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Well, I have crossed over; I feel like such an End User, I just received my Gateway M675XL. System Spec: (Moo)



15.75(W) x 10.63(D) x 1.52(H) at 8.8 pounds with battery
Intel P4 3.2HT 800FSB, 512Mb DDR SDRAM (2x256), 17.1 WXGA, 60Gb HD, DVD+-R/+-RW, ATI 9600 128Mb video, XP Pro, 6-in-1 memory card reader, 1 type II, 4 USB 2.0, firewire, S-Video, 10/100/1000 with 802.11g integrated
And 6 months of America Online!!! Oh the joy!!! (Moo)

Base Price: $2499.99
3 Yr Part/Labor with accidental damage: 348.99

Ordered: 11/12/03, Promised: 11/26/03, Received: 11/28/03 (From China!!)

I also order for my wife a Compaq Presario X1012, I will include this in the review because I think this is a great low end laptop.

Presario X1000 System Spec:
14.00(W) x 10.00(D) x 1.3(H) at 6.5 pounds with battery
Centrino 1.3, 512Mb PC2100 DDR, 15.4 WXGA, 40Gb hard drive, DVD/CD-RW Combo, ATI 9200 32Mb video, XP Home, 1 type II card, SD/MMC reader, 3 USB 2.0, Firewire, S-Video, 10/100 with 802.11b integrated, JBL® PRO Stereo Speakers

Base price: $1349.99
3 Yr Part/Labor with accidental damage: 169.00


System’s tested:

Desktop – Shuttle P4 2.8Gb-800FSB, 1024Mb ram, Ti4600 128Mb video, Plextor DVD+- RW, 250Gb SATA hard drive.
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/desktop.jpg
3DMark03 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/desk_3d.jpg
SiSoftsite Sandra 2003 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/desk_sandra.jpg

Sager – Sager 8887 3.02Gb-533FSB, 1024Mb ram, ATI 9000 128Mb video, DVD Combo, DVD+RW, 80Gb hard drive
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/sager.jpg
3DMark03 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/sager_3d.jpg
SiSoftsite Sandra 2003 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/sager_sandra.jpg

Compaq – x1012 1.3 Centrino, 512Mb ram, ATI 9200 32Mb video, Combo, 40Gb hard drive
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/compaq1.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/compaq2.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/compaq3.jpg
3DMark03 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/compaq_3d.jpg
SiSoftsite Sandra 2003 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/compaq_sandra.jpg

Gateway – Gateway M675XL 3.2Gb-800FSB, 512Mb ram, ATI 9600 128Mb video, DVD-+RW, 60Gb hard drive
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway1.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway2.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway3.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway4.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway5.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway6.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway7.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway8.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway9.jpg
Picture: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway10.jpg

Out of the box with gateway memory:
3D Mark03 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway_f_3dmark.jpg
SiSoftsite: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway_f_sandra.jpg

Installed Geil 1Gb of Dual Channel DDR400
3DMark03 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway_m_3dmark.jpg
SiSoftsite: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway_m_sandra.jpg

System Loaded and Optimized:
3DMark03 Pro: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway_o_3dmark.jpg
SiSoftsite: http://www.mcstamp.com/it/gateway_o_sandra.jpg


System......................3DMark........CPU MIPS....Hard Drive......Memory

Desktop.......................1841............8533........19445 kB/s....4326MB/s
Sager............................917.............9493........14319 kB/s....1952MB/s
Compaq........................693.............4238........16510 kB/s.....1982MB/s
Gateway (org).............2634............9755........16214 kB/s......3985MB/s
Gateway (Geil)............2635............9919........18444 kB/s......4275MB/s
Gateway (Loaded).......2692............9824........18745 kB/s......4308MB/s

Comments:

Compaq: I really like this system its mostly aluminum, the keyboard is very solid, graphic could be better but its not meant to be a high end gamming system, the sound is great and it has a 5 hr battery life. (My test playing a DVD was 3 ½ hrs) All I can say is the wife better be happy with this one, I wanted to give her the sager but it was to big… I guess it a man’s computer..

Gateway: The gateway ships with a Hitachi HTS548060M9AT00 60Gb 5400 rpm 8Mb cashe hard drive and 2 256Mb PC2700 SO-DIMM memory chips. I do not understand why they sell such a high end system with substandard memory and HD. I order two Geil golden dragon 512Mb PC3200 DDR400 dual channel memory for $223.98 and confirmed that the system will support it. I am going to wait on upgrading the hard drive for an 80 GB 7200 rpm 8Mb cashe to hit the market, or a 16Mb cashe drive. I think gateway (or should I say there OEM) did a nice job with the design of this system it is sold and clean, although it not aluminum like the Compaq it seem to be sturdy with little or no flex. I not sure yet if I like the location of the touchpad; but I don’t like touchpad’s anyway. The speakers are not bad, much loader then the Sager however there is no option for a subwolfer. Also no option for a TV card, they sell a USB Pinnacle PCTV deluxe, I will review it once I have some more time.

hey great job..i'm waiting to get my m505, stupid turkey day!!! by the way, that is an AWESOME background you have!!!! Where'd you get that, did you make it yourself? Got one of homer?????
good job.

