Long time reader, first time poster.
I have spent more time than I would like to admit searching for my next Notebook. What I wanted was a solid construction Centrino with some good gaming ability. I looked high and low and slowly chipped down to i8600 or the m505xl. I monitored this forum and others waiting for the answer. I would go back and forth. In fact I ended up having both systems being shipped to me at one point because I couldn't decide. Well, by the time the UPS guy showed up there was no question which one I wanted. The Gateway m505xl by a landslide. Refused shipping on the Dell. There is no question in my mind that Dell is slipping and having seen the quality of construction I have to say not so good. So here is my 2 cent review of my new machine. m505xl.
Cons:
-Gateways originally told me it would arrive the first of December, but I didn't get it until the 19th.
-Charged me the higher price after I had called and insisted on the lower price 1799.
-Showed up with the Hitachi HD.
Pros:
- Great quality of construction. Not only does it look good but has a very solid feel.
- The screen is no WUXGA but sure is nice. Perfect for the aps I run and don't miss not having the WUXGA (have some experience with them). Looks great.
- Quiet and cool. I would expect nothing else of a Centrino but unlike Dell for many, the m505 delivers.
- User interface is great. The keyboard is the best of the notebooks I have owned so far. Solid, good sound and layout. Touchpad feels good and is easy to work with however the mouse buttons are a bit tough, but will soften up I am sure. Miss having a dedicated scroll bar, but getting used to the scroll function of the pad. AV control panel is a nice feature but aside from the volume buttons will most likely not be used much. Launch keys on the right of the keyboard are also nice but from experience I never use them.
- Sound is very nice. Unexpected for a notebook. I laughed at the Subwoofer but now am glad I have it. Sounds great.
- Gaming. Played Tron 2.0, Pirates of the Caribbean, Call of Duty, and yes even Halo. All ran very nicely on full settings. Halo was capable of slow down with lots going on but still wow did it look good.
The other games wouldn't slow down no matter how hard I tried. Unexpected. I knew the 9600 was good card but the Centrino was not made for gaming. Put it this way, I love gaming and I obviously made the right choice with this machine. Awesome gaming performance. When it comes out I may not be able to play Half-Life 2 a full settings but damn, I will be able to play it well.
- Customer Support. Yes I said it. I had some irritating exchanges with the people but in the end I have to give them great credit. My two cons listed above taken care of a just two phone calls. My money has been credited for the price drop, and the Toshiba drive is in Next Day Shipping. Wow, another unexpected from Gateway.
- Battery Life. 4-5 hours surfing and normal aps, about 2.5 hours playing Tron 2.0. Good for me!
Well thank you all for guiding me to this Notebook. Bargain Seeker, at one point you were accused of working for Gateway. This product is everything you have said it was and more. Hope you find your new one lappy soon. Thanks for efforts. Guys I would be glad to answer any question if you have any except for Benchmarks. I would rather be playing Halo than downloading and running an optimized Benchmark to prove this system. They have value but I don't have the patience or time. Again, thanks for all your posts. Cheers!
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; can't wait until I get it.
