Price Gateway FX6860-UR20P Gaming Desktop (Black) Review

 Price Gateway FX6860-UR20P Gaming Desktop (Black) Review

Product Description

Gateway FX6860-UR20P Gaming Desktop comes with these specs: 2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2600 Processor 3.4GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology up to 3.8GHz, Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel H67 Express Chipset, 8GB DDR3 Memory, ATI Radeon HD 6750 Graphics Card with 1GB of Discrete Video Memory, 1.5TB SATA Hard Drive (Green Product - variable RPM), 16X DVD±R/RW SuperMulti Drive, Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader, High-Definition Audio Support with 5.1-channel Audio Support, 10 - USB 2.0, 2- USB 3.0, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, USB Keyboard and Mouse, 43.0 lbs. | 19.5 kg (system unit only), 1 Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty with Toll-Free Tech Support, Registration/ Limited Warranty Card, Microsoft Office Starter 2010, Norton Internet Security Trial

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #286 in Personal Computers
• Color: Black
• Brand: Gateway
• Model: PT.GCEP2.001
• Dimensions: 7.10" h x 14.90" w x 15.80" l, 12.00 pounds
• CPU: Intel Core i7 3.4 GHz
• Memory: 8GB Unknown
• Hard Disk: 1500GB
• Processors: 1

Features

• Intel Core i7-2600 Processor
• 8GB DDR3 Memory
• 1.5TB SATA Hard Drive,16X DVD±R/RW SuperMulti Drive
• ATI Radeon HD 6750 Graphics Card
• Windows 7 Home Premium

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
"LIGHTNING" fast!
By Craig Hartley
Lightning fried my previous Gateway FX6831-03 last week, despite surge protectors and a battery power supply. AAAARRRGGGH! I replaced it with the FX6860-UR20P since they are so similar.

I'm a photojournalist and quite like Gateway's built-in multi-card reader with red glowing "racing stripes." This new machine also gives you the option of connecting to the internet via a WiFi card or standard Ethernet connection. I'm using WiFi from now on; I'm pretty sure the electrical surge that killed my old computer came in through the Ethernet connection.

The FX6860-UR20P contains a USB 3.0 card with two ports. This machine also sports TEN regular USB 2.0 ports on the back, front and top! You can nestle your MP3 player on the indented platform on top, right next to two USB 2.0 ports and a covered storage compartment.

This is an amazingly fast and powerful computer. It processes high definition video or rips through RAW files in Photoshop like they were JPEGs. It easily handles the latest high-end games. The Intel Core i7-2600 Processor and the ATI Radeon HD 6750 Graphics Card are both well regarded. Not bleeding edge, but far more power then almost anyone needs.

Drive Bays: I filled the two bay trays with a 1 TB Hatachi hard drive and the 1.5 TB drive rescued from my old Gateway machine. They both work great and gave me tons of additional storage.
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People seem puzzled, but this tray system is quite simple:

1. Turn off the computer. Slide the front panel down. Pull the plastic tray out of the bay with the folding handle.
2. Fit a hard drive into the tray, flexing the tray slightly so the pins skewer the screw holes on the sides of the drive.
3. Gently slide the tray back in. You'll feel the drive engage the built-in socket at the rear of the bay. No tools necessary; all this takes about 60 seconds.
4. Power up the computer. You may need to format a new drive to NTFS. That's it.
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Personal Hardware Upgrades: I replaced the "SuperMulti Drive" in this machine with a Pioneer BDR-205 so I can burn and play Blu-ray disks. I also swapped out the generous 8 gigs of RAM in the FX6860-UR20P with the 16 gigs from the old machine. (Yeah, it's overkill, but I already had the RAM sitting there.) Even loaded with these extra goodies, the FX6860-UR20P consumes less power than my old computer--between 91-118 watts as opposed to 140 watts. It also runs cooler and is dead quiet.

***YES, THIS COMPUTER SUPPORTS 16 GB OF RAM!*** Despite what some reviewers have said, I popped in 16 GB of RAM and the computer instantly recognized it all with no issues or software tweaks.

As usual these days, the FX6860-UR20P has no setup disks. The printed instructions are of the pathetic "don't use this machine in the shower" sort. You'll want to uninstall the bloatware and make your own disks and backups, of course.

Beware: there are NO open card slots available in the FX6860-UR20P. The sizable video card, and tiny WiFi card and USB 3.0 card fill all the slots.

Be very ware: everyone says that Gateway's customer support is worthless, but I figured it would be worth the risk. If I ever have a problem, I'll update this review.

This is a very powerful computer at a bargain price. It's even better than my old FX6861-03, which is saying something. Gotta give it five stars.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
installing drives
By califman
I had the same problem as another reviewer. I just bought the Gaming Titan and found that there is little or no product support. I looked for a service manual and found none. The manual that comes with the machine is absurd. To install additional drives, you need to slide down the cover in the front. You will see a piece sticking out...pull down on it lightly....it will go down automatically. You will see two slots with a plastic handles in front. Lift up the plastic handle and pull out the drive casing. Insert your drive into the casing and slip it back into the computer. Be careful when putting the drive into the casing. It has three small metal pieces sticking out that need to go into the screw holes in the drive. Otherwise, it is a fast computer that I got on sale for a killer price. I have built my last three computers, but could not build it for the price I bought it on sale for. Hope this helps.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Support is very limited
By amazon
I have had the computer for about 3 weeks. So far, it seems to run well. However, support from GATEWAY has been very poor, at best.

They advertize that the computer features two easy-swap HDD bays which can hold up to three sata hard drives. This could give you up to 6tb extra drive space. I use several hard drives and I thought this was a great feature. However, there was absolutely no documentation on how to use or add drives, or what kind of drives which were compatible. I have contacted Gateway several times by e-mail asking for some direction on this. The first support rep told me "Please be informed that Gateway does not recommend altering the factory shipped installation." Since you cannot order the computer with the easy-swap HDDs from Gateway (or Amazon), this was idiotic. In essence, they were saying I should not use the feature which they use to promote buying this model.

They have sent me copies of generic user guides which were not specific to this model. Each time I have contacted Gateway, they told me I should telephone the "Answersby" people who charge for their assistance. So, Gateway expects me to pay someone to tell me how to use one of the features for this model which they list prominently on their website. Too see the price By. Amazon.com