound system when listening to mp3's, cd's, and watching dvd's. You get one big speaker that allows you to control the bass level, and two mini speakers, one of which has buttons to adjust the volume and treble levels. However, I find it unfortunate and rather inconvenient that the speakers themselves don't have a place to which you can connect headphones. If you want to listen to something through headphones, the headphone jack is located on the back of the mid-tower case. So depending on where you place the tower case, you might have to have really long headphone wires to listen through headphones.
Speaking of the mid-tower case, I find the case to be a little too big. I would like it to have been somewhat smaller in height and depth. However, the power (on-off) button is easily located and is colored green if the computer is in regular usable mode and orange if it is in standby mode. The DVD-rom and CDRW drives are both located on the tower case. I have had difficulty at times opening the DVD-rom drive when a DVD/CD is inserted. Even if I had pressed the button to open the drive, the drive did not respond. In this case, I had to restart the computer and open the DVD-rom drive. I never experienced problems opening the drive, though, when no DVD/CD was inside.
Overall, I feel I got a great computer for a reasonable price. Now that the price has been lowered, I feel consumers are getting a remarkable deal from Gateway. I have had very few problems with the 700S, although I use it every single day for up to 4-6 hours. For people who use the internet often or who would like to download a lot of programs onto their pc, I would definitely recommend the 700S system. It is fast, reliable, and offered at a great price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1918
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
chestnutluvr
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
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