Gateway's Profile 6 desktop offers lots of expansion, not so much sexy

We're not going to contest Gateway's claims of having one of the most serviceable all-in-one desktop PCs around in their recently updated Profile 6 line, and we admire their educational endeavors, but we can't say this is the most, erm, svelte all-in-one desktop we've seen around. The new unit keeps it kind of old school with a 3GHz P4 631, with HyperThreading instead of that Dual Core stuff all the kids are talking about these days. Fronting the box is an adjustable 17-inch LCD, which hides such functionality as a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, WiFi, 512MB of RAM, and a 80GB HDD. You can also upgrade the Profile 6 using it's available PCI, and PCI Express, memory, HDD, and even floppy disk drive slots. We should be seeing this unit in the US this April for around $1200.

[John @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:16PM]

What the hell? 3.5" FLOPPY DISK!!?!?!? Not even any USB or MEdia Card readers.. but a 3.5" !?!?

[John @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:17PM]

What the hell? 3.5" FLOPPY DISK!!?!?!? Not even any USB or MEdia Card readers.. but a 3.5" and Paul Miller just said it all normal like its 1995. Their stocks are plummeting,

[charlie @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:22PM]

$1200? Not quite a deal, although i suppose thats just the advertised price and then they'll heavily discount.

And to repeat the above comment, for any computer that is marketed at being in a library, school, whatever where you dont want people reaching around, you need to have AT LEAST front mounted USB ports for people to plug their thumb drives into. I know everyone at my high school uses thumb drives over floppies now. Ideally, they should probably have USB 2.0, Firewire, and some flash card slots so that a wide range of external storage space can be accommodated.

[scoyle17 @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:25PM]

looks like an black iMac with bad tumour

[gnome @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:27PM]

Oh, come on now... It's not that bad, and the disk drive does have a certain retro charm. An ambience some would say...

[Glancing Aft @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:27PM]

So this is Apple's competition,
hahahahahahahahaha!!!!

[Rick @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:45PM]

It's so ugly it would make little kids wet themselves!!

[John R @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:54PM]

This looks like a Mcdonalds Point of sale terminal. SEXY!!!!

[jl @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:55PM]

This is one ugly mo fo industrial design!!!! If it qualifies as a �design" that is.

[mcloki @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:59PM]

Really now. America has hundreds of industrial designers. People that could make nice products, no matter what the internals of the thing is. These guys didn't even try. And it tells you a lot about the company that made it. If they spent this little time considering how the box fit together and looked. Did they spend any time making sure the components fit or worked together.
And as for featues, sure you can expand it, till your freinds find out and then you'll hate yourself for spending the money

[Chris P @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:01PM]

Looks a bit like a 1990 TV-VCR combo...

[Mike @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:06PM]

This looks like ASS -- and not even nice ass. This is Plumber's Ass...

[Woody Sabran @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:07PM]

damn that sucksssssssssss

[Hairatic @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:13PM]

Fugly! I wouldn't let someone I care about use that POS!

Gateway is going down the tubes!

[DAvid Relan @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:36PM]

Guys I have 2 of the older models in my studio and they have 6 USB 2 posts and 2 Firewire ports build in. They really work out great for me. I bought them used at a better price than Dells.

[doyouflip @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:47PM]

That thing's pretty sweet


...for me to poop on.

[MacroEQ @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:51PM]

I am all for all-in-one pcs. I think there should be more of them. But this is very disappointing.

As others have said, this has a floppy disk when other manufacturers stopped including them years ago. It looks dated, uninspiring and out of touch with the tastes and design of the 21st century. It's a screen sitting on a small form factor pc - hardly an "all-in-one".

I don't see Sony worrying about this one somehow...

[neg @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:55PM]

just swap the floppy drive for a 3.5 bay multi-card-reader-with-firewire-and-usb-hub thing.

Simple, no?

