Avoid the M68xx Like the PLAGUE - Page 3  

an analogy

I guess my feelings may be summed up with an analogy. Lets say I wanted to buy a new car. We'll say something like a low-end BMW or something. Soooo...I buy the car and I love it...it is fast and handles well and it is all I hoped for. I then try a new gasoline (WinXP SP2) which is recommended by all other auto manufacturers (including BMW) and it blows out the fuel filter. But that's ok....I know how to replace the filter (BIOS) and it's just a minor inconvenience because I own a BMW.

Everything goes well for awhile. Life is good when you own a low-end BMW.

Then my brakes (hinges), which were guaranteed for 10 years, go out after only 4 months. Isn't that crazy. Well, I have driven it pretty hard and some of these problems are to be expected with a car, after all, it is a mid to low end BMW. I am a little frustrated, however.

A month later I am driving with some pretty girl in my car (as will happen in a low-end BMW) and the windshield falls out (screen flicker). It is like it wasn't even glued in or anything. I am able, however, to maneuver the windshield back in place but it happens every time I drive the car. The girl is underimpressed.

I am driving with my lovely wife (she recovered from the windshield scare) about 2 months later and the car stalls. Hmmm...that is strange. Tow truck to my favorite mechanic and find out my engine block is cracked (vid card hardware corruption) after 6 months of ownership.

I don't care if it is a BMW or Honda or Yugo and even if I was the only one to experience this problem. I would not purchase from this manufacturer for a long time to come...if ever again.

I didn't even mention the unusual knick in my windshield (burnt/dead pixel)which is a risk of driving on the roads these days.

This is where I am coming from. I don't care if the engine in my BMW was manufactured by Peugeot, or if other cars have worse problems. It says BMW on the back of the car and they are responsible for the quality. I am just a dumb american consumer of computers and maybe someday a low-end BMW.

Please accept a little latitude for my analogy. I know that all aspects may not match up perfectly. It is a little early in the morning for me still.

I still love AMD!

Sisyphus: still pushing the rock

yes of course, but who would have ever thought Dell'd sell boxed Athlon64's either? (especially since they dont normally sell parts)

If Dell wants to stay on top of the retail (desktop) market, they are going to have to. The general public is finally wisening up and buying more AMD machines than Intel machines.

yep

Dell has sold AMD before. Same way. They probably just do it to get Intel all riled up.

yeah they sold AMDs. way back, before Intel had them by the balls

It sounds like Thunder and myself have the same experience with our 6809's. The only real problems I had were small and fixed quickly by emachines. I really like the 6809 and I am not looking forward to the day when it becomes extinct (gaming wise). Bang for the buck it was certainly an excellent buy and it still can play pretty much any game out there with decent results.

First...Dell does sell parts. Second....there's a lawsuit right now and many suspect that Dell has started carrying AMD processors(just processors...and only a few of them...no other components to run them last I'd heard) to avoid looking like they have an illegal deal with Intel.

None of it really applies to this thread though.

exactly.

and i know they sell some parts, but not that many

Well somewhat back on topic... I got my 7422GX back today, marked "No problem found". They're right, it doesn't have any problems, unless you count the fact that when you push the power button, nothing at all happens. Funny enough, the trouble ticket that Best Buy submitted said "system won't power on". But apparently, whatever Arima does to determine if a system will or won't power on does not include pushing the power button. That must set some sort of a record for laziness and incompetence. I still like Gateway, and I still think Arima's overall design is sound, but they need to get smarter monkeys. Spider monkeys are cute and all, but you really need a chimpanzee for this sort of intricate, detail oriented troubleshooting

You guys can't be serious defending the 68xxs...

I bought one Dec 5th 2004 and so far....

Awesome price and performance, yup I agree.

Officially 7 RMAs and 1 in store replacement.
Over 145 days in repair, day 35 right now on the latest repair.
Canadians can expect over 30 day repair waits and several long distance calls to try to track your unit down.

I feel sorry for all the people that don't know any better and suffer when their 68xx exhibits BSODs, USB probs, Screen flickers, cracked hinges, SP2 probs, bios probs, power supply faults, etc.

