Gateway DX4831-01e

Pros: It was a great deal. Lots of bang for the buck and I was really pleased with my purchase until....

Cons: System is incompatible with a recent windows 7 update.
Company says it is not their problem as it is a software issue. Sent me to a third party who charges $150 for a one time visit to look it over.
Thus, I have a bum computer 3months after purchase.

Summary: I saw this review back in March and it totally sealed the deal on my new budget. Everything was wonderful, a great machine, until...

A recent windows 7 update made the computer run really slow... so slow it took 3min to open the start menu. Did a clean re-install back to factory condition... everything was back to normal, worked great. I decided to not install any software, just let windows do it's thing. After the third restart for "important" updates, it was once again running super slow. So this is not a virus or a third party software issue... the computer itself is incompatible with some new addition to windows 7 premium home addition (the supplied operating system that comes on the computer).

Due to the fact that the clean-reinstall made the computer work normally again, the company "Gateway" says it is not their problem and the warranty does not apply. They referred me to a third party computer fix place which wanted to charge $150 to just come and look at the computer. So, for a mere 1/3 the cost of the computer, I can have someone come out to my house and tell me the hardware is incompatible with the operating system software.

My fix, I plan to do another clean reinstall and just turn off windows update.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPUTER... but maybe your experience will be different.