• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Looking for a new computer

U

unknown

n00b
Joined
Sep 2, 2005
Messages
19
I'm currently looking for a new computer, however since I'm not the one who will be paying for it, I need to get it from a tier 1. I like to do some gaming but since it isn't really necessary I've been looking more into multimedia setups. After looking around for awhile I've come to the Gateway DX420S and was wondering if it was any good.

The setup I'm currently looking at is below.

Gateway® DX420S

Gateway recommends Windows® XP Professional.

Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (SP2) w/ XP Pro Backup CD ........ [+US$100.00]
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo E6400 (2.13GHz 1066MHz FSB 2MB cache, non-HT) ........ [+US$50.00]
Memory: 1024MB PC5300 dual-channel DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (2-512MB modules) ........ [+US$79.00]
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce 7600GS 256MB Dual DVI - Dual Link w/ HDCP & TV-Out ........ [+US$81.00]
Sound System: Sound Blaster X-FI PCI card ........ [+US$79.00]
Application Software: Microsoft® Office Basic Edition 2003 (Includes Word, Excel and Outlook) ........ [+US$129.99]
Hard Drive: 250GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II hard drive w/ 8MB cache ........ [+US$29.00]
Optical Drive: 16x Double-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer (DVD±/R±RW/CD-R/RW) and 48x/32x/48x CD-RW/DVD combo drive ........ [+US$39.00]
Floppy Drive: 9-in-1 media card reader and floppy drive ........ [+US$29.00]
Extended Service Plan Including Limited Warranty: Desktop Value Service Plan -- 1 year parts/labor/no on-site/1 year technical support
Monitors: Gateway 19" Widescreen HD LCD Display
Monitor Cable: Belkin DVI Flat Panel Cable with a Right Angle Connector (6624673) ........ [+US$36.99]
Monitor Accessories: Flat Panel Display Height Adjustable Stand w/ 4 Port 2.0 USB ........ [+US$69.99]
Speakers: Gateway 2.0 Speakers
Keyboard and Mouse: Gateway Elite Multimedia Keyboard and Soft-touch USB optical wheel mouse
Additional External Ports: Serial and Parallel Port Brackets ........ [+US$10.00]
Security Software: No Security Subscription Selected
Surge Protector: Belkin 10-Outlet SurgeMaster® Gold (6623354) ........ [+US$34.99]
Integrated Wireless Networking Adapter: 802.11 b/g Draft-N Wireless PCI Card ........ [+US$49.00]
Additional Software: Adobe® Acrobat Reader® 7.0 and Google Toolbar
Answers by Gateway Support Cards: Answers by Gateway Per Incident support card
Chipset: Intel® P965 Chipset with DDR2 and Intel® Core™ Duo support
Case: Gateway 6-bay micro-BTX case
Controller: Integrated Serial ATA controller
Expansion Slots: (2) PCI expansion slots (1 slot available), (1) PCI-E x4 expansion slot (available). (1) PCI-E x16 expansion slot
External Ports: (8) USB 2.0 (2 front, 6 rear), (2) IEEE 1394 firewire (1 front, 1 rear), audio ports and (2) PS/2
Certification: Energy Star® compliant
Modem: 56K PCI data/fax modem
Network Adapter: Integrated Realtek® 10/100 twisted pair Ethernet
Internet Service Provider: Six months America Online® Internet access
Part Number: 1009133
Desktop Technology: Intel® Viiv™ Technology
Standard Software: Napster Trial Subscription

Price: $1,616.95


Any suggestions for other computers or changes would be helpful.
 
You have to buy it from a major company ?

Ugh I don't like gateway or there off brand emachines. Dell is alright, but with the India outsourcing, I don't even consider them.

It seems decent.
 
The first change I'd make would be to upgrade the 7600GS to a GT. Even if you're doing light gaming, the GT is a bit beter than the GS and would be a bit more worthwhile.

The second change would be to see if you can get the HDD with 16mb of cache instead of 8. It may just be me, but I noticed an improvement going from 8 to 16 on the same size drive (a 250gb Western Digital).
 
Velocity Micro

They sell a configuration that is almost exactly the same for less than a thousand.

It's the Vector Holiday Edition.
 
yea i worked at circuit city for a year selling computers made by gateway,hp,emachines,etc....and they really are garbage. don't waste your money on large OEM's, go with VM.
 
I said in my first post that I'm not the one paying for the computer. The conditions on the computer is that it comes from a tier 1 company, which means no boutique dealers like Velocity Micro.
 
I have a 831GM Gateway and after putting in a 6800gs.... it is a very capable machine...:eek:
 
AMDXPCottonFire22 said:
You have to buy it from a major company ?

Ugh I don't like gateway or there off brand emachines. Dell is alright, but with the India outsourcing, I don't even consider them.

It seems decent.
Click to expand...

If you buy from Dell Business side everything is in the US, Our company buys dell laptops every year and we get the gold support. I call the number and get someone with no waiting and is in the US. If you buy on the Business side you dont have to deal with india
 
unknown said:
I said in my first post that I'm not the one paying for the computer. The conditions on the computer is that it comes from a tier 1 company, which means no boutique dealers like Velocity Micro.
Click to expand...


I think you could argue we are similar to tier 1's in that we are graded by consumer's digest as a qucik pick. The smaller boutiques are not even looked at, and we are in over 300 Best Buy stores. I think of us as a hybrid between OEM and boutique, with the best of both. You could take a shot!
 
I recommend Velocity Micro as well. I just received their Vector GX Holiday Edition and it's awesome! Excellent build quality. None of the bloatware that the Teir 1s put on their PCs.
Here's the link:
http://velocitymicro.com/wizard.php?iid=86
It's only going to be available for the next 9 days, so you better jump on it!

Good luck with whatever system you get!
 
I honestly see little reason to even try and get a Velocity Micro. Looked into it and it seems to me that putting together a system as close as possible to the Gateway setup comes out to be nearly the same in price, if not more expensive. I am a little tired so it is possible I screwed something up but I don't think I did.

As for Gateway, I do have experience with them, even if its from quite a while ago. Have a 7 year old ESS 450SE running win98se that still works just fine outside of being severely outdated. Only problems I've ever had were that the original dvd-rom died, and the usual problems that 98se brings along with using it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top