Gateway 500L Another Cow In My Herd.
Written: Sep 03 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reliable. Solid components within. Exceptional Tech Support
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: The best bang for the buck I've found, but the real selling point is the superior technical support.
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| happy2000usa's Full Review: Gateway 500L2B PC Desktop |
Those of you who've read my reviews know I'm a big fan of Gateway. I bought my first desktop several years ago and haven't seen the need to try anything else. I've seen reviews and heard from friends about poor support, but I've never experienced it. In fact, the reason those funny black and white boxes keep showing up on my doorstep is the support. For me, Gateway's response to my occasional problem has been exceptional.
Holstein or Alien?
When I stopped fathoming my son's homework, I realized it was time to upgrade his computer. When we discussed it, his eyes lit up. He immediately ran out of my office and returned with various specs on something called Alienware.
I dutifully looked over the specs. They seemed a good machines. At least the company was proud of them. Their prices were not what I'd call the best bang for the buck. My son explained it was because they were the top of the line gaming machine. All of his friends were buying them.
The kid is entering the world of integral calculus and differential equations. I thought that was sufficient entertainment, at least for the next several years. He was also being introduced to another new game called the research paper. To my knowledge, neither activity requires a joystick, a high-end graphics card or Sound Blaster's top of the line offering.
I sent the Alien back to Roswell.
What the kid needed was a little more speed in his processor, some additional RAM, and a larger hard drive. Since the graphic calculator he carries--and I can't fathom--plugs into a USB port, it would be nice if that were easily accessible. I also saw the need for a voice modem so he could speak to his colleagues using a headset.
I hate it when he's on a speakerphone. While his fingers dance over that calculator, he and his friends talk in a language totally foreign to me. Parents should be able to understand their kids' conversations. When I hear them discussing a derivative of this based on a function of that, I hang my head and visit the dog. At least I can communicate with her.
A Cow Is a Cow, Or Is It?
To me, what was required was a basic computer with some upgrades. I delved into the Gateway 300 Series with the slim case, thinking it more portable should he need to take it to a dorm somewhere. (Wishful thinking.) I upgraded the processor from a Celeron to a Pentium 4 for the better pipeline cache, added some RAM, increased the size and speed of the hard drive, and added the 3.5 inch floppy for $10--people can really get away without having one? ...And that was that. The computer came with a burner.
Since I didn't need a monitor or speakers, the price came to around $600.
The kid and I headed for the local barn to look at the machine. That's when I discovered the neat, slim case only took half cards. It would not accept your standard sized video or audio cards.
I should explain myself here. I'm not a big fan of onboard audio or video. I have this gut feeling that it slows the performance. Further, if it fails, we're not talking a card swap here. We're talking a motherboard swap. If the audio or video fails, you can often correct the problem by installing a board--if it'll accept one.
The other part of my thinking was parental. The kid was still upset he wasn't getting a gaming machine. It was similar to my attitude when my Dad bought me an old Ford for my first car, not the Corvette I wanted. I got a job and dropped a 454 into that car, then swapped rear ends to make it a dragster. If my son wanted a gaming machine, I wanted the slots available to take his premium sound and video cards--should he decide to buy them. (Job? Again, wishful thinking.)
I went to a standard case, adding another $50.
The Cows Hidden Out Back
The Gateway Rep frowned and led me over to his sales terminal. After he typed for a few minutes, he asked me if I'd considered a 500L.
I hadn't seen a 500L in their catalog.
He explained that was because I was looking under home computers, not small business desktops. As it turned out, had I gone there, I would have found the machine I wanted without having to upgrade the processor, the RAM, the hard drive and so on. It was a bit more expensive, but came with the latest version of MS Word as well as the maximum warranty. Three years of parts and a lifetime of tech support.
I had that on my other Gateways. They lost money. Writers go through keyboards like pastry chefs go through bags of confectioner's sugar. My mice did fare much better. After my warranty ran out on the first machine, I'd actually had to pay for a new laser mouse that promised to last much longer. The laser rodent was standard with the offered 500L.
