Entered CNET Catalog: 09/17/2004
SKU: 700GR
Manufacturer: Gateway Inc.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 09/16/2004
Upside: The chief advantage of BTX motherboards, which replace the current ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) form factor, has to do with cooling. Today's processors and graphics cards are running hotter than ever, which means system manufacturers have to go to greater lengths (and louder fans) to keep PC parts from overheating. The BTX motherboard is designed to improve airflow through the case while keeping fan noise to a minimum. Intel's own Pentium 4 chips, such as the Pentium 4 550 found on the Gateway 700GR, are among the worst offenders for generating unwanted heat. Other pluses include the PCI Express (PCIe) interface for expansion cards; a full 1GB of memory; a roomy 250GB Serial ATA hard drive; and a multiformat, double-layer DVD burner.
Downside: The Gateway 700GR's graphics card is a PCIe card, but it's only a budget card--somewhat of a disappointment for Gateway's new high-end series. We expected to see at least a midrange card, such as ATI's 256MB Radeon X600, instead of the system's 128MB Radeon X300. And because it's an in-store, retail-only model, you cannot customize the 700GR prior to purchase. Also note that the $1,199 price does not include a monitor, although you do get a two-piece speaker set plus a keyboard and a mouse.
Outlook: We're excited to see our first BTX desktop. If Gateway's demo of the 700GR this summer is any indication, the motherboard's layout and the quiet system operation will be a boon to home offices and living rooms alike. As Intel releases faster--and hotter--processors later this year and next, BTX-based systems will soon become the standard. The Gateway 700GR is in Best Buy stores right now, so you can see for yourself. Look for our review of the Gateway 700GR or its soon-to-be-released direct-sale equivalent soon.
User opinions
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User Rating: 
3/10
You get what you pay for
Pros: Fast, lots of RAM lots of Disk
Cons: Flakey with poor support
User Rating: 3/10
USB Ports failed after 10 weeks
Pros:
Cons: This cumputer would be an excellent value if iot were reliable. But its not. This computer was running fine until the USB ports all failed for unknown reasons. Even a full system restore didn't help. Gateway's telephone support was friendly but useles
User Rating: 
8/10
Great PC for the buck!
Pros: Bought for less than $1K at BB last Sept. Upgraded it to 2Gig ram, 16X DVD burner, CD burner w/DVD ROM, 1.1 Terrabyte of SATA HD space, and video card to XT800. Runs quiet and fast. Never had any problems. Use this PC mainly for video editing and games.
Cons: Who needs floppies? I use flash memory nowadays.
User Rating: 8/10
Nice computer
Pros: Big hard drive, lots of ram, double layer DVD. Very quiet and runs very cool. I don't agree with some comments on here that this is an Emachine. This is a Gateway and very high quality.
Cons: Only mistake they made is using that junk ATI 300 video card. The first thing I did was replace it with one that matched the other specs of this great computer.
User Rating: 
6/10
I had to send it back to Gateway. As least Gateway is paying for the FedEx.
Pros: Alot for a great price.
Cons: It doesn't work. The memory was installed incorrectly and the hard drive was making the loud grinding sound until I called Gateway to ship it back to get fixed.
User Rating: 
9/10
customized 700s at 1 800 Gateway
Pros: 700 video card does bite so I called Gateway directly and got the 256 ATI in mine. The 7200 at Gateway direct was the same system but allowed me to customize the video card. This machine absolutely rocks with the ATI in it. Graphics are astounding. Want a
Cons: Had to wait 2 weeks to get my PC, but it was worth it.
User Rating: 
10/10
Great Buy!! Highly Recommended
Pros: The 700GR is not only powerful but fast - I've added an xtra Gig of RAM and have been enjoying my computer since my purchase!
Cons: If there are cons I have not found them yet - The computer is super quite & well ventilated. The layout inside is roomy and lends itself to easy installation of upgrades (RAM, PCI, Hard Drives..)
