Convince me not to get an M6805/9

For performance to price, this is a great lappy, however i just developed the crack in my hinge (see forum for thread about that) after only owning this machine for 6 months, and it's pretty frustrating. I want to send it in for repair, but from what i've heard they haven't fixed the problem, and as many people that are reporting this problem, i think it's bound to happen to every notebook. As far as benchmarks, gaming, performance this thing is amazing, and i would recomend it. I also just posted a review on this lappy under notebook general- reviews section, you can read it there.

No, as stated in the long forum thread it APPREARS to be cosmetic, as this point it isn't affecting my notebook other than being an eyesore. I'm actually getting a new Notebook in a few weeks, something Centrino (Dothan) based for battery life. If you want battery life, i suggest you reconsider, or pick up a spare, you're looking at 2-2.5 tops, probably less in real world situations. But this is a great Notebook, i'm just a little irritated with it right now cause i noticed the crack today, and it wasn't there 2 days ago, so i'm having mixed feelings about it atm. Good luck with your purchase.

I am in the same market, bang for the reletively low buck:
I chose the r3000z over the eMachines based on the following:

-Compaq has better speakers
-Compaq DOESN"T crack.
-Compaq has slightly better battery life
-Compaq is $150 cheaper for sim config

-E has a much better vid card
-E has a major problem with the crack that is unavoidable and since i am not buying more warrantees to deal with it, no thanks!

Ok, lets go ahead and stop saying that E has a major problem with the crack. I've read posters saying they had cracks, and then got replacements no problem. I've also read posters saying they had cracks and can't get replacements. Then you have the people like me who, up to now, haven't said anything because they have no cracks. I've had my M6809 for 3 months now and no cracks. There may be a problem from the factory with screens being screwed on too hard as has been speculated. I just configured a "similar" r3000z with an nvidia 64mb 440go (which doesn't come close to M 9600 speeds) for $80 more than an M6809 after rebates. When just surfing or working with office, I get almost exactly 2hrs 50min before my machine goes down, and that $80 more expensive Compaq was with an 8-cell battery so the battery life would be the same if not worse. I can agree to disagree and recommend either laptop for diff reasons. Compaq probably has better tech support. From my experience with the few questions I’ve had, E-machines is on the ball. They usually get back to me by e-mail in 3 hours or less (depending on the time of day, I live in Singapore, so I don't really wanna’ call for every question) and the one time I did call I spoke to a (seemingly) intelligent well-spoken tech support person within about 7 minutes. So, lets just say that Compaq has Toll-free tech support, and no known issues in the past with hinges cracking, and E-machines has had some issues with it. Who knows how many M680X machines they’ve sold with such great features for a great price? All we do know is the number of posters with problems, which is one element of a much more complicated equation for figuring out the percentages of machines with cracks, and whether or not it’s a “major problem” (Yes, I know that for each person with cracks it’s a major problem) overall.

I bought my 6805 the week BestBuy got it, and i developed the crack about 3 days ago, so i would say the chance of your developing one is still plenty high. And no, the crack/potential for crack would not turn me off of this machine...i still think it's the best performence/price ratio machines at the moment.

I would have to agree with Mook1e on this one. There does seem to be a problem with the cracks, but how widespread we will never know. All we hear from, obviously, are those that have problems. Why would we hear from all the people that don't have any cracks, unless they are bored and care to discuss there lack of cracks . I know 4 people personally with 680x machines, not including myself. None of the 5 of us have yet to develop a crack. I also configured an HP and Compaq machine back when I was doing my shopping. An identical one HP/Compaq (except of course the "laughable by comparison" video card) was more expensive in every scenerio.

20+ ppl is enough to realize this isn't an isolated problem. Not to mention it's in the same spot on all machines. There's no denying this is a defect in production/parts. And you're right, we'll never know how widespread this problem is due to the fact obviously not everyone who owns one is on this forum, but if this many people are having the problem (me included 6 months after purchase) then it's a problem needing to be addressed, and being an owner yourself, i should hope you would agree.

Absolutely I agree. Like I said in my previous post, there is no denying there is definately a problem for this many people to be having it. I just wouldn't let it deter me from purchasing one, not knowing the extent of the problem. If my hinges were to crack today, I would like to get them fixed, but would still be pleased to have such a machine at te price I got it. Cosmetic issues don't really bother me that much, but I can see everyone's point in wanting to get it fixed. i hope eMachines finds the root of the problem soon so those of us without cracks may be able to keep ours from cracking down the road.

Pretty much my thoughts on the subject to as i stated. It wouldn't stop me from buying this machine, due in part that E-machines is actually fixing machines with the problem. I just fear that those getting it fixed now 1, 2, and more times are gonna ruin it for the rest of us, i think it's probably smarter to wait for a fix then to just get a new LCD and send it in with a crack 2 weeks later. This is the type of thing that drives prices up, and we don't need that.

The crack problem may not be enough to stop someone from buying (it would have been for me), but the way eMachines ultimately resolves the issue should be a major factor when considering this notebook.

You're wrong about Compaq's not cracking. I just bought a M6809 to replace a Compaq Presario laptop that developed such a severe lcd hinge crack that the lcd display became impossible to open or close without ripping it off. The crack broke through the entire outside cover of the machine, to the point pieces of the casing started falling off.

PS, you're right about the speakers. Compaq's seem to be better. However, overall the emachines system appears to be much better made.

Why get the E when you get better specs cheaper with the uniwill

Cheaper? From where? GamePC is the only place I have seen them and they are a lot more expensive there for uniwill comparable to the 680x. Comparing the ones at GamePC, the only advantage I see is the M11 instead of M10. With the negligible difference in performance between the two, I don't see paying an extra $500 or so for it, unless you absolutely have to have those extra 4 frames per second .

Uniwill N258KA:

Athlon64 3000+
Radeon M11 128Mb
512Mb
40Gb 5400rpm

$1315 from MWave.

Of course the downside with this one is that battery life is 1h30-2hrs absolute max - official specs say 1hr30. If that doens't bother you then it's a GREAT buy - and it's much better looking than the E too.

Add WindowsXP and the include the same size hard drive, and it comes to $1430 vs $1199 for the m6805 after rebates ($1129 if you are a reward zone member). $231 ($301) for the M11 is still a bit too much in my opinion to pay for the very slight difference between the M11 and M10, but to some it may be worth it.

Does it have free shipping?

No but at least you get a 5400rpm hard drive. And not everyone wants XP on their machines..

$38 for two-day Fed-Ex.

I would have got one myself if batery wasn't my main priority...

Built-in Wireless Card: Intel Pro/Wireless 2200 BG 802.11BG mini PCI (+35)
Buy Extended Warranty at $75 Per Year; Up to 2 Years Extended Warranty: No, thanks!
Buy Spare AC Adapter: No, thanks!
Buy Spare Battery: No, thanks!
Display: 15.4 WXGA 1280x800
Free Carrying Bag: Yes, give it to me
Graphics: 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 dedicated memory
Hard Disk: 60GB 5400RPM (+128)
Memory: 1GB (+190)
Operation System: Win XP Home (+85)
Optical Drive: 4X DVD+RW (+90)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Mobile 3400+ (+414)
Waive Shipping Fee: No thanks, please send/UPS me

1892.00

Thats 512 more ram and a m11 for only about 200 more