Mr. Sweepy's Forums

I've been shopping for a new PC recently and came across this great bargin...

A Gateway SX2800-01 or 03  Desktop PC. This is a "very small" tower with a ton of power. A great deal for home users.

Specs:  2.33Ghz Intel G43 Chipset, Core 2 8200 Quad (4 Processors), 64-bit, 4MB L2 Cache, Windows Vista Home Premium Sp1 OS (with free upgrade to Windows 7,)  4GB of "cutting edge" DDR3 RAM (twice the bandwith of DDR2 & upgradable to 8G,) large 640GB Hard Drive, a plethora of ports...9 USB, HDMI, eSATA, 1EEE 1394a Firewire, expandable Media Card Reader, Intel 4500 Graphics Media Accelerator, 1GB dynamic video memory, a DVD+R  DL/RW/RAM/CD-R/-RW Recorder/Player Drive. Package includes a keyboard, mouse & set of small, average speakers. (No Monitor) You do have to create (burn) 3 system restore info-disks--which you'll need if the system ever crashes.

Don't let it's small size fool you, this is one very fast PC giving you "a lot of bang for your buck." Cnet editors gave this an "Editors Choice" "best buy" rating. With it's HDMI Multi-Media Interface, you can easily use this as a Media Center for connection to your HDTV, stereo etc. to record TV, movies & music. (Though this is not the ideal machine if you are a serious gamer.)

Nothing is perfect or to good to be true, so read as many reviews as you can from editors & users before purchasing. This system (like others) does have it's limitations and Gateway/Acer support centers (like most) leaves a bit to be desired. But it still seems to be a great buy for the money!  Unless I can find another bargin like this, I am probably going for this PC.

I scoured the web for prices and (as of 10/10/09) found that J&R Electronics (on the web) had the cheapest price: $429.99, (No taxes, free shipping.) The closest PC's I could find from other companies with a comparable configuration, sell for over $700.00. 

If you are currently running Windows XP at 32 bit, you will need to update drivers for software & hardware devices. Also old programs may not operate properly on the Windows 7 platform--but MS W7 Pro does have a download to enable W7 to also run older programs in an XP format.

http://www.buy.com/prod/gateway-sx2800-01-desktop-pc-intel-core-2-quad-q8200-2-33ghz-4gb-ddr3/q/loc/101/211161066.html

I like buying from them and they usually offer free shipping............not available from  yet.

Last I knew, Gateway went out of business.  The home systems are now ACER's.  MPC bought the business line and ran it into bankruptcy.  They sold the inventory of leftover Gateways for pennies on the dollar, only problem is is getting parts.  A lot of government, k-12 and universities had contracts with Gateway (my university included) and are left having problems getting parts.

p.s.  We purchase memory from Cruicial for the Gateways and as soon as Gateway went out of business, the prices doubled...as did a lot of other companies that carry Gateway compatable parts.

Yes, I've heard some of the same things.

Acer now owns the company and is is reportedly resirrecting it. The SX2800-01 (according to reviews I've read) was build with this in mind, with better than average components, abilities & speed to help recover the companies name and reputation. This model is a very small CPU, which really limits many add-ons and hardware upogrades. But other brands of PC's with the same (or close to) specs, cost well over $700.00++, --so the cost savings is quite apparent. DDR3 RAM is still very expensive, but the price will drop over the next year as more PC's begin using it. This PC is not for someone who wants to open the case and exchange or expand components.

All major brand name PC's these days install different internal components from many other manufacturers. The brand name is only on the outside case.

I took a chance and had my current system build by a private, local company. I have had very few problems with it. I am not attempting to defend Gateway, because it sounds as though they have challenges to overcome. But I believe the quality of the internal components is very important---more so than a name. You can't argue with the price of this PC versus it's abilities & power. But, it is not for everyone

I agree, the Gateway is/was a good computer.  I'm running one from 10 yrs ago, just keep upgrading it!  Hopefully I will still be able to!