Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great All-in-One PC, December 18, 2008
Before I start this review, I want to state that I don't work for Gateway or some marketing department trying to peddle this particular PC. I do however work in the IT industry and chose this machine as my personal PC for various reasons listed below.
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Several tech sites have conducted reviews which found that the Gateway One is slower than rivals like the Apple iMac, Dell XPS One, etc. It is my experience, however, that for normal use i.e.: internet, Netflix streaming, YouTube, email, word processing, etc., this machine is fast enough for most users.
While I won't list specs or benchmarks, I will provide my opinions on this PC. There are pros and cons to the Gateway One ZX190, so I'll list the pros first, then the cons.
First, the pros:
1: System is upgradeable. RAM, Hard Drive, MiniPCI(!), Video(!) and the DVD writer are all user replaceable. WOW! I didn't expect that from an All-in-One.
2: Windows Media Center + Gateway One = Awesome. This is my first time actually using Media Center for Vista, and the experience is great with the Gateway One. The ZX190 Gateway One also comes with a Media Center remote which is nicely built and easy to use.
3: Lack of obnoxious adware/bloat ware in the Gateway software build. Thanks, Gateway.
4: Power adapter. External power brick is really big, but is unique in that it contains external USB, Network, Optical Audio, and FireWire ports. The brick can be mounted under a desk or hidden behind the machine without issue. The ability to plug all peripherals into the brick is great.
5: Built-in wireless draft-N. This is nice for the future and for those wishing to go completely wire free. (Well, except for the power of course)
6: Wireless Keyboard/mouse combo. The keyboard and mouse are very stylish and well-built. The mouse takes a little getting used to, but once you do, you'll love it.
7: The LCD. Wow. I was quite impressed with the panel quality in this PC. I thought it may not be that great because the PC is fairly inexpensive, but I was wrong. Movies, images, etc look great.
8: A removable webcam is included with the ZX190. The quality of the images is surprisingly good, although the cam itself protrudes from the top of the Gateway when it's installed. No big deal, though, because you can remove it anytime you want.
9: Design of the PC. The Gateway One is really nice looking in person. The pictures don't do it justice. The tilting stand mechanism is very well executed, and the machine is extremely stable in all positions. The clamshell case opens easily for repair/upgrade work.
On a side note, I've read quite a few posts on various forums, review sites, etc., condemning the "big chin" underneath the LCD panel. It really doesn't look bad at all up close. In fact, I'd rather see the "chin" than the ugly feet of a stand.
Now, the cons:
1: Upgrading RAM past 3GB is (at this time) not possible. The PC slows to a crawl when 2 matched 2GB sticks are inserted. No BIOS update from Gateway which may address this issue (yet). I called Gateway about this issue. While they tried to help, they had no answer. Oh well. 3GB is fine for me.
2: The built in NXT panel speakers are severely lacking in audio quality. They are fine for basic audio, though.
3: The hard drive and fan noise are a tad bit too loud. Some acoustic foam would probably address this issue, but I got used to the sound after a few days. Still, the noise may be off-putting to some.
Well, I guess that's it for my review. Take the tech site reviews on this machine with a grain of salt. The reviewers had the machine for a day or a week, but I actually own this PC and use it every day. This PC may not be for everyone, but if you want an All-in-One that is nicely designed, upgradable, fast for daily use, and relatively inexpensive, try the Gateway One ZX190.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Love This PC!, December 18, 2008
I am past the honeymoon stage and still love coming home to this pc. It is plenty fast and looks beautiful on my desk. The display is awesome - I was worried about getting a pc with a glossy screen (I'm not a big fan), but due to the crispness and brightness of the display on the Gateway One, I am not distracted by any reflections.
This is a surprisingly innovative design from Gateway. It is very solid and you don't have to look at an ugly stand! I really like the clean look of it. Like the other reviewer said, the speakers are ok for normal Windows use, but if you watch movies or listen to music you might want to get some extra speakers. But this is probably true for most pcs.
The only complaint I have is the hard drive is a bit loud. I'll accept that though, because I love this pc!
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5 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Gateway is not your friend., November 15, 2008
We bought a Gateway desktop and Windows got hosed for some reason. We called 1-800-GATEWAY for support. Guess what? If you buy a Gateway anywhere but their website you must call a separate toll number. WTF!? Then we needed to restore it but the restore partition was bad. Had to get the recovery disk. They charged me $20 for a $1 CD-R. Then it wouldn't work, and they wanted to charge me to tell me how to use it. Again WTF? These people are horrible. Save yourself a lot of trouble and get a Mac. Get HP. Get an abacus. Anything but Gateway.
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