Gateway M460XL opinions?

[siegecraft4]

Special Offer:

Free Port Replicator w/ 120 Watt AC Adapter for M460 (shipping & handling extra)

Operating System:

Microsoft® Windows® XP Home EditionApplication

Software:

Microsoft® Works 8.0

Processor:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.8GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)

Memory:

512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (1-512MB modules)

Video:

ATI Radeon X600 128MB Graphics ........[ +US$50.00]

Extended Service Plan Including Limited Warranty:

Notebook Value Service Plan -- 1 year parts/labor/no on-site/1 year toll technical support

Carrying Case:

Not SelectedBattery:

Primary 8-Cell lithium ion battery with AC pack and 1 yr. limited battery warranty ........[ +US$20.00]

Speakers:

External speakers not selectedIntegrated

Wireless Networking Adapter:

Integrated 802.11a/g wireless networking card (does not qualify as Intel® Centrino™ if this option is selected) ........[ +US$40.00]

AntiVirus Software:

Norton Internet Security 90 day introductory offer

Mobile Technology:

Features Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology

Hard Drive:

80GB 5400rpm Ultra ATA hard drive

Floppy Drive:

Integrated 4-in-1 card reader

Optical Drive:

Integrated 8x Multi-Format Double Layer DVD Writer (DVD±R/±RW/CD-RW)

Expansion Slots:

One type II PC card slotExternal Ports:

(4) USB 2.0, VGA, TV Out, S-Video, IEEE 1394 (FireWire)

Screen:

15.4" WXGA TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 800 max. resolution)

Keyboard and Mouse:

Full-Sized Keyboard, EZ Pad® and EZ Point® Pointing Devices

Multimedia Package:

Integrated sound and stereo speakers, headphone/speaker jack, and mic jacks

Modem:

Integrated V.90 56K ModemNetwork Adapter:

Integrated Broadcom® 10/100/1000 Ethernet Adapter

All this for $1509. Looks like a pretty great deal to me. I was originally looking at the Dell 6000 series but the x300 GPU seems kind of weak to me. The x600 seems like it would meet my needs better. Also, dell doesn't offer as much RAM standard (they only offer 256 standard.) They upgrades for the DVD burner and the HD are also expensive. This gateway comes standard with a 5400 rpm hd instead of 4200. Based on reviews of the Gateway its sound system is vastly superior to Dell's.

http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050525/widescreen_notebooks-29.html

Here is the catch. The Gateway's display is only WXGA+. I know this doesn't matter for gaming since the graphics chip won't play anything higher on modern games smoothly anyway, but how will this affect usability in things like spreadsheets? Could I get feedback from somone with this type of display.

Also, I'm a little leery about buying Gateway. Their products haven't been known for reliability and quality in the past. Is this still the case?

Overall just let me know how you think this laptop would serve as a light gaming/media/productivity machine. Maybe someone could suggest something similar(15.4 inch Widescreen, x600 GPU, Dothan 1.8ghz, 512 ram) for a price below $1500. I'm willing to upgrade components myself if that would keep the price below the threshold.

 

[siegecraft4]

No opinions? Wow, someone has to have bought a Gateway laptop recently.

 

[c3141hf]

Well I haven't bought a Gateway laptop recently but I've had two in the past and they both had issues with the case (breakage) and noisy fans. (Gateway Solo and Gateway 600L) My current laptop is an Inspiron 9300 and it's fans, while always on, are much quieter.

 

[siegecraft4]

they both had issues with the case (breakage) and noisy fans.

Wow, those are both issues reviewers keep bringing up with this model as well. Noisy fans and quality of case construction.

I think I might be leaning back towards the Dell 6000d.

 

[TheCzar]

looks nice...what's its weight though? if its anywhere near 7lbs i'd say you could do better...maybe asus z71v...but otherwise looks great

 

[siegecraft4]

7.3 lbs around the same as the 6000d