Picking up an M505X today from a Gateway store - any advice?

first, don't listen to anything the salesmen say and dont buy anything they suggest. They are all morons.

If you can inspect in in store (can you? I didn't think you can), def. check for pixels. Run a video or any program really and just take a real deep look at the screen. If you notice any small black pixels anywhere or ones that stay a certain color, then its a bad pixel.

They let me look at it in the store. I was very nice to the guy and he let me check it out. He agreed that buying a notebook with dead or stuck pixels sucks. I think I just got lucky and had a cool salesman. I took the took the notebook in the back where they have the TVs, it's easier to get a good look at the screen in the darker lighting. The front of the store is pretty bright.

I was lucky though, the first one I check out was perfect. I don't what would have happened if I needed to see another.

Good luck and enjoy your notebook. I'm loving the hell out of mine.

My sales droid wouldn't let me check out my 505x in the store. I think it's the luck of the draw.

1) The drive is split into 2 partitions. 1 for the C drive and one for the D drive. My C drive is around 35.2 gigs and D drive is around 2.0 gigs. Doesn't equal out to 40 gigs, but hard drive manufactures have been scamming us for years regarding capacity The D drive is good for storing .mp3s and playing them through the media center on the left of the keyboard. It's a little clunky to use, but kind of cool once you get the hang of it.

You could always format it and put XP Pro on it. However, XP Pro is only really needed if you need it for a corporate network, security, etc. People go back and forth about Home vs. Pro all day. If you want it, put it on, but I wouldn't spend too much money thinking you have to have it.

2) I'm used to the keyboard and don't really notice any soft spots. Thanks for pointing out the number pad section though, I never noticed it.

3) Glad the stuck pixel doesn't bother you. That kind of thing drives me nuts, but I'm kind of weird about stuff like that.

4) I would get the latest version of Omega's Drivers for the 9600. You can get them at www.omegacorner.com. They're easier to install then the normal Cat Drivers since you don't have to do the mobile mod trick with them. They have an overclocking tool built into them, but I wouldn't mess around with it unless you have some background in overclocking. Basically, overclocking means more heat and more power, not a real good idea on a notebook. However, if you can find that sweet spot you'll get some nice performance gains out of it.

That's pretty much all I can think of right now. Enjoy your new m505x!

I use my 505 as my main computer for work, but I don't have to do much typing aside from quick letters to clients and some light emails. I really think this keyboard feels great. I also use a Logitech keyboard with laptop keys on it for my desktop, so maybe I'm just used to the shorter travel. Also, my last notebook had a keyboard that I think was created by Satan just to torment me. Hell, maybe I just got lucky and don't have a mushy keyboard, sure feels solid as I'm typing right now.