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Gateway M505XL - Page 7

post #121 of 950
12/10/03 at 9:54am
Thanks for your response.

I figuered as much, but since I already was able to negoticate $150 of the original sales price, I did not want to ask for further cash rebate and I also wanted the Sales Advisor to feel good about any deal. So I am getting the Deluxe Carrying Case ($105) and a Security Lock ($40) for 50 bucks.

This way everybody wins.


PS I found the following site that sells both the Hitachi and the Toshiba HDs; price difference is US$10.

http://www.drivesolutions.com/cgi-bi...=0&type=Laptop
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post #122 of 950
12/11/03 at 1:12am
hey thanks for that site, followthatdream, i think i'll be buying a new hard drive in the near future.


I fired up some unreal II XM multiplayer demo today, and it floated with everything set to high.
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post #123 of 950
12/11/03 at 1:44am
I recently called Gateway tech support and complained about not getting the right harddrive for my M505XL, the guy even confirmed to me that it's supposed to be the toshiba unit. I told him that there was also a problem with my screen, where the lower right corner of the display appears a faint black. I think it was caused during shipping because there was this gash on the side of the Gateway box when I recieved it. I'm assuming UPS dropped it or even mishandled it while it was on its way to me.
It was a good thing I called asap because Gateway has a 15-day return/exchange policy where you can return the product or get a new one if you call them within this time period. So in the end, Gateway is sending me a brand new unit straight from the factory, and they don't even have to wait for me to return the defective one! As soon as I recieve the new laptop, they're going to give me new shipping labels to send the old one back to them. I love Gateway technical support and customer service! Simply excellent! This time I hope the new laptop will come with the toshiba HD, as what the tech guy told me it would.
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post #124 of 950
12/11/03 at 1:56am
Hi! I'm new to this board and new to notebooks. My boss is buying me a notebook and I have to make a decision in the next couple of days. She just purchased herself the Toshiba M35-S3592 from CompUSA. It was very reasonably priced. I am stuck between the Toshiba she purchased and the Gateway M505XL. I think she'll pay for $1200-$1500 (which would cover all costs of the Toshiba) or I can purchase the Gateway and pay the difference. Perhaps the M505X would be enough for me. I do not play games, but do a lot of internet "surfing", MS Office applications, listen to the radio over the internet, hope to watch some movies. If any of you have a moment I would greatly appreciate your wisdom. I am very fortunate to have this opportunity and do not want to make a mistake.

I have been using her new Toshiba for a couple of days while at work. It seems ok. The fan goes off and on and the key board seems a little strange. Again any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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post #125 of 950
12/11/03 at 2:17am
bungalow gal-

pretty much any laptop would be fine for what you need to do. the gateway has the new 9600 video card in it, which is absolutely great for gaming, but doesn't mean a thing for what you need. I don't no anything about that toshiba. If there is a gateway store near you, i sugest taking a look at the m505 to se if you like it. The widescreen is absolutely fantastic for movies, and its gets a good 4-5 hours of battery life out of basic usage. Look around, any centrino notebook would be great for you as they have great battery life and are usually lighter.
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post #126 of 950
12/11/03 at 2:27am
Guys, I recieved my M505XL today, I was very impressed with the delivery time, I ordered it after normal business hours last Wed, it shipped Thurs and I recieved it today (Wed). Upon opening it my seal was also broken, but everything was there. I really love it so far, I connected to my wireless network right out of the box with no issues so far and previewed a DVD which looked and sounded great. I did check the HD and of course it was the Hitachi slow drive. I called my salesperson and he is shipping out a Toshiba 5400 drive and return shipping labels for the Hitachi drive. He did say there is a lead time on them right now, so Im assuming they are out of stock and getting more in soon. Maybe thats why nobody has gotten one.

Has anyone recieved a Toshiba drive with their XL or even recieved one as a swap for the Hitachi?
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post #127 of 950
12/11/03 at 4:26am
Follow That Dream-

I had originally also thought that the Toshiba drive had a 16mb cache, however, i spoke to a chat rep and the rep said that it has an 8mb cache and that he wished that it had a 16mb cache. I don't know what to think, i've heard mixed stories about it, but i haven't taken the time out to check it out myself on the web.


Rao.
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post #128 of 950
12/11/03 at 10:13am
Thread Starter 
I'm afraid that the Gateway chat rep was misinformed. I did look up the specifications of the Toshiba MK6022GAX hard drive as described here. The Toshiba MK6022GAX hard drive does have a 16MB cache.

