🚀 go-pugleaf

>	Might try one of the ney Hyundai machines.  Nice quality, 
>	cheap, and allof the features (ATI Ultra Pro LB) that Gateway
>	is offering.

Be skeptical.  I called Hyundai, and the price for *comparable* systems was
significantly higher than Gateway (not to mention the fact that a lot of stuff
wasn't available yet on the Hyundai).

>	Furthermore, if you can afford it, go ahead and
>	get 16 megs on both systems.  

Um, why?  My 486DX33V pretty much flies with "only" 8MB.

>	So don't buy from either.  The Gateway monitor is so/so.  I found
>	better quality (flatter, darker-black screen, sharper) in a 
>	Sampo Alphascan 15.  (It doesn't support refresh rates as high,
>	tho).  My Nec monitor is even nicer.  If you can, go with the
>	Nec.  There are basically two things you're stuck with once
>	you buy your system--processor and monitor--always buy the best
>	that you can for both, because the cost of replacing them is 
>	much higher than for anything else (memory, storage, video card).

The Gateway 15" monitor is not razor sharp, but it's quite usable.  I'm
accustomed to a SUN SPARC 19" monochrome monitor, which lets me use 6-point
type easily, so I'm pretty demanding.  You could probably get a better monitor
for $200 or more extra; you could also get a CD-ROM, or a FAX/modem, or a tape
drive, or an upgrade to MS Office (includes Excel), or a sound card, or
one of many other goodies, for the same $200+ -- and after having used my
GW2000 15" monitor for a couple of weeks now, I'm glad I didn't spring for the
NEC or other more expensive monitor.

>2.  How does GUI acceleration compare to local bus implementations in terms
>    of overall Windows performance?  My family tends to be rather heavy
>    Windows users.  Another question:  how stable are the VESA local bus
>    standards, and do they really provide enough end-user benefit that they
>    will survive even for the presumed useful life of this machine?

I can't compare GUI acceleration to local bus for Windows, but I can tell you
that when I came back to work this morning and got on my SUN SPARCstation 2
running MIT X with 96MB of memory and a ton of swap, I found the video
performance a little sluggish compared to the LB ATI Ultra Pro on my Gateway
486DX33V.  That astonished me.

> >Are there any other mail-order companies I should be looking at?
>
> 	Zeos, Dell.  Dell, especially.  Also, take a look at the new
> 	systems from IBM and Compaq--they're not that bad.  And if you're
> 	looking at a non-LB ISA system, consider skipping the hassle of
> 	mail order altogether and buying local from a company like Accel--
> 	I can find better deals local on such generic systems than I can
> 	find in Computer Shopper.

I could not find a vendor that offered as much system for the money as
Gateway.  I wanted to; I had had an annoying experience with their sales staff
in the past, and knew that tech support was sluggish.  Zeos is a little better
than they used to be about advertising, but their featured systems are a
little (and sometimes more than a little) stripped down, and once you
configure one like the equivalent Gateway it costs a lot more.  Dell doesn't
even come close on price.  But check me on this: pick up Computer Shopper (or
drag it somewhere, if you can't lift it ;-) and browse.  As far as local
companies are concerned, I almost bought from a local company that has great
prices, but ... Gateway beat them in terms of features and price; once I added
all the stuff that came free (15" monitor, 8MB memory, 250MB hard drive,
Windows, WinWord) or cheap (TelePath FAX/modem for $195 including Crosstalk
and WinFax Pro, CMS Jumbo 250 tape drive for $195(!), MS Excel and PowerPoint
for $175) in the Gateway, there was no contest.

I'm not a rabid Gateway fan: they have their limitations, like cruddy order
tracking and long waits for tech support sometimes, but overall I've been
pleased with the equipment and the way it was set up.