I have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER seen any laptop but 68xx's where bad pixels are exceptable and common.

The M68xxs are the plague. period.

you're gonna be hard pressed to find a laptop company that DOES have a "0 dead pixel" policy.

its an industry wide thing that applies to ALL LCDs to allow some dead pixels.

I guess this is just like America. Thevocal minority are trying to convince the silent majority that they are right and the majority are wrong. I like most have had minor problemswith my units but would I say never buy a M68XX ? HELL NO! I find it to be an exceptional value and well worth it. Why must you come to a site where supporting our product to rip it? This is a Gateway/Emachine fan and support forum. Promote your ill will to the others who care! If you think the other P.C. manufactures don't have problems, buy one and be happy.

My rep points don't count for much, but you just got some

Ok.. here is a couple of things I read very often in this forum by people who defend Emachine/Gateway that I find hard to understand...

1. Reading this kind forums, you will always get an impression that all Emachine notebooks have problems: True. But as I see it, most of the complaint I read here are not just about having screen-flicker, cracked hinge, etc., but about how the problem was dealt with by Emachine, which is, in short, by doing precisely nothing. Andevian's latest post is just one more proof. I don't mind if there is a problem with my notebook as long as I know that once I send it for repair it will be fine. But that is not the case with Emachine. A quick search in this forum would provide ample examples of that. And Yes, as far as I am concerned, IT IS Emachine.... NOT Arima. I don't even know what Arima is. I bought the notebook from Emachine with Emachine's 1 yr warranty. And thats all I am supposed to know. And isn't it funny that when someone praises the Emachine notebooks, then it is always "Emachines". On the other hand, when someone has a complaint, it would be pointed out "hey.. it is Arima, y'know". For God's sake.. what are we supposed to know next? adderesses of all the factories where the parts are made? Otherwise we cannot enjoy a nice working computer??

2. The thing about dead pixel policy: Yeah.. I know LCD manufacturers are allowed to have a limited number of dead pixels by the current quality control standard. But that does not mean they HAVE to have dead pixels in EVERY screen. Looks like Emachines follows the dead pixel policy way too closely. I have checked my friends laptops (dell, toshiba, compaq) and my own samsung 19" monitor, and none of them has any dead pixels. I am sure these companies also know about the prevailing dead pixel standard. Someone in this forum has the following text in his signature: "zero dead pixel". Now, am I missing something or has our expectations really gone down so low? At this rate, in a couple of years time, we would probably see: "My notebook powers up "

Alright, rant over...

And this is also a place where some people may want to come and check before they make their purchasing decisions. It is only fare that they know exactly what they can expect. It is a forum where people are supposed to discuss ALL issues related to Gateway/Emachines notebooks, NOT to just praise it..

I personally have seen in the area of 15-20 of these machines. I have seen a total of 1 (one) with a/multiple dead pixel(s), and it was a display model. Percentage wise, of the machines I have seen (and I see a TON), HP/Compaq seems to have the highest chance at getting a dead/stuck pixel. Yet another infounded generalization.

I agree that emachines has handled the whole problems with the M68XX series laptops poorly. I am greatful that I sold mine on ebay and am shipping it out today. I liked how the laptop worked but to have one that was repaired 3 times and then replaced with another one with similar problems is ridiculus to me. We will see in a few years how well Gateway does to avoid these kinds of problems. I did like that emachines tech support was here in the US. That is the one thing that I don't like about other manufactures. I had to call HP some time ago and got very frustrated trying to understand what the lady was saying. I am hearing that Dell is the same way. Hopefully people will complain enough that the tech centers will come back "home".

Negative feedback is certainly welcome, expected, and encouraged. Unfounded generalizations just because you are mad about your experience are not.

Yet another??? What are the other ones...

Anyway, I have to make my impression based on my observations. And based on that, I know that my friends' laptops don't have it, my own samsung LCD monitor doesn't have it, but my laptop screen does. Then add to that the overwhelming number of other members in this forum. Yes.. yes.. I know.. I am not considering all those people who are perfectly happy and don't come to this forum.. but is that number really very big?