Customer Reviews

Gateway SX2850-01 Desktop (Black)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I wanted to purchase a small PC for my home theater system and was initially leaning toward the e-machines "Mini-e." However, I saw that it had issues with flash and Hulu. I then came across the Gateway SX2840 which got rave reviews from cnet and the like. It seemed to have everything I wanted except for a wireless card. I figured hey, I can just buy one and stick it in the machine, but then I came across the SX2850 and voila! It had one in it. The system itself works great. It's fast and handles anything thrown at it, very quiet too. I have it hooked up to a Panasonic 1080p G25 plasma via HDMI and looks great. Much better watching Hulu on a large TV than a small monitor. I also have it connected to my Windows Home Group and stream movies and content from my Desktop to this PC wirelessly and have no issues (I have a Dual Band "N" router). I would have given this 5 stars if it wasn't for one small flaw.

They chinced on the onboard sound. At first glance the sx2840 and sx2850 looked identical (2850 had a slight upgrade in the processor, downgrade in RAM). So I ordered the 2850. Didn't realize until I got it that it doesn't have an Optical Out (toslink/spdif), the 2840 does. I can't fathom why they would have omitted it. Oh well, my oversight I guess. So I had to hook up analog cables to the Multi Channel Input of my receiver. Speakers test fine in Windows 7 but, the sound is horrible with absolutely no bass when playing video/audio files. I found out later that the LFE connection to the subwoofer doesn't really like analog. I tried increasing the gain in Windows and my receiver as well as the physical knob on the sub and nothing worked. The problem with increasing the gain in the receiver is it will blow out my sub when I switch over to Cable or PS3 (both using optical). So not a good solution. Moral of the story, if you want to use this for home theater and want the best sound you'll probably need to buy a low-profile sound card with optical out. Unless you can figure out how to make it work. If you do, feel free to drop a comment and let me know. Thanks!

***UPDATE: 15 Aug 10***
I purchased the ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card for the optical out and threw it in this machine. Once I got it working the sound is great. Now I get true surround sound and deep bass watching digital movies and internet content. There are a few things to note when ordering this sound card. First, it doesn't come with a manual. It comes with a bare bones installation guide which is not that helpful. Second, it also requires external power and they provide an old Molex style connector. The Gateway SX2850 HDD and DVD drive run off SATA power connections and the power supply has no spare power cables. You have to buy a SATA extension with extra Molex connector from NewEgg (Radio Shack and Best Buy do not carry them). To cut a long story short, the card is not PnP and does not auto-detect which ports you're using. You have to use the interface software that comes with the card to make adjustments (Windows 7 is futile). I spent a few hours before I figured out you have to check mark the s/pdif box in the packaged software.

I was looking to replace my 7-year old Dell Dimension which simply could not handle HD video. And XP was an aging operating system. Therefore, upgrading made sense.

I've had the computer for a week, and so far, so good. Set up was easy and simple. At the same time I bought this computer, I also ordered a 22" 1080p LG monitor. Both products work flawlessly together. Graphics are beautiful, and I'm impressed with the updated Intel HD graphics. I'm not a gamer, but for everything else, it's quite impressive. Plays hi-def videos very well. So no problem there.

One issue with the hardware is the power button. It takes a considerable amount of pressure to turn on. Similar issue with the DVD button. The DVD button issue was a problem with the 2840, and unfortunately, is probably carried over to the 2850 as well.

One disappointment is the lack of a variety of ports from last year's model. The 2850 has no optical out (already discussed in other reviews), and it doesn't have firewire or eSATA. I don't know if I'll use optical or eSATA, but it would be good to have just in case. I have an older canon mini-DV tape video camera which I use from time to time. I'll need to download to my laptop and transfer via sd card if I want to edit on the Gateway. But to the 2850's credit, it does have 11 - yes - 11, USB ports. Which is quite handy. I'm already using 7 of them.

Another let-down is the reduction in RAM. The 2850 does have faster RAM than the 2840. And slightly faster processor. But 6 gigs of ram would have been nice.

I guess a plus of this model is the addition of wireless. But I'm hard-wired, so it's not much of a feature for me.

So, it's a nice computer that I hope lasts a few years. Great graphics with a 1080p monitor, 11 usb ports and fast and quiet operation makes it a good value choice. The glossy finishes are also attractive and the small form factor is somewhat a plus as well.

Keyboard and mouse are ok - I'm using them with no problem.

But bring your own speakers - they're not included.....

I've had this for about 4 months; performance is excellent. I play WoW, and a number of other rpg's and have had no issues at all. One detail. Though it has Gateway name they sold out to another outfit with less visibility than Gateway. That said, this box is solid. The 200 wat pwr supply seemed small to me but so far this has been a great buy.

I bought this system because of the strong spec: Intel Core i3, 4GB DDR3 Memory, 4MB L2 cache, improved bus architecture, etc. for the money. I've purchased gateway/e-machines in the past and have had pretty good luck with them.

