As I recall, you can usually remove some of the stuff on the Gateways that you might not want and get a credit for it. What I noticed is that Gateway offers, usually on desktops, better options than does Dell. However, there is usually a cost for it and that usually drives the cost of a Gateway up over a Dell. Therefore, if you are looking for a specific need or for specific quality requirements you might want to go with a Gateway if you are willing to spend a couple hundred or so more. If you are looking to save a little money and do not need higher quality speakers or sound cards or a fancy video adapter card, than Dell offers options that might fit ones needs better.

I am now a little vegue on it but I seem to recall that when I bought my Dell Notebook, I was looking for Digital interface card and some adapters etc for digital photography and video editing. I found that the Dell computers didn't offer all the better options but the Gateways did. The Gateways, with those features, were a bit more expensive and broke my budget. I made the decision to go more basic for now with the Dell Notebook and consider all the other stuff later when I buy a Desk Top and when the added features will probably be more usefull. When I make that decision, I may find that the Dells now offer the same options. Otherwise I would be a little more agreeable to spending the extra money on a Gateway Desktop. To sum up, I get the impression that one company markets their basic packages with glitz and glitter and bells and whistles and the other markets more with an emphasis on affordability and practicality. When I say affordability and practicality I am referring to the issue of not loading up a computer with unnecessary features that drive up the price.

Both of my comps Gw2k and Dell are extremely reliable and well equipped for their time and purposes. When I break down to buy the desktop I may want all the extras that the GW2K offers. Or maybe Dell will then have the same and cheaper. Who Knows. I am happy with both. As I see it, it is just an issue on who offers what I need at a given time and how competitive their pricing is.