Dell Dimension 2400 or Gateway 310?

[Shaku]

My friend wants just a basic computer for instant messaging, email, CD burning, word processing, etc. He doesn't have too much money so he's on a budget. Now I know most of you hate Windows, and Gateway and Dell use Windows, which would you recommend for my buddy's needs? The Dell Dimension 2400 or the Gateway 310? (Both at the basic settings) Thanks.

[tangluva]

The Dell, at the same price as the Gateway, looks better. A 2.2 GHz P4 looks more than good enough for what he needs as well.

But if you were thinking about upgrading it to 256MB, just leave it to 128MB and get a 256MB stick @ crucial, since Crucial's is around the same price as the extra 128MB upgrade ($60). In other words, leave all the options as default and leave it @ $400 after rebate.

Edit: Also, if your friend is in college, check with the school to see if he could get XP Pro and Office XP Academic Editions. Wow, since I got both @ $7/CD, M$ does care. To an extent, that is.

[Shaku]

lol, thanks for the advice. He was hoping someone would pick the Gateway (he likes the case). lol

[tangluva]

Well, if he can stretch an extra $200, then the Gateway is fine as well. Both should work fine, but like I said, the Dell comes with a lot of stuff for the same price.

But it is his money, so he should get what he truly wants, almost regardless of what I say.

Edit: Oh hey, I see that he specifically wants to burn. The Dell has a limited time offer for a free burner. I considered that earlier, but since you specified, I just wanted to point that out explicitly.

[Shaku]

He has that covered, he has a 48x24x48x16 CD-RW/DVD drive he bought somewhere so he wasn't looking at those types of deals. He says "Thanks anyway". lol

[WingWizard]

Before building my own, I had experiences with both dell and gateway, and I personally think gateway is 10x better than dell. Gateway's tech support is superb, they actually seem to know what they're talking about, and whenever some hardware goes wrong, they send out a new one no questions asked.

Dell always gave me the runaround, and always responded with the "reformat and reinstall."

So, I personally would pony up a bit more money for the gateway just for the peace of mind.

[311Sam]

Get dell

You also want to try to get at least 512mb of memory for that computer. You can just get the minimum and then go over to crucial and buy the ram way cheaper over there

[mksoccer]

Definitely go with Dell, they have great Tech support, and they're cheaper. I'm a IT Director, and we've been buying company computers from them for 4 years. They've given us great support, good prices, and we'll definitely be sticking with them for the long run. The last company I was with had an agreement with Gateway, and they used to be good, but lately they've been heading downhill. My friends at the company tell me they have become less satisfied in recent years with Gateway's support and just their products in general.

However, just to be fair, everyone's experience may be different, and you should go with what you've had the best experience with. Just take into account prices, quality, ffeatures, and support.

[Warthog]

I've had 3 dells and friends with Gateways.

Go Dell.

[cbuddha42]

if you dont build go dell...........someone told me gateway are still using their own memory slots.............they should stick to plasma tvs.......