Gateway: P4-2Ghz (512k L2 Cache), 256 RDRam PC800, 40GB HD ... $918 shipped

[smartt]

Here is some benchmarks on the 2ghz processor. Also, describes some of RDRAM's advantages, as displayed in the performance marks.
It's mostly a comparison between the Athlon and Intel, but also shows comparisons between DDR and RDRAM in the Intel processors.
I'm not sure if this is actually the Williamette or the Northwood, but their marks are pretty close.

Article

 

[nekote]

RDRAM - So are you saying the issue for RDRAM to show its true promise was having a good chip set to work with (apparently RDRAM needs i850?)

Further, super raw memory bandwidth sounds like a great thing.

But if it fails to make a real world difference, it is as useless as most marketing hype - superflous chatter designed to dazzle with bull droppings rather than to impress with brilliance.

The first set of real world type apps / uses doesn't appear to offer much difference, does it?

And then on price performance, is RDRAM still priced at twice DDR, but only giving, say, 30% better performance?

Sorry to be so suspicious, but I thought Intel temporarily "bought the farm", so to speak, with the (unfortunate?) decision to "bet the farm" on RDRAM?

 

[MarkieMark]

<< MarkieMark, did you also order a monitor? What was the 'monitor adjustment' for? >>



NO, I did not order a monitor. they say it is a pricing error when i deselected the monitor (like take the fries off the value meal, haha that is funny, why would i do that, love fries!), and only obligated to the person who originally configured and got the quote. now they are charging $140 more if you do the same configuration online or on the phone, from my experience. and they won't honor the quote to anyone else now since it is being abused (apparently they know what is going on.)

so look out for GAYway, they SUCK!

 

[MarkieMark]

<< Just ordered mine. Hate myself, :frown:

On their website, it says no merchandise sale tax in PA for home and home office, but I was still charged tax. Any idea?? >>



i believe that if you order online, there only three state they charge taxes, if you order on the phone, they charge taxes to 48 states except oregon and montana. that is what the sales advisor told me.

i would say $918 shipped for this desktop is a hot deal, with taxes, would be warm, with $140 monitor adjustment sucks!!!

"builders need not reply with comments, u guys are too geeky"

 

[WinkyBlinky]

MarkieMark how long did it take for GW to notify you of the price adjustment? Did they allow you to cancel or did the computer ship 1st.
I put a order in yesterday and if they are going to adjust the price I don?t want it. What do you think I should do? I have not received the 24 hour follow up email from GW.

 

[smartt]

nekote:

Oh no, I wasn't trying to say RDRAM was the best thing since slice bread just referencing an article on some benchmarks. Just to help people make an educated decision for themselves. It clearly has some strong and weak points. I think manufacturing costs and other factors were some weak points that weren't mentioned. It would be easy to show someone just one graph and hype up RDRAM, but overall it isn't worth the price. People aren't willing to pay premiums for PCs just because it scores a few points higher on a few benchmarks. (Unless you're a hardcore gamer, and the item is a video card. Frankly, I wouldn't pay more than a $100 for any component on a PC.) However, I don't think there is anything wrong with buying a PC with RDRAM at a bargain price. Just don't plan on upgrading the memory anytime soon. Though, 256mb should be enough for most users needs.

 

[smartt]

NO, I did not order a monitor. they say it is a pricing error when i deselected the monitor (like take the fries off the value meal, haha that is funny, why would i do that, love fries!), and only obligated to the person who originally configured and got the quote. now they are charging $140 more if you do the same configuration online or on the phone, from my experience. and they won't honor the quote to anyone else now since it is being abused (apparently they know what is going on.)

If they itemized the prices, and charged $770 for the monitor, where is the price mistake? Let me know when Mickey D's lets you take off the fries for $770. I'll be the first in line.

Apparently, they have never felt the AT affect, not to mention FW. I don't think Gateway want's any more bad publicity, but I can guarantee it'll happen when they start acting like Staples.

 

[RossMAN]

MarkieMark or anyone else who hasn't read the entire thread:

1) Go to Gateway.com and click Retrieve Quote.
2) Quote quote number, type 378309 then click Retrieve Quote.
3) Click Add to Cart.