--neg

[MacroEQ @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:19PM]

"just swap the floppy drive for a 3.5 bay multi-card-reader-with-firewire-and-usb-hub thing."

When you're a computer manufacturer in an industry that moves on quicker technology-wise than most other industries, do you really want to be making hardware that looks more suited to the previous decade and has technology from that time aswell?

This product screams "we haven't moved on", "we're behind with the times". They may as well have stuck a 5 1/4" floppy on the front and a CGA graphics card inside.

And putting a TFT on a small form factor pc and passing it as an "all-in-one" isn't going to fool anyone either.

[Jarmayn @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:20PM]

well, this is a tuffy! Its really good to have a lot of power and expansion capabilities, as it can be cost effective in the long run... plus the cpu only stays in your house so no biggy if its ugly (not 2 ugly) + this one isn't so bad! I'd buy it! FREE HTC UNIVERSAL! @ http://www.e-fuze.com

[Whydrive @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:35PM]

The floppy drive is optional and doesn't come standard. At least it's nice to have the extra bay.

[BruceLeeRoy @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:03PM]

This is a Aprils fools, right???

[Timothy @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:07PM]

Wow, that thing is ugly as hell. Remember 10 years ago when Gateway was considered good? What the hell has happened to them?

[willink @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:23PM]

Oh. My. God.

[Dave @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:38PM]

I LOVE IT! I'm going to invest a bit more and add the punch-card reader option. Totally classic.

[Steve Ross @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:58PM]

Holy %$@!# are they kidding? No wonder they're on the verge of bankruptcy. This might push them over the edge.

[ebbzalot @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:19PM]

"looks like an black iMac with bad tumour"
-or-
looks like an imac with Next disease, or borg aspirations

[martin @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:53PM]

I've had two Profile 4's in for service, both of them with leaking capacitors. Gateway wouldn't replace them!

[Justin @ Mar 23rd 2006 11:07PM]

Holy shit, talk about a DOG.

[Silver @ Mar 23rd 2006 11:15PM]

Hey Gateway, 1997 called. It wants its all-in-one back.

[adrian @ Mar 24th 2006 1:12AM]

FYI, the usb ports are on the right side.

My college just upgrade to 6 of the older models, and the adjustable screen is great. I have no gripes from using it for the past two years, but they do break down a lot more than the regular computers (when one doesn't work, they have to remove that computer and wait until they get one back because of the space restrictions on the desk).

[furtim @ Mar 24th 2006 3:31AM]

I assume this is being sold as a lab computer rather than a home device. As such, it seems like plenty, and the looks aren't so important. The floppy drive is still a little bit baffling, but just imagine some old fart nearly-computer-illiterate professor using this thing, and it makes a little bit more sense. (Just a little.) It also explains why the stats aren't exactly bleeding edge. Kids doing web research and writing papers don't exactly need a screaming multicore system with a badass video card and tons of RAM, do they?

Seriously, though, why's everything always gotta be pretty with you people? It seems like an extremely functional machine for an educational environment.

[Ricex @ Mar 24th 2006 10:06AM]

I swear some of you just prove your absolute stupidity today. Floppy drives are still being used as much as they were in the past. I work at a computer lab full of students that use 3.5" disk all the time. They used them as a cheap way to save papers. They dont need a 256mb flash drive for that! Its a waste of money. The industral design that many of you just seem to be high on is of no importance if the purpose of the machine is TO GET WORK DONE, not to jack off to the machines curves. This looks like a solid machine for people that have serious work to do not for people that want to ask the damn thing out on a date.

[cuby @ Mar 24th 2006 10:06AM]

#33 is right, this isn't being marketed to the style-conscious home crowd. seems more like a small business machine or random college terminal, with an ability to upgrade that isn't traditionally available with all-in-1 designs.

i see these style gateways all the time, in banks, real estate offices etc.

