Gateway M505XL - Page 5

If i could ever be more confused. Now i can get a

Dell Inspiron 8600
1.7 ghz Pentium M
WUXGA 15.4 inch display
512 DDR 333mhx RAM
60gb @ 7200rpm HDD with 8mb cache
128MB MOBILITY ATI RADEON PRO TURBO? (4x AGP though)

for $2,300. I'm willing to spend it.

Comments gents?



Rao.

Rao-

here's a VERY QUICK view of how I feel about Dell.

http://talknotebooks.com/showthread....159#post101159

I personally think Dell is ass backwards, although I do hear pretty good things from some people that own them. Having had both, besides the fact that I hate Dell, I do like this gateway a lot more than the Dell. Dell, however, does have awesome customizabilty when ordering, although they run out of boxes.

And sorry, I haven't had the chance to game lately on my baby, work has been kicking my ass. Although I learned that I can get a good 4+ hours out of my battery doing non stop AutoCad work, which is phenomenal considering autocad kicks a systems ass a hell of a lot more than typically office typing and such.


And it didn't come with a case, although I belive it does if you get the 3 year warranty.



And on a totally separate note, gateway has an AWESOME deal with digital camera that ends today, where you get a free printer.
Good stuff, I bought the DCT-23 for $100. Good stuff. And to think, a month a go I really didn't like gateway.

Kwick7-

I have similar feelings about Dell as you do. But towards the end of your last post, you said that you didn't like Gateway a year ago, but from what i hear now, you are head over heals about your new machine. I too think i should give Dell a chance, for i don't believe that every model Dell has put out has been a bad one. Dell suffers from crappy support, for me, because i live in Asia anyway where i have no Dell support whatsoever, that is not an issue. The new offer is very appealing, heck i was thinking of getting the Voodoo m460 for 4 Gs! So $2,300 for me, with almost everything i want in a system is a steal. I have to say though mate, your 505X will get more than a glance from me if i ever see anyone with it, man i hope i don't. If only gateway offered the 1.7ghz processor, i wouldn't feel so much that i am ordering something which may be a little obsolete in another few months, just like everything else about computers. Then there is the WUXGA, and the @#$%&*! 128mb option for the M10p, not to mention the 7200rpm 8mb cache 60gig mammoth. In a way i'm glad i didn't order my gateway last night. I'm on dell forums, looking at other issues with the i8600. I hope i don't find any major ones. I'll keep posting. I also wish it had the sub woofer, and the slot load............................ the more i think about this crap, the more my pants get on fire. I wish someone would make up my mind for me.

kwick7- forget you're an owner of the m505x, forget issues with Dell support, you haven't ordered a laptop yet (hypnotize), you are not in anyway affiliated to that babe beneath your palms, which makes them very very sweaty......... the dell isn't a bad offer, is it?

Don't work too hard man.

Rao

My 2 cents says 6 of one, half a dozen of another... They are very competitive products and it sounds like the Dell has exactly what you want and you can afford the price difference.
At my work, we have Dell Inspiron laptops that have held up well with daily use by folks that don't treat them very well like an actual owner would. All of our desktop systems and servers are Dell also. We have had reasonably good luck with Dell support, but we just have them ship us parts and we do the work.
I purchased the Gateway, but in the same spot as you, the Dell wouldn't be out of the question.
Go for the Dell to get what you really want in specs. The Gateway has perhaps a finer fit & finish, but that is subjective. I think you will find the Dell nice too.
What exactly is a Radeon Mobility Pro Turbo anyway? Isn't that just the 9600 pro?
Dell juiced up the nVidia 5600 to be a 5650, so maybe they did the same with the Radeon?? Or is it just their marketing name for the same thing?

emtownsend,

Thanks for the advice. I think the TURBO is just a regular M10P with higher clock speeds. That's what they did with the NVIDIA 5650. I wish i could find some specs on the TURBO.