Did that work?

 

[WinkyBlinky]

I would like to see GW adjust the monitor price down the $140 for those who unknowingly paid the 770 price. Someone must have bought this system including the monitor.

 

[larciel]

shows $1109 before discount to me

i think this looks better

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SKU Qty. Item Unit Price Ext. Price

Q069-48-- ABIT BD7-R Motherboard Specs BUNDLE W/ RETAILED (INTEL PENTIUM 4 1.6AG - 478; NO MEMORY; NO TESTING) $301.00 $301.00

A12180 PIONEER DVD-106S 16X-DVD EIDE SLOT INTERNAL #106S(Bare drive) Detail Specs $69.00 $69.00

A16290 LITE ON 32X/12X/40X EIDE INTERNAL CDRW BURN PROOF W/SW (Retail) Detail Specs $115.00 $115.00

571981 PNY VERTO 64MB AGP NVIDIA GEFORCE3 TI-200 (*While Supplies Last!) Detail Specs $159.00 $159.00

A09028 ENLIGHT 7237/340 MIDDLE TOWER W/340W (PENTIUM 4 READY) ATX POWER SUPPLY 4x5.25" 2x3.5" 1x3.5"(hidden) Detail Specs $70.00 $70.00

A14730 CREATIVE LABS SOUNDBLASTER LIVE! PCI DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 SB0102 (White box) Detail Specs $32.00 $32.00

A15190 MAXTOR 40.0GB DX6L040J2 EIDE ULTRA-ATA 133 8.5NS 7200RPM 2MB BUFFER (Bare drive) $96.00 $192.00

A00695 SONY 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE (Bare Drive) Detail Specs $13.50 $13.50

Sub Total $951.50

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

abit w/ raid and gf3 ti200 .. of course, no OS, or tech support.. and you need DDR ram.. mwave is $$$$$

 

[RossMAN]

larciel - What's the final price displayed after clicking Add to Cart?

 

[smartt]

I find the whole $140 additional for monitor adjustment hard to swallow. If they really had a problem with people using the quote, why not just kill the quote?? I think someone got a hold of one of the idiot sales reps.

 

[smartt]

larciel - Did you use the quote that was mentioned several times in this thread?

One other thing, I was able to configure a Dell for the around the same inflated price plus get a Palm M105. May want to mention that if they give you a hard time about the quote. I know it's now cliche, just tell them "Dude, I'm getting a Dell!!!".

 

[Pothead]

Isn't larciel putting the specs and numbers for a home built rig?

Still debating to get this or not.

Systems at home:
P3 667
AMD 1 Ghz
P3 1 GHz
Dell 8200 p4 1.8GHz
Dell Inspiron P3 1 GHz

Too many computers in my opinion, but hey what the heck!

Would be nice to flea bay the p3 667mhz

Hey ROSSman remember the good old days from shopss.com? Thats my p3 667mhz comp.

 

[RossMAN]

<< Hey ROSSman remember the good old days from shopss.com? Thats my p3 667mhz comp. >>



Yep, I never did get mine ... ordered a month or two too late

 

[HerrHarry]

I think it might make a difference if you pull the package using the quote number and save it under your own email addy at which point you'll get your own quote number. Then, go back in an pull up the quote with your own quote number when you order.

 

[IgoByte]

This is not a bad deal, although I'd rather opt for building my own Athlon XP based system. Also, I'm not getting $918 shipped. I get $1109 after I reduce everything to a minimum.

Does anyone know if this is the old or new P4?

 

[MarkieMark]

<< MarkieMark how long did it take for GW to notify you of the price adjustment? Did they allow you to cancel or did the computer ship 1st.
I put a order in yesterday and if they are going to adjust the price I don?t want it. What do you think I should do? I have not received the 24 hour follow up email from GW. >>



call to talk a sales advisor, they will have the order number (intially they get u the reference number when you order online.) and the total price after adjustment.
they won't call to tell you they raised the price!!!

CALL!!! and tell them how unsatisfied you are and give them the attitute that you are "getting a Dell!!"

good luck

 

[Spyboy]

Gateway is definitely on to the AT effect. Rep on phone said he would try to honor the price but ordering over the phone you pay state tax.

