Customer Reviews

Gateway M675X Laptop (3.0 GHz Pentium 4 (Hyper-Threading), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Combo)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I agree with the previous reviewer that Gateway customer service is lacking. In my case, I ordered the PC from the Gateway website with their "order by 12/19 to receive by 12/24" which was missing the fine print that the shipping guarantee didn't apply to desktops or notebooks. I contacted Gateway on 12/24 when the PC didn't arrive and was notified that the guarantee didn't apply and they were sorry. Later I tracked my shippment and it was direct shipped from Singapore and I received it on 1/2.

After I got it, I will say that it is a very impressive system, almost an equal to my HP desktop. Not everything works well on a widescreen monitor, but with a little tweaking everything will work. The 54g built in wireless works perfectly with my Linksys network and there is an "on/off" button for the radio if you are using batteries and don't need it. My only complaint with the PC is the short battery time and lack of location to add a second battery. Considering that this stays plugged in 99% of the time it isn't a huge issue, but I like to have options.

Even though I like the system, I will think twice before buying a PC from Gateway again.

I've always used HP notebooks and had what I considered "typical" glitches (periodic crashes, screen freezing, network connections being dropped). I started researching the M675 because Money Magazine reviewed it highly and TechEdge gave it Editor's Choice. I've never used a Gateway and always considered their products more consumer focused, not everyday workhorses. I've had this machine for 2 months and it has made me a believer. I've never since experienced the glitches from before and it truly has more power than my new desktop. Unlike the other reviewers, any questions I've had were quickly taken care of on their live chat or in a Gateway store. I give their service a 5-star as well as the product.
What's hot:
-Speed!
-full size keyboard WITH a 10-key and real function keys
-scroll wheel below the touchpad for quickly navigating web pages
-ports out the ears: 4 USB (2 in back, 1 on each side), firewire & s-video
-hot keys for mail, web, and to switch on/off wireless-g
-awesome screen for watching DVD's
What's not:
-It's a beast to carry. Don't plan on much traveling unless you have a sherpa
-The fan is noisy, when it runs
-The touchpad gets bumped during typing and skips the cursor (or it could be my oversized hands)

Bottom-line, the reviewers who do this for a living are right, this is a choice system, and Gateway backs it up with good service.

It's a nice computer, great specs, but when the power supply
failed it became an expensive doorstop.
My M675 worked fine for two months when the power supply was
bathed in the cold winter air at floor level, but when spring
arrived the power supply overheated and failed.
I plugged in the second power supply I received with the
port replicator. It failed after 20 minutes.
Gateway customer support was minimally helpful. They sent me
a new power supply ( I had to give them a credit card number ???). I attached the port replicator (a difficult feat)
and used the power jack on the replicator (to see if the jack
on the computer was the problem). The 3rd power supply
failed after 10 minutes. The power supply say 150 watts
maximum on its case. The computer says 150 watts of power
on its case, so the power supply is operating at its maximum
capacity, and apparently beyond. After calling customer
support again I was told the power jack was the problem and
I would have to send the computer to Solectron for repair,
although I had told the technician the computer was working
without any problems. Since I feel the problem is an inadequate
power supply, I am reluctant to commit my unblemished computer
to the mirkly uncertanties of Solectron, and I am left to find
a dependable power supply on my own.

I bought this product in January 2004 with a full 3-year warranty. I was happy with the system for about a month, until things began to fail. Since my initial purchase I have basically experienced every type of flaw or error imaginable---I have sent the computer in for service on the following dates since the Jan. 2004 purchase:

May 04, Feb. 05, Feb. 05, July 05, Nov. 05, Jan. 06, Jan. 06, Aug. 06, Nov. 06, and finally Nov. 06 once again.

To sumarize some of the problems that I have had with the system and the parts I have had replaced: I've had to replace two motherboards because the system overheats and the cooling system is far from adequate, I've had RAM fail and had to replace it with new RAM, the power-cord does not charge the computer despite the fact that it was properly plugged in no charge would make it to the system and it constantly flickers between battery and AC power, the system will not turn on because there is a lack of connection or synapse between the on-switch and the power supply.

Many of these issues occured more than one-time, hence all of the repeat service dates back-to-back within the same month. Finally, in Nov. 06 when the computer stopped turning on and I sent it in for service twice, only for it to be returned without having been fixed both times, I conceeded that the computer would never work and that I was at the end of a 3-year nightmare.

Sadly, the system itself is not even the only issue. There is nearly as large an issue with Gateway's customer service and technical support. Why should it take 2 repairs in a one-month time span to fix the same problem? Why should it take 30 minutes of waiting for the technical support representatives to figure out if I purchased my computer in retail or online? Why should it take 30 minutes for technical support to decipher my serial number? Why, after 10 repairs in a 3-year period, was I never offered a replacement system for all my troubles and time spent without a computer if I was clearly given a dud?

Avoid this system at all cost, and moreover, avoid Gateway at all cost...they're not the same company they were 10-years ago, they're not even the same company they were 3-years ago. Stay away from these guys.