User Rating: 3/10
poor build quality
Pros: fast when it works
Cons: Very poor quality; my first died on its 3rd day with a corrupt hard disk. My second has sufferred from 3 non-boots where it won't even come up to the BIOS level, pointing at a motherboard issue. The first one did that once too. I've had it for a whopping
User Rating: 
7/10
MACHINE RECALLED FROM GATEWAY
Pros: This machine was a great value for the money. BUT THE FACT IS THIS MACHINE WAS RECALLED AND PULLED FROM STORE SHELFS FROM GATEWAY.
Cons: THIS COMPUTER HAS BEEN RECALLED.I conviced my buddy to get one of these models he called bestbuy to find out if they had any in and the store told him the machine had been pulled from gateway. I called Gateway customer service line and in fact this machin
User Rating: 10/10
Gateway,s 700GR Great Deal
Pros: This gateway computer is a real winner.This is a great deal for a pc with so much power.With Features of this pc you just can not go wrong.
Cons: No Fall Backs. Built for the future
User Rating: 7/10
quiet and fast weak video card
Pros: overall value is great. Tech support didnt even know that Gateway made this model??????
Cons: For a High End System it has a very weak Video Card spend a couple hundred bucks here for sure
User Rating: 10/10
Bought the 720GM from Best Buy
Pros: wow, i am coming from a sony vaio 1.8GHZ P$ to this thing. I have the media center one from best buy. 3GHz P4 1 gig ram 250 HDD and ati x300. I like it alot. games run smooth even on this budget card, this IS quiet and if you like real fast hard drives ge
Cons: the case is huggggeeee!!!! trust me, it weighs alot and it is very deep. Problem i had, back fan wasnt turning, opened it up, moved the wires blocking it, and wooo it went on.I didnt use the keyboard or mouse but look cheap lol GREAT BUY!!
User Rating: 8/10
Great Computer,Fast
Pros: Have only had this computer for a couple weeks. So far it's great. First computer was a gateway, second was dell, back to gateway.
Cons: None at present, have not had to use tech support.
User Rating: 3/10
Underpowered video drops my score
Pros: easy setup, and ease of use.
Cons: trial version anti-virus, way underpowered video card for this pc.Tech support is abysmal, could not understand the tech from India. Bring back my local Country Store.
User Rating: 7/10
Great PC for the $
Pros: I am a supervisor for US support. The 7200 series available through www.gateway.com uses the same BTX design and you can customize it right online. You'll also receive support directly through Gateway.
Cons: None that I'm aware of other then the lower quality video card, but for this price that's to be expected.
User Rating: 10/10
Gateway gets an A+++++
Pros: What can i say this computer rocks in every way i love it. BEST ALL AROUND Deal. And made for the future.
Cons: A+++++++
User Rating: 10/10
GREAT PC
Pros: Double Layer DVD Burning. PCI EXPRESS, Lots of USB 2.0 Ports. 1394 Ports 2 1GIG RAM Fast Sata 250gig hard drive Digital Media Card Reader. 3.4 ghz P4HT
Cons: FAST PC. Built for the futue. BTX TOWER leave,s alot of room for expansion. Great cooling system. GATEWAY IS COMMING BACK
User Rating: 8/10
Fast and Quiet!
Pros: Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. I have noisier laptops. Fast. Hyperthreading shows up in task manager as 2 processors. Fast. Quality has been fine so far. Supplied keyboard okay. Haven't used speakers. Haven't tried new DVD format yet, but 'old' DVDs burn quickly an
Cons: Minor. XP Home. I loaded XP Pro, and used the 'specific' drivers off the Gateway 'bundled' DVD. No problems. All features work. Unable to get front panel USB to work. Crappy mouse, swapped immediately for optical mouse.
User Rating: 8/10
fast,quiet & easy to use.
Pros: quiet.. runs like a dream
Cons: weighs too much. more usb ports needed in the front.