[Nala @ Mar 24th 2006 12:01PM]

I think this is actually a fairly good design. It certainly takes up less space than a separate CPU, and looks like it should be easy to fix and it can be upgraded without using tools. No screwdrivers!! It is not as pretty as its cousin the profile 5.5, and I think the convertible notebooks are more cutting edge, but this looks like a decent machine, especially if updating old large black or beige CPUs attched to CRT monitors. It really does have a narrow profile, and as was previously mentioned, the floppy is an option. The 5.5 has USB ports on the side and back, and a Firewire port on the side. I imagine that the 6 continues that design.

[Mike @ Mar 24th 2006 12:47PM]

Check out the customizable options:

http://www.gateway.com/products/gconfig/prodconfig.asp?system_id=profile6b&seg=cp

You can add a 9-1 memory card reader instead of Floppy drive... and even has Pentium D (dual core) options.

This unit ain't meant to be PRETTY... it is meant to get the job done, and save on space! I am a fan, perfect for Dr.'s offices, schools, and small business call centers, places with NOT A LOT of room, but still need a ROBUST system!

Cheers Gateway!

[jeremy @ Mar 24th 2006 1:57PM]

The original post is a bit misleading. This does offer a dual core processor option. You can get a pre-installed 9-in-1 media reader OR a floppy drive. It is not meant for most readers here.

We are seriously looking at buying 15 of them to use as classroom instructor stations. They are small and compact, faster by a lot than a laptop but use little more space, and have all the connectivity options you could ask for.

We have two of the 4 series and they have been rock solid for four years. Reliable and bulletproof.

I just specced out a system with a dual core, 19" LCD, 1GB ram, wireless, etc for around $1500 with a 4 year warranty. That is really not bad at all.

[Jean K. @ Mar 24th 2006 5:41PM]

This one looks really good because the LCDs can be detached and replaced. I checked out the news release on yahoo (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060323/lath025.html?.v=48) and it�s not for home users� it�s for colleges, government, business. The IT people I work with don�t care about sexy, they just want something that is powerful, affordable, and easy to service and manage. If you want sexy, go buy a $2500 Mac for your home. But businesses care about the bottom line.

[Paul @ Mar 28th 2006 7:03PM]

This is laughable. Are they seriously suggesting that I buy this crap? I would rather cut my cock off...

[Tony S @ Mar 29th 2006 8:02AM]

Yo Marco,

Get your head out of your pocket protector. Do you ever read?? To start options are - Intel� Pentium� D Processor with Intel� dual-core processing options, Intel� Pentium� 4 Processor with HT Technology1 or Intel� Celeron� D Processor, 3.5� Floppy Disk or Optional 9-in-One Media Card Reader (CompactFlash�
I, CompactFlash� II, IBM MicroDrive�, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO�,MultiMediaCard�, Secure Digital, SmartMedia� Card, and xD-Picture Card�, Six USB 2.0 Ports (4 side, 2 front), 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet (RJ-45),Optional Modem (RJ-11), Two PS/2� (keyboard and mouse), One Parallel, One Serial, VGA-In/DVI-In, Five Audio, 2 Front Audio, and Two IEEE 1394 (FireWire.

As for the design, it works. Unlike your car. So go back in your room and play with your white-box, bland, green screen, 5.25 inch floppy. ;-)

[bob @ May 29th 2006 10:58PM]

Profile 3 (~150 count in production) crap, bad motherboards.
Profile 4, (~250 count in production) crap, lcd issues and a whore on HDD.
Profile 5, (~200 count in production) not much better
Profile 6, (~50 count in production) plz read above.
Stock $1.72
When Gateway goes bust and gets bought by a Asian Company

That will be Priceless!

[Chickenman @ Oct 16th 2006 8:16AM]

Take an iMac, spray paint it black, take away all the sleek sexy replace with lumpy ugly, put in retro features like a 3.5" floppy diskette drive, and voila! Piece of [censored]. Priced to be sessile. And it still does not run OS X.