"Chatting" with another rep through the Gateway site the rep got real snotty and said the $100 code is only for people who own Gateway stock! And started to get nasty.

They clearly don't want to honor the deal but they also want sales.

I will just wait till there is a good deal on a Dell. At least I will know that Dell is still going to be around for quite a while. By the end of this year the hardware will have come down enough that this deal will not be so hot.

 

[Alesmith]

Here's on for ya...

Last friday night, 4 friends of mine ordered a total of FIVE of these systems online, with the quote provided above. Each did the transaction separately, and had no problem getting the $918 price.

This weekend, they all noticed that GATEWAY CHARGED THEIR CREDIT CARDS $1,340 PER COMPUTER, even though they all have printed checkout confirmations at $918!

What the heck are they doing? I would understand a cancellation, but to charge someone $420 more that they authorized?!?! What kind of business practice is that?

I'll update once I find out what they hear when they call Gateway today. One guy wants to wait until they build and ship it to call them, then threaten to refuse delivers, and make them eat thet of 2-way shipping plus reconfiguring the computer if they won't honor the $918 price. I say he should hurry up and call them asap, so he can tell the credit card company to cancel it if Gateway won't. Advice?

-Dave

 

[theduc]

How do you upgrade the memory for this Gateway system? Crucial doesn't seem to support this?

 

[Spyboy]

I hope I know what I am doing. I just ordered one of these things. $918 plus tax. Sales tax in all but 3 states, whether you order by phone or over the net. There was some reluctance to honor the $100 discount (or at least say that to get you to order on the spot).

They give you 48 hours or so to cancel.

I don't really need a new computer though some might argue that a 200MZ with 64 megs of RAM needs replacing. It's more the "deal fever". Perhaps my temperature will go down in the next 48 hours.

Is there anyone who has received this unit who regrets it and is willing to say so?

 

[smartt]

Alesmith-

I got an email confirming the price. I would do just what your friend is doing and make them credit the difference. If he refuses shipment, his CC company won't make him pay for something he didn't get. I also believe it's illegal in most states to charge over $50 of a price quoted, at least here in FL. I hope I get the one I ordered for $918, but if not I'll be glad to help in the flaming. It's one thing to tell someone and give them the chance to cancel, I understand pricing errors. It's whole other to charge them $400 without consulting with them. I'm also using MBNA to finance it, as I did with one I purchased years ago. They have a pretty close relationship, so hopefully that will help. I'll send MBNA my confirmation email, if they try to gouge me.

Also, there is another thread in here about a $1300 PC from Bestbuy with a lot better specs. May be worth looking at if Gateway pulls a Staples. Make sure to tell them that's what you are going to do. Let them put that in their CSR database and smoke it.

Bestbuy PC

 

[LordX]

I called Gateway today to confirm my order price, and the rep. come back with something like $1100, so I told her Gateway really need to honor the quote or I will go with a Dell, guess what she come back with, "Well, that's what makes America great, go with a Dell then. I don't care..." BTW, she is really rude too... :disgust:

Well, I believe the Gateway will no longer honor the deal, since I called about 4 customer rep. and all come back with really lame excuse, the best one is:"you need the 512 MB RDRAM to order that computer, when I ask her why?? then at first she start to play dumb, then after I keep press her about it, finally she is like:" well, guess what we don't have a monitor that's $770, you need either cancel the order or add in the $140 diffence..."

Well, that's it for me, order canceled... My PIII should be humming along for a while anyway...

 

[Spyboy]

After I told my sales rep about reported price increases after the order has been placed, she told me to call my CC company to see if the hold matched her quote. It did. She also agreed that if for any reason the price ends up more than $918 plus tax to refuse delivery. She was very conscientious and left me with no reason to think that the price will change. She did say that the managers at Gateway were pulling the plug on the $100 discount. Whether others will still be able to get the discount and she just said they were pulling the discount to close the sale I don't know. I do know that Gateway did not expect to be flooded with orders that included the discount and is trying hard to stem the tide of orders honoring the discount.