Customer Reviews

Gateway SX2802-03 Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Pros:
-Quiet
-Fast boot up into Win7
-Plenty of RAM for OS Requirements
-Plenty Big Hard Drive for anything
-Does not include a ton of worthless software

Cons:
-On board integrated graphics
-Button to eject DVD tray must be pressed HARD
-Does not include hard copies of OS or system recovery disks (these must be burned at your $$)

It is a nice quiet compact system. Boot time is noticeably faster (about a minute) over my previous Vista computers. Moreover, there is not a lot of preinstalled worthless junk ware. Although, the optional software (MS Office, Norton, etc) that is there are trail versions only. There is not any good tactile feel to the DVD eject button and must be pressed rather hard. I was very surprised to find no hard copies of Windows 7 or any recovery disks. For these, the system prompted me to insert my own DVDs and burn copies on my own (something EVERYONE SHOULD DO). The on-board integrated video is the weakest link in performance. Windows performance score is 3.6 due to graphics. There is a PCI-expresssx16 slot open. I ordered a video card (which MUST be a LOW PROFILE card) and will update this review on how it affects performance. Over all so far it seems to be a solid computer and a good experience. Time will tell more!

Edit:
I received, installed and tested HIS H435F512HDLP Radeon HD 4350 HDMI Dual Link DVI (HDCP) 512MB (64 bit) DDR2 PCIe 16x 2.0 Low Profile Video Card Retail (RoHS)
It brought up my gaming graphics score from a 3.4 to a 5.8! You may have to fiddle around with Aero and tone down some of the bells and whistles to gain improvements within windows 7 environment. Also this card has a fan. The fan adds a little more air flow within the case but also adds noticeable fan noise. So to maintain the stealthy quiet of the original system...get a card with no fan.

I bought this computer at Fry's for the same price listed here. From all accounts, it's a great deal -- you get 6GB of memory, 1TB hard drive, Intel Core Quad processor at 2.5Ghz, Windows 7 Home Premium, two output video ports (VGA and HDMI), tons of USB ports, two low-profile expansion slots and a very compact, attractive and quiet enclosure. This computer is an incredible deal, hundreds less than a comparable Dell or HP desktop.

I have only three complaints about this computer. Here they are:

(1) If you like to rotate your monitor into "portrait" mode, do not buy this computer. Something is wrong with Gateway's implementation of the on-board Intel G45/G43 graphics chipset, because the monitor rotation features available through the Intel software simply do not work. I went back to Fry's and tried it on several other Gateway SX2802 machines on display there and it didn't work on any of them -- but the feature did work fine on several competitor machines (HP, Lenovo, etc.) that had the same graphics chipset. It appears to be some problem with the interplay between the Gateway hardware, the Intel graphics drivers (which are up-to-date) and Windows 7. Gateway technical support was no help.

(2) Obviously you can't expect too much in terms of technical support when you buy a computer for such a rock-bottom price, but even with that caveat, support is totally abysmal. Do not buy this computer if it's your first computer or you don't know how to fix your own problems, because if you get into any kind of trouble and need assistance, Gateway won't know what to do. I owned the computer for less than two days, asked them the above-question about monitor rotation (through their on-line form, of course, because you'll never get to talk to a real person). Here was their response:

"Unfortunately, we are unable to offer support for this type of issue. Please understand that Gateway technicians have not been trained on every possible software title or hardware component. Gateway technicians can assist you with the removal or installation of any hardware or software purchased from Gateway. Due to the magnitude of information that would need to be learned, Gateway technicians are not trained on all the advanced features of the software or hardware Gateway sells."

In other words, Gateway doesn't understand the products it sells and can't address issues beyond the "make sure it's plugged-in" variety. The email goes on to offer technical support that is extremely pricey given the price of the computer, despite the fact that the computer is under warranty and the issue I'm having is clearly a defect with the computer. To make matters worse, the Gateway website has no support forum and no meaningful online resources. In short, you're basically on your own if you have any problems with this machine.

(3) The computer comes with no speakers. Most entry level PCs at least come with cheesy stock speakers, but this one comes with none. Not a big deal for me, but not everyone knows this.

I have been tempted to return this computer in light of the rotation feature, but I have decided to keep it. I generally don't need technical support (been using PCs for more than 20 years) and the monitor rotation problem is a deal-breaker for some, but not for me. But I would never recommend this computer to anyone who isn't already an advanced PC or Windows user, because Gateway technical support will leave you in the cold.

I bought this at Fry's electronics for the same price that's listed here. The machine has a small form factor and is very quiet--it basically makes no sound at all. That is an important thing for me, as my last desktop computer was big and noisy and I always had to put it to sleep to quiet it. Whereas, I can just leave this one on all the time, which makes it easy to jump on and off the computer throughout the day.

Windows 7 is nice. My last computer was a Windows Vista machine. Windows 7 is a solid refinement of Vista, though most of what I use the computer for nowadays is surfing the web, so the OS itself is meaning less and less. My browser runs the same in Windows 7 as it did in Vista, so there is nothing revolutionary here for me. Never the less, Windows 7 is a solid platform to move forward with.

In summary, if you are looking for a new Windows based desktop computer with good specs and good value, I can't imagine you'd find a better unit than this one. The hardware is elegant and quiet, and the OS is solid.

I bought the the SX 2802-01 but it's the same computer with 4G memory and 750 gig hard drive.