The specs were a P4 2.2 and motherboard mounted in a mid tower, 80 GBx7200 HD, 48x/24x/48x CDRW, 56k PCI voice modem, built-in LAN card, on board Sound Blaster compatible audio, onboard video, optical mouse, and a PS2 keyboard (standard, not full function.) It came with Windows XP Home, MS Works Suite with the full version of MSWord, and other software. (The music software pleased the kid.) I tried to get a rebate on the free year of AOL, but they wouldn't do that. It also came with the usual 90 day trial of Norton Antivirus. (Why don't they give you a full year? No one does.)
The cost? $795. (I was able to weasel out of the $80 delivery charge due to a recent special.)
Welcome To The Herd
While we waited for UPS to bring the machine, I was careful to hide the spay paint. Notes were appearing all over the house, two word notes that said, "Alienware Rocks." I didn't want the kid spray painting graffiti on the bathroom walls--or on my computer. I tolerated this because I had a good idea what his attitude might be after the computer arrived. His old machine was a clunker. It would make a great boat anchor.
Sure enough, in came the machine, and it took us all of twenty minutes to get it installed. Then it took me far more than that to introduce the new cow to the herd already on the LAN, including the DSL modem, because of my XP ineptitude. Overall? Maybe an hour or a few minutes more. Gateway's instructions are excellent.
The kid carefully seated himself and decided he was going to prove a point. He booted a CD of what he loosely refers to as music, expecting the worse. What I heard did sound like two cats fighting over a rat, but he seemed pleased with the quality of the onboard audio. Sighing, he switched CD's and booted a game, positive the onboard video system wouldn't handle it. (If his old system handled it, this one, I knew, would impress him. It did.) Then he went online. The pages started flying across the screen, compared to what he was used to. He stood up, turned, and said "Thanks, Dad."
Then came the real kudos. He started inviting his friends over to impress them.
The Cow Comes With A Handler
I noticed the other reviewer of the 500L series complained about technical support. This computer hasn't needed any. He also listed a P3 processor, so it must have been an older machine.
There was a period in Gateway's history, during the dot com crunch, where they cut corners, including technical support. That's long past. I personally, as I said in the opening, have never had anything but the best support.
Originally, it was by telephone. It took time to troubleshoot, but more than once they UPS'd me a card to see if it solved the problem. If it did, I sent back the bad card on their nickel. (In fact, I've never paid for parts or shipping.) If it didn't fix the problem, I shipped it back and we went to plan B, a different card.
I even had a 19 inch monitor quit. (Big shipping costs.) UPS delivered a new one two days later, accompanied by a prepaid shipping label for the defective monitor.
They have software similar to Windows Update that scans your computer for needed driver upgrades. If you don't want that, go to their site and type in your computer serial number. It lists the latest upgrade for each driver and piece of software that came with your computer. If that's not your cup of tea, you still don't have to resort to the phone. They have an online chat capability. Not only can the tech advise you but, with your permission, he can take control of your computer and troubleshoot/repair.
What can I say? I've been subjected to poor tech support enough to easily recognize it. Mostly from HP and the DSL folks. (They are in competition for my 'worst of the worst' technical support award.) I believe those who tell me they have had problems, but I've never had bad support from Gateway. No 'Huh' responses. No lines of bull. (Don't you love it when a tech treats you like the village idiot?) Just good, solid support that has always fixed my problems with minimal downtime.
My Recommendation
Sorry folks. Same song, new refrain. I work on other peoples' computers, so I'm familiar with many brands--and their support. I even got talked into a Dell laptop, which has never worked reliably in a docked mode. It just keeps me coming back to Gateway.
Recommendation?
Since the rest of us are buying cows, now my wife now says she needs a new computer. It'll be a Gateway.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 795
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
happy2000usa
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Wayne Arnold
Location: Tracy, California, USA
Reviews written: 97
Trusted by: 171 members
About Me:
Writer, editor, beta tester, pilot, traveler. I'm an easy mark, always evaluating new software.
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