User Rating: 10/10
Best system for the money on the market
Pros: very fast machine, with good graphics to play games on. Halo plays great on this machine and with online play I am always the one to beat. Bottem line is if you want a good cheap gaming machine this is the computer for you
Cons: None so far I will be back with a fallow up later
User Rating: 9/10
Very good P.C For the Proce
Pros: Everything : BTX form factor keeps everything running quiet and cool. 1 gig of ram already installed, dual burn DVD. Lots of space for adding more drives and cards. Very good price.
Cons: The only con is the video card. It runs all the latest games but does not come with a DVI port. They should have installed a regular X300 instead of the X300SE. I have FarCry installed and it runs great.
User Rating: 6/10
Not for Video Work - FOLLOW UP
Pros:
Cons: tech support does reall ysuck. I spent an "evening" with 6 different "tech" people - being transfered from person to person, different phone numbers to different phone numbers...about 5 hours or so total. Only one of these "techs" had even heard of the 70
User Rating: 8/10
Great Price,most bang for buck I could find!
Pros: Dell, IBM, white box, nothing came close to this feature laden PC for this price.
Cons: XP HOME SUCS. Could not upgrade to PRO. XP Service Pack 2 is a deent comprimise
User Rating: 
5/10
Great Machine...Lousy Tech Support
Pros: Large HD, Speed of processor, DVD-RW, Multi-card drive, and 7 USB & 3 firewire ports.
Cons: No Floppy Drive, Windows XP Home, and Tech Support. I couldn't register my 700GR online (Model not listed) and when I contacted customer service, I was told I had to register it through Best Buy. Of course this was after being on the phone for 35 minute
User Rating: 5/10
Not bad 1'st try,but should wait 4 next try
Pros: Fast machine,low price.Pretty good 1'st try.
Cons: You get what u pay 4.On par with e-machine.Very bad suport.Pass there first try up.Wait till all bugs r worked out.
User Rating: 7/10
Built to Last
Pros: Comes already stocked to be very fast and expansive. And the computer is very upgradable to keep around for a few years.
Cons: The lower end PCI graphics card is a bummer for cutting edge gamers. But its fine for older games and basic computer graphics
User Rating: 
4/10
*not* for video work
Pros: 3.4 GHZ, SATA drives, Hyperthreading, Dual Layer DVD burner, Ultra Quiet
Cons: Non-exsitant tech support, BTX layout promises 'cooler running' for things like video work however first attempt at render to mpeg2 with Vegas caused auot power off to kick in. Installed After effect and tried to preview work - same thing. Turing off Hype
User Rating: 10/10
Gateway's Support
Pros: I work for Gateway Support in the USA, Most of Our phone Techs do.
Cons: Any Retail PC bought though best buy the tech support is though best buy/e-machines tech support
User Rating: 
2/10
Indian support suxs
Pros: The btx form factor keeps the pc quite
Cons: Indian support cant figure out how to Troubleshoot it
User Rating: 5/10
Interesting chasis design
Pros: The computer was fast once I managed to get Windows XP Pro installed and upgraded to 2GB of RAM. The new chasis sports a new ventalation design. The computer does not seem as loud as older models (nice).
Cons: The video card died on the last day before I was able to return the computer to Best Buy. I called Gateway support and after 30 minutes of trouble shooting was told I needed to call another number. The support person told me he would transfer me to the
User Rating: 4/10
Tech Help
Pros: Good system to work with.
Cons: Indians that answers the tech lines are confused about which machine you own and keep you on the phone for a much longer time than needed.
User Rating: 9/10
Great computer;Lousy opsys
Pros: All except for the operating (??) system.
Cons: Confused technical support (??) The Indian answerers refused to recognize the 700GR serial number as a Gateway.After upgrading to 2mb RAM and WINXPPRO Gateway refused request for drivers claiming they supported nothing but XP Home!