I got to this page by going to the Gateway M505 support page, clicking on "Components", then on "5502629 - 60-GB Toshiba 5400-RPM Hard Drive".
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post #129 of 950
12/11/03 at 11:59pm
Wow that thing has everything I want, except for metal caseing.I guess I could compromise ...
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post #130 of 950
12/12/03 at 12:42am
Hey Mr2kid,
About the dark screen corner... How noticeable is it? When mine arrived, I thought I noticed a darkness at the bottom right corner. Now, I am not sure if it is better or if I just already got used to it. I can see the screen fine, as in, it is not totally black. Anyway, between the wrong harddrive and the possibly darkened screen corner, I think Gateway had a manufacturing issue during our run. I have called three days now and still no replacement harddrive. "My serial number was not in the database" so they couldn't do a thing... Lame since I ordered on the 28th and it arrived at my door on the 5th. You'd think I was in the database since I got the thing...
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post #131 of 950
12/12/03 at 4:11am
Well, the darkness in the lower right corner of the screen isn't really that noticeable to the point that it distorts the view in that area. It's more of like a shadow. It's only noticeable when the entire screen is black, like when I'm watching a DVD with the letterbox around the picture. Other than that I just think that I'm getting used to it. But when I first noticed it, I was pissed off, I mean come on, this laptop cost me 2 grand, and for that amount I won't accept anything short of flawless. This is the reason that pushed me to complain to Gateway and they responded exactly the way any respectable computer company should respond, with great, fast customer service. I'm just hoping that they will get the harddrive issue back in check and start putting the right drive in the laptop.
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post #132 of 950
12/12/03 at 3:42pm

Get your sales rep to promise a 5400 or else!!!

I just got off the phone with my sales rep at Gateway. I have been getting a huge run-around from tech support to customer service. Now they tell me that you are lucky if you get the 5400 drive and that either one can come with the system...
I gave him this link http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/...01764cl2.shtml
and told him that is what I expected. He said he will give this info to his csr and she will fix this. I am supposed to call him back Tuesday. I have until next Friday to return this laptop and I told him it woud be returned unless this issue was resolved. He SAYS no problem, but we will see...

FOR THOSE SEEKING TO PURCHASE THE M505XL, MAKE SURE YOU GET A 5400RPM PROMISE! OTHERWISE IT IS A CRAP SHOOT AS TO WHAT YOU WILL GET.

I will keep you informed!
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post #133 of 950
12/12/03 at 3:48pm
I wonder, that link, was that to someone's personal system? Where is a similar link to the M505XL in general? I would hate to return this laptop, but I will d**it... They are treading on pricipals now... That is an integral part of the laptop to just haphazardly put what they want in... argh...
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post #134 of 950
12/14/03 at 3:06am
ive also received the run around from the gateway sales rep who sold me the lappy. he assured me i would get the 5400 rpm before i ordered and now that its not he told me to call the 800 gateway number and speak to customer service... how do you like that for service? if this lappy wasnt as nice as it is i would never go back to gateway for this mix up...

currently they ordered me a new computer while i play around with the wrong hard drive model they sent me but they dont have a date when the new lappy will get to me.. they are waiting for parts (im assuming its the toshiba hdd....)

im so sick of this.........
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post #135 of 950
12/14/03 at 10:52pm
hey guys.. this seems like an awsome lappy.. definetly a change from the new sager 8790 i was fantasizing about..

can anyone tell me what kind of battery life you get while playing a dvd?
Thanks!
--JR
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post #136 of 950
12/15/03 at 3:33am
the lappy gets about 4 1/2 hours doing word processing and internet browsing...

havent tested a dvd movie but the HP zt3000 i returned only got 3 1/2 hours doing the above so battery life is excellent...
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post #137 of 950
12/15/03 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 
Here's my take on the hard drive situation with M505XL laptops. Please note that all of this is speculation on my part -- I don't have any inside information to back it up.

Since the M505 is available in only two standard configurations, my guess is that Gateway orders them preconfigured and preassembled from Wistron. Gateway ordered the first batch of M505XLs equipped with Hitachi 4200 rpm hard drives. Market feedback caused them to realize that customers demanded a faster hard drive in a laptop in that price range. Therefore, Gateway changed the M505XL standard configuration and future orders from Wistron to the Toshiba 5400 rpm hard drive. However, that left Gateway with an inventory of M505XL laptops equipped with 4200 rpm drives. Apparently, Gateway decided to ship these to customers and to swap out the hard drive for any customer who demands it.
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post #138 of 950
12/15/03 at 1:03pm
Jonnyrobs,
I haven't timed it all from full to empty, but I let my daughter watch "Little Mermaid" when it was 50% and there was no problem at all. I would bet you could make it through two standard length movies with it. Mine was set for the auto-dim on battery too.
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post #139 of 950
12/15/03 at 1:51pm
i don't know an exact number off hand, but I have been able to watch The Lord of the Rings all the way through on battery life, with a descent amount remaining. I'll watch it again and see what kind of battery I have left.
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post #140 of 950
12/15/03 at 3:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BargainSeeker
Here's my take on the hard drive situation with M505XL laptops. Please note that all of this is speculation on my part -- I don't have any inside information to back it up.

Since the M505 is available in only two standard configurations, my guess is that Gateway orders them preconfigured and preassembled from Wistron. Gateway ordered the first batch of M505XLs equipped with Hitachi 4200 rpm hard drives. Market feedback caused them to realize that customers demanded a faster hard drive in a laptop in that price range. Therefore, Gateway changed the M505XL standard configuration and future orders from Wistron to the Toshiba 5400 rpm hard drive. However, that left Gateway with an inventory of M505XL laptops equipped with 4200 rpm drives. Apparently, Gateway decided to ship these to customers and to swap out the hard drive for any customer who demands it.
yeah sounds like a good guess.... whatever their problem is its taking them forever... my customer service person told me I wouldnt be getting the replacement computer till dec 30th...

all in all, im pretty happy with the lap top.. just the fact they didnt deliver on their promises upsets me and i have to go through the inconvenience of it....
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