buying an NX860XL

I'm dropping $2,500 on the Gateway system below

Operating System: Windows XP Professional
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.00 GHz, 667MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache)
Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)
Screen: 17" Ultrabright WSXGA+ TFT Active Matrix (1680 x 1050 max. resolution)
Hard Drive: 80GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
Optical Drive: Integrated 8x Multi-Format Double Layer DVD Writer (DVD±R/±RW/CD-RW)
Warranty: 4 years with Accidental Damage Protection
Carrying Case: Targus Sport Standard Backpack
Wireless Networking Adapter: Integrated Intel 802.11a/b/g wireless networking card
Video: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS Graphics w/ 256MB DDR Video Memory

I had a few quick questions before I buy it.

First off, I've seen a few people posting that they were able to get $200-$300 discounted by calling in and talking to someone. Either saying they were a repeat customer, or saying they thought it was a bit pricey as is. For those people, did you call and make the order over the phone? or did you order it online beforehand, and then call in?

Second, if I'm able to get $200 knocked off, should I upgrade from the T7200 (2.00 GHz) to the T7400 (2.16 GHz) for $180? I was planning on spending $2,500 anyways, but I'm not sure if the upgrade is worth the price. I'm going to have this laptop through college for work in my computer animation classes (Maya/3DSMAX), as well as for gaming, and I know it can handle the rest(internet, photoshop, word processing).

Other than that, I'd like to know what you think about the system. Also, I'll post a review once I try it out if anyone is interested.

I went ahead and made the order today. After tax/shipping, the notebook was $2,700, so I called a sales rep, and told them $2,500 was my limit. He went ahead and knocked $200 off the price, so now my laptop is on the way.

Estimated arrival date is October 17th.

For the price, I would definitely agree. If I was going for absolute top of the line, there's better out there, but they also cost at least $3,500.

I really didn't even know Gateway made laptops (let alone ones of this speed) until about two weeks ago. I was looking at HP, Alienware, Voodoo, and Dell. Alienware was too expensive, HP didn't have the speed I wanted, so I was originally going with a Dell XPS. Then I just googled "laptop reviews" and found a review on the MX680 that looked pretty good. I checked out the website, found they had upgraded to the 860, then I configured it and was surprised at the price. The HP only cost $2,200, but it's specs were far below what I was looking for. Dell had slightly better specs at a significantly higher cost (Same with Voodoo and Alienware), so this laptop just worked out perfectly to what I needed.

My experience with Gateway is still to be decided. I've got two friends that I found out own Gateway laptops. One told me his worked great. The other told me I should have bought an XPS. If the laptop runs fine, then awesome. If it's got some problems, I'll let you know about them.

Estimated Arrival date is now October 23rd due to a delay on the RAM. I'm getting antsy waiting for it, especially when I hear Dell customers saying they got their laptop 8 days after their order.

I called, concerned about further delays, but they've assured me that they still plan to have it here by the 23rd.

So much for their estimated dates...

The laptop was delayed yet another week. The estimated arrival date is now a full month later than I made the order (September 30). I'm a pretty patient person, but two week-long delays on a laptop that I was hoping to get as soon as possible is getting frustrating...

One week from now I'll either be posting my opinions on my new Gateway, or I'll be waiting for a Dell laptop instead.

I received the laptop on thursday, and so far, im absolutely loving it. Right now I'm typing this from my bed, but I've brought it with me on campus to take notes during my classes. It's not light, but it's definitely still managable. My backpack is pretty heavy with 2 textboooks, notebooks, and then this laptop, but I'm fine with it. I haven't run 3DMark yet, but I've been running BF2142 at max settings and max resolution with no problems. It gets a bit warm on my lap, but only on the left side, near the vent.

I'm still in the process of transferring everything over from my desktop, but it's coming along. I'm gonna need some games that don't require a mouse, and some videos to watch when I'm bored, but then I'm set. I'll get some 3DMark scores soon.

I've already got a mouse for my laptop, and I use it when I play BF2142 or any other games like that. I just don't feel like using it when I'm on the bus or when it's sitting on my lap. That's why I'm looking for games that don't need a mouse; I've got Dilbert's Desktop Games lying around somewhere, I just need to find it.

The delay actually wasn't the processor, or at least Gateway said it wasn't. They listed the delay as the RAM and the hard drive. As for my battery... bleh, I hope it's not.

As for my 3DMark scores, 3dMark 06 is currently being downloaded, and my 3DMark 05 score is 6137. I'll run 06 and post the results later on.

My 3DMark 06 score is 3467, but it says that I'm not using Futuremark approved drivers (I'm using the default drivers). I'll update the drivers and edit this post with the new score after that's done.

Edit: ok... I downloaded the drivers from Nvidia's site, and when I run it, it says the drivers are not compatible and exits out automatically. I guess I'll be sticking with my score of 3467.

I could care less about my 3dmark score actually. I looked at Dell's E1705, but it's about $300 more for the exact same setup. The NX860XL is around $100-$200 cheaper when configured on the website alone, but then Gateway is willing to drop the price further. I called Dell by phone, and talked to them online; both times they said their prices were set and would not be dropped any lower. Another thing is the keyboard; Gateway makes full use of the space on a 17 inch laptop by including a number pad, and the arrow keys aren't dropped below the rest of the keys (like Dell's arrow keys are). The last thing that sold me on Gateway is that Dell does not offer Accidental Damage Protection to Florida residents. I don't plan on anything happening to my laptop, but I'm much more comfortable knowing that if something happens to it, I'm covered.

So far, every game I've played is on max settings, with max resolution, and I'm getting at least 30fps. All my programs run smoothly, quickly, and the screen looks great. If something starts lagging, I'll mess with the drivers, but so far I haven't found a need to.

Good luck with whatever you purchase, and enjoy.