Dell v. Gateway

[Sweet]

Hi der, already decided I am not ready to build this machine fer my young'un. (Will try that with mine after many moons)

Here's the deal.... both companies are offering super deals on their low end systems. Upgrading raises the cost. Here's what I am looking at...

Specs Gateway Dell

processor Intel P4 1.8 GHz Intel P4 1.8 GHz
memory 512 DDR SDRAM 512 SDRAM
storage 60 GB (80GB@+$30) 80 GB
UATA100 7200RPM Ultra ATA/100 7200 RPM
floppy 1.44MB ?
media 20x min./48x max. 16x max variable DVD-
CD-ROM drive and ROM drive
40x/12x/48x CDRW 40x/10x/40x Max CD-RW
iomega n/a n/a
case mid-tower ?
expansion slots 3 PCI ?
external ports (6) USB ?
OS XP home XP home
app software WordPerfect Productivity WP w/ Quicken new user
Pack
input device Logitech wireless key Dell 2 button scroll
& wrless mouse
multimedia:
sound enhanced audio integrated audio
speakers n/a Har/Kar HK-206
network adapter 10/100 Ethernet 10/100 PCI Fast Ethernet
NIC
warranty 1 yr onsite 3 yr onsite
power protection APC Back-UPS Pro 500 n/a
video Intel Extreme Gr w/ 64 MB Intel 3-D Graphics
dynamic video memory
shipping ~50 free ground
price 1102 817

personal specs..... he wants gaming! I want homework! Wireless key&mouse important to him.
note: current speakers/sub should be ok & monitor should be AOK too(EV700).

Anyone wanna share their $0.02 about this??????
Thanks..........



RATS, I made the effort to line up stuff to make it easy, will try to re-edit with .... to make it easier to compare.... but later...

[Richard Cranium]

Dell, all the way.. NO Contest

Gateway has peod me off, and badly. I've been burned with poor quality systems from them.

OTOH, Dell since about "98 has produced pretty good systems, easy to work on, generic parts except for the p/s [in general]

Dell #1 in mass manufactured machines.

[daveleau]

Wow, that IS some tough reading.
Can you get a better video card? That video is seriously lacking in both setups. If not, then ensure you get an open AGP slot to upgrade the video card. The video card is more important to me than the processor or any other spec, especially if it is for a "young'un" . He/She will want to play games and the video card is what really determines what can be played and what the performance will be.

Good luck
Dave

[osprey4]

To be perfectly honest, although we're a Dell family, my mother-in-law and a coworker both have Gateway and both have had good experiences. But Dell seems to offer these killer deals that you can hardly afford to pass up. My suggestion is go with at least a Geforce ti 4200 or Radeon 9700 for gaming. More important than some of your other specs.

[fyxxer32]

I don't know if you are in a hurry for this but usually in these forums in "Docs deals "he will post really good deals on Dells. I have found that for the price I couldn't build a system for the price they are selling them. Look through a page or two here in Doc's Deals
I personally had heard Dell had better service than Gateway. A friend said he had told Gateway service that his hard drive was out and when the guy showed up his work order said bad floppy, so he put a new floppy drive because he had to fullfill the work order, there was no on site service order edit supposedly. Finally a guy came out to put in a new hd.
However today one of my customers said he was on hold with Dell service an hour, trying to resolve a cd burner error issue on a brand new pc. The hardware people blamed it on the software people and software blamed it on hardware. No resolution . He called them,said come pick this thing up, bought a Gateway ,has had no problems. So there ya go, both sides.

[samwichse]

Well, I'm not sure if it's just a typo, but if the Dell has DDR ram and the Gateway only has SDRAM, I'd say that disqualifies it right away.

P4+SDRAM = turtle

Also, Dell has a pretty good track record for customer support.

If this is going to be a computer for your son, and he wants to game, it has to have an AGP port. A lot of these mass built machines don't, so find out before you buy. An Intel onboard 3D accelerator is not going to be suitable for gaming at all, and without an AGP port, you'll be out of luck adding a capable card...

Sam

[Sweet]

WOW, Thanks for ur input here!!! I really mean it, THANKS!!!!
That video card has been an issue in our conversations here. What is the best video card I can get? Is it the NVIDIA ti4100 the best out there? What is the best?
I'm gonna have to call and make inquiries about that AGP port. A gazillion thanks for ur input!

edit....

thx fyxx, been perusing Doc's. missed dat last great offer. Christmas is coming and I'd imagine alot of great deals will be surfacing soon.

Should I wait until after the holidays???????

Sam is right, Sdram on a p4 = slowness. just ask Doc.

anyways if gaming is important to the boy then you will need to get a better video card and maybe dump the wireless mouse and keyboard.

Ati right now is running the game in the graphics department with the ATI radeon 9700 pro. now im sure you have a budget and don't want to spend 3000+ bucks on a machine.

[Damien019]

ya i have a gateway desktop and a dell lappy,

I must say that the Dell is BY FAR better, my Gateway was a POCrap. It had some problems and the tech's couldn't figure it out, took them about 2 weeks to replace the right part.

Dell is WONDERFUL and they have amazing deals


my 2 "sense"

[cracked]

well, we have a gateway, no probs but it aint the best system in the world either. my grandmother has the same exact system (almost) except it is a dell. she got hers first, so we decided to get a dell also, but when we tried to order it, the sales people were very mean, impatient, and rude. so that is why we got gateway. but that was probably only a one time thing. the only bad thing to say about dell is that stupid guy in their comercials. he pisses me off. other thanthat, they are great.

drew