This system is not a gamer's system. Rather, it is a high-performance for the budget type box that can run heavy duty applications that are data intensive (I use it for statistical apps, graphics apps, etc...). It does just fine for basic video playback as well. It can be upgraded with a PCI video card and thus become an even more powerful gaming machine. For everyday use as a work computer for home/office, this machine hits the spot.

Other pluses:
Windows 7 64bit - If you are on XP, it's really time to upgrade. 64bit Windows 7 runs super fast. Even faster if you turn off the Aero interface and run more standard looking graphics.
Small profile - Fits on a crowded desk just fine.
Lots of USB ports - I believe there are 11 of them. Four are on the front panel for easy access.
Media card reader - A necessity for transferring digital photos and the like.

No real downsides yet. I have a real old (but dependable) HP parallel port laserjet printer. I had to buy a $20 USB to parallel cable to get it to work. Windows 7 had no problem installing the drivers to get it to work.

This is a perfect PC for booting satellite or cable bills out the door. I had DirecTV and was tired of paying $86 a month to watch 10-15 channels at most. The PC performs perfectly with the included Windows 7. WiFi is excellent and I have no issues with streaming Netflix or web-based movies/shows. While you can play games on it, I would not recommend this as a gaming platform. This is perfect for surfing the web on a big-screen HDTV, watching movies on disc or streaming video from the internet.

The only thing I would have loved to see is an included wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. The wired stuff has to go.

My 2003 entry-level DELL had been giving me trouble for the last couple of years. It got to the point where I was having to reformat it every single week, and even after doing so, simple things like typing in the address bar would lag about a full minute behind my inputs, even from fresh boot-ups (which took about 5 minutes just to get to desktop itself)Forget about multi-tasking in several windows, I could barely "run" one, and I use the term loosely.Youtube videos? Forget 720/1080 resolutions, my system stuttered and would often lock up running 360p. I was sick and tired of my ancient DELL as well as the dinosaur known as Windows XP, I literally couldn't do any of the simple things I wanted.

WIth a few of my college classes requiring online software, and that I would need to type reports with Word, and not trusting my junky Dell, I got with the times and ordered this Gateway model. Startup/shutdown is lightning quick. Web pages load almost instantly. The built-in WIFI is MUCH quicker AND reliable. Windows 7 seems to be a great product, at least compared to my experiences with XP. Youtube videos can be viewed in full 1080 HD, with no stuttering and no need to pause and let the stream "catch up" to my WIFI DL speeds. Big thanks to Amazon for the college student PRIME offer. It gave me free 2 day shipping, which was a lifesaver in keeping me from falling behind in my classes.

The form-factor wasn't a big issue with me choosing this PC, bet it IS nice to have a unit nearly 1/3 of the size of my old Dell. The Gateway is much less of a "tower" than the old unit. It is roughly the size of an XBOX 360, making it a fine choice if you are hooking it up to a living room LCD bigscreen. It even has HDMI, making it even more tempting to do this.

My only two very minor complaints are the WIFI antenna doesn't just plug into the back like I expected. It does connect there, but the wire runs to a suction cup antenna that sits on top of the PC. It dosen't match the sleekness of the PC itself, and the the cup looses grip often. The other issue is the bundled VGA cord is way too short (about half the length of my Dell's) I guess they expect you to either make due or use your old cable.

This is a great PC that is perfect for those like me that have squeezed every drop of usage from their old computers. The price is very reasonable for the power it packs, and I would estimate that I will save 6 hours or so per week thanks to the quick startups, lack of crashes, and from not having to reformat on a weekly basis. A+

I should have known that this machine was going to be erratic because it prompts you every few days to create a backup image (which I constantly refused because I didn't have enough DVDs). The first 4 times it crashed, I was able to recover by disconnecting all the external drives and forcing a boot from the C drive (not sure why it kept reverting to try those other drives to bott up in the first place).
Last week, it finally crashed again and nothing I do will bring it back up. Keeps going back to the green screen of death and gives me the same 2 options (recover/start normally).

I call Amazon and request a return, but they tell me that they cannot accept anything back past 30 days. They ask me to call Gateway. Bummer - I had more faith in Amazon, considering I do pretty much 100% of my shopping besides groceries and clothes on Amazon (Prime member, Amazon credit card, the works).

Update 1: I called Gateway and they asked me to do a full factory restore. I did so, and spent half a day restoring my data and applications. Keeping fingers crossed.

Update 2: 3 days later, it fails again. This time, it logs me in, shows my background image and desktop icons, but no application task-bar at the bottom left, or status bar at the bottom right. The mouse pointer is a circle going around infinitely. Oh, and there is a note on the bottom right of the screen that says "This is not a genuine copy of Windows"! I hit the hard-reboot button 3 times, and each time it comes back up and does exactly the same thing. I call Gateway and the Level 1 person I spoke to says that level 2 support is unavailable over the holiday season and I should call back because they might be able to help. I say that I've never had so many issues with the 3 other laptop PC's I have at home and I'd just like to return the system as I don't have faith in it. Gateway says that I need to contact Amazon for any refunds or returns, because the retailer handles those kinds of things.

