Gateway M505XL - Page 6

To answer my own question, this is the Hitachi and I guess it is 4200RPM?
Did you just call and gripe? I am! This is supposed to have the 5400, right?

I did an online chat with the tech support and they confirmed the 60GB (M505XL) drive should be 5400 and the 40GB (M505X) drive is the 4200.
My system is so new (3 days old) that I was not in their system. I am now, but I have to wait until tomorrow and call back to have it officially shipped out since it takes 24 hours for their database to update...
It sounds like Gateway is either trying to pull a fast one by substituting and hoping users will not notice, or their quality assurance is sleeping on the job.
They "assured" me this will be fixed though.

As far as them arriving quick, I can say I placed my order around 6PM on the 3rd and was told it would arrive on the 12th. I have now recieved my email with my UPS tracking # which says it will arrive on the 10th. Sounds good to me. I was quite impressed with the fact that I ordered it very late on Wed and it shipped out on Thurs according to the UPS tracking info. I cant wait. First thing Im going to check though is the HD, it better be the toshiba since I specifically confirmed with several different people at Gateway that it was the 5400rpm model before I would place the order.

Almost bought one

I've been reading this thread for a bit and went to my local Gateway store to make the purchase. As I am currently being hosed-over by a depot repair by Toshiba (now in its 7th week--- another story), service and warranty are as important to me as price/performance.

The main reason I opted not to purchase the 505 is because gateway could not offer their Priority Access Service on the unit. After calling GW corporate to confirm it was not an available option, the store learned that the supplier of the 505 can not supply enough parts, or supply them in GW time guidelines to offer the priority service.

Even though it didn't really factor into it, I learned at the desk that the 505 comes only with a restore CD, no original OS CD's.

I went with a HP zt3000, my second choice, priced out at $1600. I'll keep an eye out in case GW changes their policy.

Greg

I can confirm that I did both get the restore CD, as well as the XP disc.

my 505X came with a windows cd.... not just a restore cd

looks like all of us..

looks like all of us who ordered the m505xl two weeks + ago are receiving the hitachi drives... gateway support told me they are going to fix this issue... besides this problem i really do like the lappy....

So this means all we have to do is call them and let them know that we want the faster tosihba drive? What's the #?

I just ordered the i8600. Below are the specs, its a pretty penny, but this machine is just what i wanted. Acceptable battery life and a great GPU. The GPU is the main thing which sold me on to this machine, I absolutely love the way the 505XL looks, i could also get the 7200rpm driv e with an mb cache. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Order detail - order placed 12/8/2003 2:57:10 AM
>
>Pentium(r)M Processor,1.7 GHz,15.4 in WUXGA Qty: 1 Unit Price: 2,392.00
>Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices:No Floppy
>Multi-Media Players: RealOneTM Player, with 14 day SuperPass trial
>Security Software: Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day introductory offer
>Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH
>Dell Media ExperienceTM: Dell Media ExperienceTM
>Limited Warranty, Services and Support: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service
>Productivity Software: Productivity Pack including WordPerfect(r) and Money(r)
>Operating System: Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP Professional
>Color Choice: Venice Blue QuickSnapTM Cover
>Memory: FREE UPGRADE! 512MB,333MHz 2 DIMM (from 256MB, 333MHz 1DIMM)
>Special Offer: Special Offer - $150 off online purchase
>Power Adapter: AC adapter - 65w, 19.5v
>Wireless Networking Cards: Dell TrueMobileTM 1300 WLAN (802.11b/g, 54Mbps) miniPCI Card
>Primary Battery: 72 WHr Primary Battery
>Hard Drive: 60GB - 7200rpm Ultra ATA Hard Drive
>Remote for Dell Media ExperienceTM: Remote Control for Dell Media ExperienceTM
>Network Card: Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
>CD ROM/DVD ROM: 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive with Sonic RecordNow
>Carrying Case: Dell Nylon Carrying Case
>Digital Imaging Software: Dell Picture Studio, Paint Shop Pro Trial, Photo Album Starter Edition
>Video Card: 128MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600 PRO Turbo
>Internet Access Options: 6 Months Earthlink
>
>
>-------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>Sub-Total: $2,392.00
>Shipping: $89.00
>Tax: $0.00
>Total Price: $2,481.00


I hope to keep everyone posted and submit an unbiased review as soon as i get it.