Bloatware difficult to uninstall. particularly Office 2007 trial version. Had to uninstall it three times as it kept reinstalling itself (???) Finally got rid of it (I think) by using Revo uninstaller, Glary utilities and CCleaner, the last two to clean up the crumbs in the Registry that Revo uninstaller missed, and then manually deleting leftover program and application data folders that Revo uninstaller also missed.

My previous Gateway computer came with Power DVD installed but no DVD player with this computer. A real nuisance since neither Windows Media Player 12 nor Windows live, while they will play DVD's, play them adequately, missing basic functions like fast forward/rewind and ability to get to root/title menus (Win Live.) It's difficult to find a free media player that will play DVD (VOB) files from the hard disk.

Nice keyboard but no indicator lights so you can't tell if Num Lock, Caps Lock, or Scroll Lock are active until you type. What's up with that???? [Edit: I got a new Microsoft wireless keyboard today. It has the same shortcomings - No indicator lights to tell you if Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll lock are active. Is this the new standard? Do keyboard manufacturers think this info is irrelevant?]

Computer itself is very nice, very quiet, fast. Love the small form factor as I rarely (never) upgrade the internal guts.

Lot's of USB ports, 4 in front, 4 in back, which is nice, but drop-down door in front to access ports seems cheap. We'll see if it lasts. The bottom two USB ports on the front are way down at the bottom and awkward to get to, but it can be done.

Other "problems": Gateway support is non-existent, even under warranty, unless you pay. I think it's $70 for 30 minutes. No hardcopy users guide or manual. The electronic users guide that came on the hard disk is totally useless and in most cases is not even applicable to this model (or any SX model.) Comes with no software cd's or dvd's. You have to burn your own backup/restore dvd's at your expense. It takes 4 dvd's.

The DVD drive eject (open/close) button is difficult to operate. It takes a concentrated, focused effort (and considerable force) to get it to function.

In spite of these complaints I'm very happy with the computer itself and would have rated it 5-stars if not for these shortcomings. I did get rid of the bloatware I didn't want, I will use a different keyboard, I have enough blank DVD's to create my own restore disks (though I shouldn't have to,) and I'm computer literate enough I most likely will not need tech support from Gateway, though a decent users' guide would be appreciated.

UPDATE: After one week of use the computer froze when resuming from sleep and will not boot. It beeps one long and two short, which probably means the onboard video is dead. I'm not going to slam a product with 1 star because mine happened to break: The rest of my review is unchanged.

The only flaw of this machine is the combination of weak onboard graphics and limited options for boosting the graphics performance. Upgrade cards must fit within the power budget of the small PSU and the low-profile slot (and the case is heavily vented in the area where the graphics card would go, so a GPU fan would not be muffled at all). Once you take gaming off the table, the rest of the specs seem positively overpowered for "office productivity" work. The sweet spot for this system might be photo storage and editing.

The case is quiet, a bit heavier than it looks, and has a bright white power LED which blinks when the unit goes to sleep (as Windows 7 will by default when the system is idle). At night the entire room will blink. The DVD button (a plastic lever which pushes indirectly on the DVD drive's actual button) is very stiff. There's some kind of cable management loop at the top back but I'm not sure what you'd do with it.

Ports are ample and well thought out with one exception: There's no DVI out. You will want a HDMI-to-DVI cable since you probably don't have one: 6FT HDMI Male to DVI Male Cable. Even PS/2 and eSATA are provided on the back.

Front ports include USB, 1394, audio and card readers. If you plan to use any of them with regularity you'll probably remove the door, whose only purpose is to make the front of the machine look sleek in the store.

The keyboard is okay, but as others have noted there are no caps/num/scroll lock lights and the function key row (including escape) is half-height. It's a PS/2 keyboard, not USB. The mouse is bulky, the buttons are stiff, but the tracking is decent. It lacks a 'back' button. There are gateway cow splotches embossed on the bottom. The mouse is USB.

Miscellaneous tech notes: The Q8300 CPU only supports virtualization (Intel's VT-x) in some chips. There's no WiFi. I had no trouble de-installing the included bloatware (Norton will demand some reboots). It takes 4 DVD-Rs to burn the recovery discs. There are other SKUs of the SX2802 with 750G 7200RPM HD and 4G of memory (with 2 slots still free).

I got this item under $500 from an online supplier (Newegg) and I am happy with it.

The speed is amazing compared to my 5 year old Dell Laptop and the video is awesome.

I use my Samsung 32" TV as an HD monitor

This is a great Gateway computer, but if you are looking for Gateway customer or techincal service then don't buy Gateway. There is no phone number to call gateway. When you go on their website or chat line, Gateway wants to charge you for technical support even if your computer is still under warranty. I've owned this computer less than 30 days. Never will buy another Gateway again and will return this computer back.

all are good so far but you have to push hard the cd rom button to open or close it

This computer is fast and sleek. I received the computer on the 18th of December and had it configured by the end of that first night. There is a ton of connectivity that makes this very easy to work with. I had an e-machine prior to this computer and it was a bit noisy. The Sx2802-3 is very quiet and a pleasure to use. I have not found any negatives; I am seriously thinking about buying another one. About a week prior to purchasing the Gateway I bought an HP elite 9280 and had to return it because the monitor kept going dark on me; tech support was worthless; this computer though, has been a great and I saved over $1000:)

Up till now I've used HP PC's, but I'm more that satisfied with this Gateway Product. In fact, I have already
recommended it to a friend.