I would not recommend buying this computer despite the price. I was tempted by the 1 TB hard drive, but you can buy storage for cheap and get a more robust computer even if you pay a bit more.

i got this computer because my laptop was having some problems with the power cord and just being plain outdated. i was looking for something in the $500 price range, and this seemed to be the best for the price. i was also looking for a computer i could keep for a while, so that would mean i would be able to upgrade the hardware. since it has an intel H57 motherboard, that means the i3 core can be swapped out for an i5 or i7 core later on. also with the 16x PCI slot, graphics can be improved. the computer runs perfectly with all the hardware in it already. i play world of warcraft (WoW0 on it, and i haven't lagged (except from internet problems) yet. not even in the areas with the most traffic.

i would've given this computer 5 stars if i was basing this review purely on the product, but i only gave it 4 stars because of personal preferences. there are two things that i just find odd about this computer. first, the CD tray eject button, doesn't click. it's more like a sponge. i press on it, and have to push pretty hard, for the tray to eject. i would've rather prefer to have a button that clicked, so i know that the cd tray is malfunctioning if it doesn't open when i push the button, instead of wondering if i pushed the button hard enough. second, is the SD card reader, again, it doesn't click (i might have a subconscious obsession for clicking :P). i'm used to the ones that you press in and it will click in, and to eject it, you press it again. this one just has the SD card slide in and sit there 1/4 of the way out. it doesn't bug me as much as the CD tray button, but it still bugs a bit.

All in all, this is a great PC and i would highly recommend it

I bought this to hook up to my HDTV as a replacement for cable. Now everything I watch on the big screen comes through this computer in the form of Netflix streaming, Hulu Desktop, other websites, or DVDs. (At some point I'll probably start buying shows on iTunes, but I haven't felt the need to do that yet.) It took a little bit of work to get it set up initially, but now it's running pretty smoothly.

As far as I can tell, this is the best computer out there for use as a home theater center (or HTPC, as I believe people are calling them). I also considered a Mac Mini and basically any desktop PC under $1000 before I decided on this one, which won out for the following reasons:

It looks nice enough above my TV in the space where my cable box used to be,
it was very easy to connect to my TV since it has an HDMI port,
it has sufficient RAM to stream HD video with only the occasional hiccup (which might be my internet connection rather than the computer's fault -- I've officially got a 12 mbps connection, but that sometimes fluctuates pretty wildly),
it's got a huge hard drive for storing shows if you want to use Windows Media Center's included DVR function (although you'd have to buy a separate TV tuner for that),
and it has a built-in wi-fi card.

There are other models of the Gateway that would work just as well if you have convenient access to an ethernet port, but I don't in my living room, so that wi-fi card was key.

To control everything, I mostly use a Windows Media Center PC Remote, which works adequately. I also bought the Logitech Wireless Desktop MK320 with Keyboard and Mouse. In retrospect, I think I should have gone with a slightly pricier keyboard with a mouse function built in, as it's uncomfortable to lean over the coffee table to manipulate the mouse and it's awkward to hold the mouse and the keyboard at the same time, but overall this has worked for me. And it's great to get almost all the shows I used to watch without paying for cable. I'm saving $60 every month now that I just pay for internet and Netflix, which means this computer will pay for itself in less than a year. Pretty sweet!

By the way, I originally started looking for a media center computer as an alternative to a Tivo, as the HD-compatible ones are all expensive and have gotten some negative reviews about being sluggish, which was my main complaint about the awful DVR I got from my cable company. I think this Gateway would work well for that. If you're considering going the media center route without cable like I ended up doing, do some soul searching first. I have to make a conscious decision about everything I watch now, as I can't just flip through channels. I used to have a Tivo (Series 2) and around 100 channels, and there was always something ready for me to watch with little to no effort. The fact that all programming is at least two steps past turning on the TV for me now means I watch way less TV and I tend to watch a much narrower range of shows, since I generally have to know what it is and where to find it before I watch it. I'm mostly okay with that, but you might find it tedious. Hopefully services like Hulu will improve their queuing and recommendation functions before too long so I'll be able to turn them on and watch for a couple of hours and then turn them off without having to pause every half hour to think of something else I'm interested in; right now they're better suited to watching a bunch of episodes of the same show one after another.

I purchased this computer 2 months ago and it's working fine.

Pro: Fast, quiet, small. Works with the included Win7 and Linux (Ubuntu and Suse).

Cons: 1. No support for such minor things as the memory upgrade specs, bios upgrades. The Gateway site is a shell, and merely sends you to the "online merchant".

2. The onboard display (Intel graphics with VGA and HDMI output) cannot coexist with any added PCI-E card. You can select either one (but not both) using BIOS settings. I wanted a multihead setup and ended up getting an nVidia NVS 420 which has multihead capability. The onboard graphics are now disabled.

3. Limited expansion capability. Plenty of USB for external items, no Serial, no parallel, no PATA, no PCI, pretty cramped case.

Conclusion: Fine machine. I'd purchase again. It's not perfect, and I am rather concerned about the lack of online support and documentation, but the speed and quietness is very compelling.