________________________________________________

Rao.

FOLLOW THAT DREAM-

You said you got two odd hours of battery life playing COD with the 505? That's absolutely wicked!! I wouldn't want to do that though, since you know that the P-M clocks down ridiculously to 800mhz or some silly number like that when not plugged in to conserve battery.

Rao.

Rao,

Battery life is really excellent on the 505.

As for the power, I really did not notice any slowdown at all, playing on battery and all settings on highest. Maybe COD is simply not such a CPU hog?

I really think that these companies are on to something by pairing the M with a good GPU (best of both worlds).

Well folks, i finally recieved word that my 505XL is on its way. Finally!! I hope that since they took so long with my unit ( i ordered it on 11/25/03) that they shipped mine with the toshiba 5400rpm hard dirve or I will call them and raise living hell. Soon I will be able to experience what most of you already have. And frrom what i read in this forum I'm sure I won't be dissappointed.

M505 XL with the Hitachi Drive

I ordered my M505 XL back on Nov. 22. I recalled definitely that I asked the Gateway esales advisor the speed of the 60gb hard drive. He told me that it was 5400rpm. When I finally received my machine, I noticed that 1. the box had been opened, not once, but three times, and that the third safety sticker had been sliced open as well. 2. I also got the Hitachi IC25N060ATMR04-0 drive, which runs at 4200rpm. I went to the local Gateway store in Fairfax, VA, hoping/thinking that I could just turn in this machine with the slower hard drive and get one with the faster hard drive, but I was told that because I bought it online, I could only exchange it by shipping it back via UPS. So, I called the esales advisor with whom I purchased my m505xl and was told that the xl most definitely should come with the 5400rpm drive. He is sending me UPS labels so that I can ship the machine back and get a new one.

Other than the above, I am completely happy with my m505xl. It plays Halo it all its fantasic glory, which was a requirement of mine.

hi again,sorry to rant on and on bout delivery times but i gotta get mine by friday
latest (Dec 12) it is estimated to arrive on that day but its not even outta the factory
yet (tuesday the 9th) and the money has not been extracted from my account.
Should i just bail out and tell my bank not to allow the transaction or just wait and
hope for the best.
I phoned mimi and she prioritized the order but says they don`t pay much attention to this and also used the phraze `o gosh`!

If it has not yet shipped, I do not see any chance that you will get in on/or before Friday. UPS picked mine up last Monday and I got it on Friday.

Maybe you can make arrangements for air shipping?

well...gimme some pix of this sexy beast!

I have a noob question:

While I know that on paper the Toshiba is faster (5400RPMs and 16MB Cache), what will I gain by getting this HD shiped to me to replace the Hitachi one? In other words, will I (a fairly average user) notice any difference at all, and if so by how much; milliseconds?

Where I am getting at: am I better off trying to get some $$ back or a rebate on a carrying case etc, than getting the replacement HD?

Looking forward to your thoughts.
Thanks,

I double checked my box (M505XL) and it has only one restore CD which "includes Windows XP with SP1". No seperate CD for me...
Ah well, I can still uninstall their junk I guess...
oh yeah... My box came opened too. Both seals were broken, but all inside looked fine.

from what ive heard ... and seen it does make a difference esp on hard drive intensive applications. if you only use your lappy for word processing and internet then not a big deal... if you are perfectly happy just ask for some money back... at least a hundred and maybe more...

i think gateway has a great computer here but theyve messed up royally somewhere along the line with their suppliers and stuff....

theres too many of us whove received the slow drive to be a innocent mistake... actually i havent heard of one xl customer hear with the toshiba drive...