Gateway AMD at Circuit City

S

steveak

Weaksauce
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I'm thinking of getting my GF this model (MX6441) for her birthday in July.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Gate...53871/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

At $799, it's just a bit more than she's worth (just kidding, sweetie!), but this looks like a solid computer for the price.

She's been a happy Gateway customer for years, and would only want a Gateway, so don't suggest getting another brand instead.

Thoughts, comments on this model?

As a comparison, Best Buy currently has a real good price on a lesser machine:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...CategoryId=pcmcat39100050016&id=1140393565233

Thanks.


Steve
 
whatever you get her, plan on getting a HDD upgrade. Every gateway Ive seen (including those two you linked) are 4200rpm drives (YUCK!) and Its just too damn slow, itll bring hte whole system down. Im pretty sure that 5400 is standard on almost all (if not all) dells and I know its standard on IBM notebooks... Gateway seems to be behind the curve on this one..
 
Yeah, 4200rpm HDD are a major PITA. I'd highly recommend buying a 7200rpm drive, and then using the 80GB 4200rpm drive in an external 2.5" USB/FireWire enclosure. That's what I did when I bought my Dell 700m.
 
EDIT: Didn't see this

She's been a happy Gateway customer for years, and would only want a Gateway, so don't suggest getting another brand instead.
Click to expand...

Kind of a shame IMHO. There are better computers for the same, or cheaper....
 
Yeah, i agree with the above poster... there are much better machines out there (definatly not a gateway fan, and I've had a few...) but if there is nothing else she wants, so be it.
 
Actually IMO for an in-the-box OEM Gateway appears to be pretty good. Just look the reviews here @ [H]. They score pretty respectably.
 
Actually IMO for an in-the-box OEM Gateway appears to be pretty good. Just look the reviews here @ [H]. They score pretty respectably.
Click to expand...

There are other companies that offer more for your money, such as Acer.
 
EQTakeOffense said:
There are other companies that offer more for your money, such as Acer.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas. Some things to chew on, that's for sure.

What we're looking for is an entry level type of machine. She will use it strictly for Internet, email, Microsoft Word. No gaming. Minimal photo work or graphics, and no burning music CDs.

(And anything she gets, even at the lowest level, will be a quantum-level upgrade; she's currently using a 1999-era Gateway Solo 2500. Pentium III 600 mHz, 128 MB RAM as I recall, 4GB hard drive, Windows ME....!!)

Trying to keep prices in the $600-$800 range.

I've read all of the reviews in the Consumer section, and have poked around some of the manufacturer websites.

I must say that I can't get through the Acer site because they have so many notebooks to choose from, and there does not seem to be a way to sort them by price. But I'll check their prices through some retailers.

So, getting away from Gateway, anybody have any specifics as to an OEM builder whose entry- or mid-level machines are high quality?


steve
 
Well, I think Acer is the better brand that Circuit City carries for a reasonable price. (F.Y.I I work at CC)

Acer's first computers were crap, but they're not bad.

I'd for for this
 
EQTakeOffense said:
There are other companies that offer more for your money, such as Acer.
Click to expand...

Actually yes - not long ago i recommended the Acer with the 3500+ newegg for a guy in the pcper forums ( a newbie) and he was happy with it. it seems to be a pretty good buy as well.
 
I've had great experiences with eMachines, before they became Gateway. IMO, e will give you/her the best of both worlds- they offer(ed) more bang for the buck, while staying loyal to GW.
 
"Trying to keep prices in the $600-$800 range."

the gateway mx7118 is $649.01 on clearance @ office depot.
it may get cheaper tomorrow (they markdown on mondays, wednesdays and fridays... every now and then they do either saturday or sunday)
the item number is 495542
specifications
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Q106/Shadow/5963sp3.shtml

"I'd highly recommend buying a 7200rpm drive, and then using the 80GB 4200rpm drive in an external 2.5" USB/FireWire enclosure."

more heat and less battery life hm
 
guhh said:
"I'd highly recommend buying a 7200rpm drive, and then using the 80GB 4200rpm drive in an external 2.5" USB/FireWire enclosure."

more heat and less battery life hm
Click to expand...
Hmmm, try doing some research.

http://www.mobilityguru.com/2003/10/31/fast_and_furious/page4.html

"One result is particularly interesting - the fact that even a clearly faster hard drive like the 7200-rpm model from Hitachi only makes a negligible dent in the battery life. The fact that using the Travelstar 7K60 not only provides higher system performance but also demands less from the battery than the Momentus does not in any way contradict the statements made at the beginning of the article. Obviously, Hitachi succeeded in getting the energy use of the Travelstar 7K60, which turns at a speed of 7200 rpm, lower than the typical demand of a fast and economical 5200-rpm drive like the Momentus from Seagate. For one, the Travelstar 7K60 has a femtoslider. The femtoslider is not only considerably smaller, it is also significantly lighter than a "normal" picoslider. However, less volume means that less power is needed to move the slider back and forth across the disks. This, in turn, results in lower energy use by the hard drive. For another thing, Hitachi uses a very effective, adaptive power-saving mechanism - the A.B.L.E. (=adaptive battery life extender)."

And this was just first generation 7.2k rpm drives!

I would ask that you refrain from posting misleading information in this forum.
 
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