It's here!

I received my M505XL today! I am typing on it right now! I really like this machine already. I was a little nervous when it arrived in the Gateway box with the seal broken already. But, all looks untouched and in order.
I will try and get some kind of short report on how this baby handles my favorite game.... Battlefield 1942!
One thing I miss is some kind of scroll device on the touch pad. Otherwise... It is great! Oh yeah, kinda weird, but as I type (on battery power), the power button light flickers with each key stroke... Nothing else does though... The screen is very nice and perfect so far.
No regrets here...

emtownsend-

there is a scroll on the touchpad...... on the right.

check your settings, you might not have it set active.

hi could you chaps plz tell me how long its taking for these little jems to arrive at you`re doorstep.I wanna get one but have serious time pressure as i`m outta the
USA not this sunday but next.......

since when is the price of the XL $1799?? For only $200 more, I so would have gotten the XL instead of the X! DAMMIT!!!
O well.

check
http://www.gateway.com/home/prod/hm_...leteM505.shtml
the x is 1704 and the xl 1799 not bad since you get extralittle goodies like
1.5ghz/dvd burner/winxp pro.
well if its any consolation to the x owners,i can have neither coz 8 days is`nt
enough to get this unit shipped to me,12-14 they say.
hehe they do have one x in the austin store,i`d drive there from houston for an xl
but not an x.

the X is only 1704 if you get the 3 year option. without it, it is still 1599.

And rao, sorry I haven't talked about any more gaming yet, work is still kicking my ass!

for those that got the XL

hey i just got my xl on friday... it too had the broken seal on the box. wasnt surprised since one of you said your seal was open but everything was fine. well not mine.... all the plastic covering the computer/ac cord/battery had been opened and the plastic looked old. i feel like i got shipped a demo or used comp....

also i went into device manager and checked the hard drive and it is not the toshiba.... i think its the hitachi...

can u guys check your hard drive for those that got the xl and let me know what it says.... thanks

not happy with gateway so far.... although the computer itself is a beauty, the keyboards great and battery life (according to indicator ) is around 4.5 hours.... pretty good.

let me know about your hard drive... i think earlier posts said there is a hitachi drive (slower) vs the newer toshibas...

thanks

I myself own an M505XL and I love it! Its my very first laptop and am impressed with its multiple features and how fast it is! I am kinda dissapointed that it didn't come with the faster toshiba harddrive though. I wonder if Gateway will even offer the XL with the faster drive? If anybody here that owns an XL have the faster drive, I would sure like to hear from you!

it would be nice if that hitachi was the 7k60 series,7200rpm 8mb cache.
Although the toshiba is 5400 16mb cache,maybe more cache makes up for the lesser speed.
Also does the xl have a cd/dvd rw drive or just dvdrw?
tnx

also plz could u guy s inform if you`re m505`s are arriving before or after the origional
estimated arrival date,also is saturday a ups delivery day?

stevie-

look through this thread... mine arrived early.
and all dvdrw's should also have dvd/cdrw functionality

and ups doesnt deliver on saturday. the bastards.

You mean built in? I don't see anything physically on the outside...
After checking the settings... That is kinda cool, the Virtual Pointer...
Thanks!

Hi Guys,

I also got mine (505XL) on Friday and am loving it. I played COD with highest settings for 3.5 hours at one point and had no slowdown or heat issues whatsoever. Batterylife is also excellent, I go 4 hrs 35 minutes surfing the web, setting up network etc., and 2 hrs 10 minutes playing COD.
No dead pixels and the screen is really beautiful.

The only downside so far: my system also came with the (slower) Hitachi hard drive. I called them up and they will be sending me the Toshiba one.

Now back to my baby!

Cheers.

My harddrive is identified by Device Manager as this:
IC25N060ATMR04-0

Which one is that?

I too get over 4 hours of general use from this battery!
Battlefield 1942 plays very well at 1024x768.