Gateway.com vs. Best Buy?

Hey all,

My husband and I bought a 17" Gateway M680X back in Septebmer (right before they changed model numbers to the NX850) as a desktop replacement, and our only computer. We love it! No problems whatsoever, customer service has been great so far. Now, my husband feels that he needs a slightly smaller notebook for his own use for running back and forth from home to office. He travels extensively, also.

We have researched and researched notebooks, both for the original M680X purchase, and then now for the smaller one. It seems like, after a field trip to Best Buy today, that a 14" is better suited for his kind of travel than a 15.4".

The NX250 on Gateway.com, configured to an 80GB hard drive, 1.73 RAM, and 512 memory, is about $100 more than the MX3560 (with the same spec's except a 1.69 RAM) at Best Buy. Currently, the gateway.com site is offering a free upgrade to Windows Media Center (which we have on the 680). Other than that, really there's no difference that I can see.

My actual question, now that I've gotten through all that, is: is there a significant difference on the quality of machines offered through the retail stores vs. the ones on the site? In some ways, we'd just as soon walk out of Best Buy tomorrow with a computer, but only if it really compares well. We really do like Gateway and are only considering them at this point - but our experiences with both the M680 and the old desktop we replaced were totally "build it yourself" off Gateway.com. I guess I'm just a little nervous on their retail models.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

I don't think there is much of a difference except the ones at BestBuy are pre-configured. The nice thing about getting at Gateway is you can make upgrades like a faster hard drive which will increase system performance. If you get it at BestBuy, you'll have to buy the hard drive yourself, and install it and the operating system.

 

As far as I can tell from outward appearances, these are the same model, and thus the quality should be identical. (The only possible confusing factor could be if the MX3560 is the same as the NX200 rather than the NX250).

Gateway's naming system is overly complex because items sold retail (at Best Buy, for example) use the retail order fulfillment process inherited from emachines, whereas items sold direct use the order processing system Gateway has used for half a decade. Tech support and replacements also use two different systems. It is almost like Gateway is two separate companies, which of course it is--mergers take years to fully implement. To further complicate matters, Gateway now names the same system sold to consumers differently from when it is sold to small business and differently again when sold to large business.

It is true that most companies produce business notebooks that are a little more solid than consumer notebooks. Gateway is no different, and the consumer oriented "Storm chassis" units (the 520, the 68xx, 73xx and 74xx) did for a long time have a hinge cracking issue.

So, to finally answer your question, quality will vary by model, but if the same model is sold both retail and direct, the quality will be the same. At least you can go and inspect the notebooks at Best Buy--thump the chassis, flex the hinges, test the connectors, etc.

 

I just asked Gateway about this yesterday as a matter of fact. The models are the same exact thing physically, though there may be some minor differences in software package and warranty between the reatil, direct and small business models.

 

Thanks, guys! I knew about the "two different Gateways" because of the research I did before getting the 17" one in September. It's reassuring to know that the two I'm looking at are physically the same. Now, just a decision on if the "free" Media Center is worth the slight extra money and the wait! We have Media Center on the 680, and my husband does like it for music. Hmmm.

 

Just a quick question: How does Media Center make it better for music? I don't have media center, but I am constantly listening to music, and improvement is good

 

It's got a mostly useless, but fun feature of showing the album covers as you play it. You can also arrange queues and such, as with Media Player, but it's a little more stylish. My husband prefers it over Media Player, but it's not that different.

 

Can it acquire information from the internet and apply to the files?