A New Computer for the Family
Written: May 25 '05 (Updated Jun 03 '05)
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Pros: Plenty of storage capacity and plug-in ports.
Cons: The Fan can be noisy.
The Bottom Line: This computer is a great addition to the household of today. Home/office, school, research, relaxing, gaming, whatever you need, it's here.
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| Kalani67's Full Review: Gateway 825GM PC Desktop |
I was looking to replace my laptop computer that I have been using for the past few years and have drastically outgrown. After researching and comparing computers for several months, I finally decided on this one.
I chose the Gateway 825GM Media Center for the capabilities it has currently, as well as the capability for upgrading in the future. It comes with a 250GB hard drive; giving you more then enough storage room to load any programs you would need for home/office processing, as well as the latest games. It comes equipped with 1024kb (1GB) base memory, expandable to 4GB, with 224kb shared video memory. It has the capability for my son to hook up the cable TV to it for video presentations for school. It has plenty of USB ports for me to hook different devices as well as ports for digital camera memory sticks. It comes with a remote control for the video features, as well as a cable for connection to and controlling a VCR. Company all this with a high-speed internet connection and it has proven to be the ideal computer for myself and my son. I know computers are “out-dated” within a few months after purchasing them, however, with the expandability of this one, I believe this one will be in use for many years to come.
This computer uses Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition 2005 (Windows XP, Service Pack 2). I was skeptical of upgrading to Windows XP, I’ve been using Windows 98 since 2000, but I quickly got used to it and am now comfortable with it.
Other software that comes loaded on the computer:
* Microsoft Works 8.0, this has your spreadsheet, and word processor.
* Microsoft Money 2004, this is your money management software for budgets, and checkbook.
* McAfee Virus Scan
* Encarta Online, encyclopedia for research
* Microsoft Picture It! Premium 9.0
* Adobe Acrobat Reader™
* Gateway BigFix – Identifies and resolves problems that affect the system before they occur
* Standard games of FreeCell, Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Hearts, Mine Sweeper, and Pinball.
The computer also comes with a multi-media keyboard with internet navigation buttons on the key board for make internet “research” easier. Also Premium Amplified Stereo Speakers for a quality sound.
For complete information on this computer, you can go to Gateway.com, then type in the model, 825GM, this will bring up all the information about the drives, ports, and other capabilities.
This is my first submission to this site; please feel free to provide me pointers to improve my writing. Thanks.
Update 31 May 05
This computer has an Intel Pentium 4, 3.4 GHz processor, with base RAM of 1GB; with this I have had no problems running multiple programs at the same time, including Microsoft Power Point, Excel, and Word, while AOL is running. It streams music and video clips easily and smoothly without any quiches. I’ve only had it for about two months now, so I haven’t used all the features yet, including the TV part. Over the next few months I’ll be using it more, especially once the summer gets here and my boys want to “play” on it more.
Drives/Ports:
*8.5GB, double layer, 16xDVD +/-RW and 16xDVD drives
*2 Firewire and 7 USB Ports
*8-in-1 Digital Media Reader
**Secure Digital
**MultiMediaCard
**SM (SmartMedia)
**Memory Stick
**Memory Stick PRO
**CompactFlash
**IBM Microdrive
One of the key things I like so far is the way Windows XP allows you to restore the computer without having to dig up your disks; it’s all kept on the computer. When I first picked it up, it was actually a display model, so I had to run the restore feature, it took maybe 15 minutes to fully restore and reload all initial software onto the machine.
I’ll be making more updates as I get more into this computer, and learn more about how to use its features.
Thanks again for reading,
Sal
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1,100.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: 701-800
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
Kalani67
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Member: Sal M.
Location: Poughkeepse, NY, USA
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 11 members
About Me:
Father of 3 boys, 15, 18 and 20.
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