You can get the wallpapers here:

http://www.mcstamp.com/it/dilbert1.jpg
http://www.mcstamp.com/it/dilbert2.jpg
http://www.mcstamp.com/it/dilbert1.jpg
http://www.mcstamp.com/it/homer.jpg
http://www.mcstamp.com/it/xp_fire.jpg

How's the screen? CNET's review mentioned that the HP zd7000 had a better screen than the Gateway. And what is it about the touchpad that you don't like? Or do you not like touchpads at all? Wasn't quite too sure with your review.

He probably doesn't like the centering of the touchpad.

Thanks for the review, btw, and great pictures!

I have not seen the HP, I can compare it to the Sager 8887, the Compaq X1012, Toshiba Satellite A10, and a Apple Powerbook G4 15”. The resolution is about the same as the Sager but much brighter. It far passes the Compaq and Satellite and equal to the Apple in resolution and brightness. I like the widescreen; it makes the display feel much larger then normal. This is the Gateway next to a 19” LCD monitor.

http://www.mcstamp.com/it/sidebyside.jpg

And yes, I am right handed and the location of the touchpad feels awkward.

Could you put up the background with Bart in it I want that one.

Forgot to create the link...

http://www.mcstamp.com/it/bart.jpg

Have you looked around for a way to change the functionality of the Fn and CTRL keys to the left of your keyboard? I think it might annoy me a bit to not have CTRL on the far left.

And umm... call me a total newb but... how'd you get that long strip of quicklaunch buttons along the top?

Thanks, and great review! I'll keep asking more questions as I think some up.

I got my Gateway M675 last week, typing on it now. I love it.

I opted for the 3.0 instead of the 3.2, but pretty much everything else the same. Upgraded to 1 gig of PC3200 Apacer 400mhz DDR (same mem used in the sagers). Also threw in a 7200rpm drive.

I got lucky and ordered mine back when you could select the CS model and pretty much customize the M675 however you wanted.. price came out good too.. whole system, even after the aftermarket upgrades ran around $2360.

The dual channel is nice, only 17" with it. Internal wireless G was a snap to setup, no problems and working great. Only thing that really bugs me is the 9600pro.. The core speed is correct (351mhz) but the memory seems alittle underclocked, mine is in the low 200's. Not really a big deal tho, compared to other m10 benchmarks i'm very close, plus I'm really not planning to use this for gaming.

btw, have you been able to get the latest CAT drivers working on your M675? Only drivers I can get to work are the Gateway version.. Maybe i'm doing it wrong.

All in all, great system. I'll post some pictures too.. well, If I can ever find the power/charger cord for my D.Cam.

The quick launch bar: Back in the good old days of office XP, I used the office shortcut bar, but Microsoft in a quest to change everything that works well took it out (along with photo editor) in Office 2003. I am now using the Quick Lunch toolbar, right click on the taskbar on the bottom of the screen (in an unused area), first unlock the taskbar, then go to toolbar and turn on the quick launch bar. This will be turned on by default and show up just to the right of the start button. Next drag the quick launch bar to the top of the screen. Once it’s in place and you have the size you want relock the taskbar. You can remove items from the bar by right clicking and selecting delete. To add items just drag them and drop on the toolbar. You can change the order of items by dragging them around. I find the easiest way to get programs on the toolbar is to right click the start button and select Explore all users, this will open the menu system for the start – programs, you can then drag anything you use up to the toolbar and it will create a shortcut.


* In Microsoft’s defense Outlook 2003 is well worth the upgrade.

Mbarrette, I scored higher than you on my benchmark scores. I have less speed less memory, my specs are in my signature.

3D Mark Scores out of the box with 4x agp= 2665

3D mark scores out of the box with 8x agp= 2878

3d mark scores out of the box overclocked with 8x agp=3001

I was looking at the AW but 2 factors led me to the Gateway:

1. I wanted a 17" widescreen format.
2. My company paid for it, and I could not justify a charge on the corporate card from Alienware, or other less known vendors (from the account department’s standpoint) where we purchasing some other items from Gateway - Compaq, etc.

Number 2 was the largest reason.....

What kind of battery life can I expect when watching DVD and playing games. I know its no centrino but I would like to be able to at least get through a DVD on a full charge.

I will let you know tomorrow