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Gateway P-6860FX Opinions?

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Coming from a BBY employee who's worked with that specific system.

While it's light and thin for a 17" gaming notebook. Don't expect to be lugging it around all day to class as it's almost 10lbs when you count battery and AC adapter. Plus battery life isn't all that great. However, you're talking about a 17" screen with a high-end discreet graphics option so it's decent enough.

If you've got to have it all in one though, it's not a bad system.

Oh yeah... welcome to the forums!
 
You may end up regretting getting that CPU, I was getting some lag in games etc so ended up returning it and getting a better one.

I now have a Dell XPS with a T8100 cpu and 8800M, it blows away the T5550 setup.
 
I'm using one right now and am pretty happy with it. However, I didn't buy it thinking about lugging it to class everyday, like the above poster mentioned it's on the heavier side and battery life is short at about 2 hours. I will however enjoy taking it on vacations and such. It's my desktop replacement.

The nice thing about this laptop is that it's super easy to upgrade parts. You're only 5 screws away from changing the CPU, so what you can do, and what I'm planning to do, is upgrade to a T9300 whenever you want. Even then, it's still a better deal than similary spec'd laptops (1099+300 for the T9300).

A XPS with a T8300, 4 gigs of RAM and a 160gb 7200 hard drive and 8700M graphics is already 2 grand.
 
Ashura said:
A XPS with a T8300, 4 gigs of RAM and a 160gb 7200 hard drive and 8700M graphics is already 2 grand.
Click to expand...

Exactly, it's the best in the price bracket, hands down. The CPU doesn't really matter, because you can upgrade it and even the LCD while staying under $1800.

I tried to buy one yesterday and best buy slapped me away because I'm Canadian (racism). I'm in the process of trying to fix that now.

I definately think it's a good purchase.
 
With the FX you're just paying for the graphics. Under 2.0Ghz C2D, 5400rpm hard drive, 1440x900 display... weak for a gaming laptop. I got the XPS m1530 for $1,600 with a T8300, 7200rpm 250gb drive, WUXGA display (1920x1200), and 8600m gt. Plus I got 3 yrs warrenty and 3 yrs accidental damage coverage vs. Gateways one!
 
the only thing is the 8600 sucks compared to the 8800. If the gateway had a better LCD, i'd be all over that, I'd upgrade the processor of course...
 
Thats just the thing... at least on Gateway's website, if you want the 1200p display, you have to get the superconfiged $2000 version. I'm not a Dell fanboy by any means, but I love the fact that they have maintained the ability to customize nearly every component of the laptop. Sure you can do it all yourself, but then you loose the warranty! IMO, if you're going to spend $2000 on a gaming laptop, either get a desktop that has killer performance or spend an extra grand and get an Alienware.
 
juane414: I'm completely with you on the customizing bit, I really wish Gateway gave that offer. However, there are a couple of things anyone interested in purchasing a laptop should note about your post. First, a single 8800M GTS outperforms the 8600M, it even outperforms 8600M in SLI. The second is that the XPS m1530 is a 15" screen versus the 17" on the Gateway. All I plan to upgrade are the CPU and, once prices are better, adding in a 128gb SSD. For others like me who have no problem with 1440x900 on a 17", it's a great value especially considering the upgrade options. The best thing about the Dell IMO is the warranty, that's what makes it that much more valuable.

However, that's sort of moot now, BB jumped the price of the 6860 from 1099 to 1349. It's not that great of a buy anymore. :-/
 
I'm all for do-it-yourself stuff, but that path conflicts with warranties. I have a 3 year parts and labor and a three year accidental damage warranty worth hundreds of dollars. I got this warranty because I'm going to be taking my laptop places. If you are buying a laptop to play games at home and have it sit on a desk 90% of the time then getting a laptop with no warranty and upgrading it yourself is the way to go. I just think that if you want to do it yourself, build a desktop from scratch and dodge voiding your warranty. I just don't get the point of "gaming laptops." The only advantage laptops have over desktops is mobility. Therefore the only time a gaming laptop would be economical is if you participate in LAN's all the time, but even then, it still makes more sense to build a small form factor desktop that you can move around easily. I just can't justify spending thousands of dollars on a gaming laptop when you can build a solid gaming desktop for much less! My year old desktop has superior gaming performance to the brand new laptop I'm getting and my desktop cost half the price of my new laptop. The only reason why I'm switching is because I don't play many games any more, and I'm moving overseas in a few months.
 
The T9400, T9300, T8300, or T8100 would all be decent 45nm upgrades. The 5xxx and 7xxx core 2 duos are all 65nm. Why do you need to overclock? The core 2 duo is plenty fast for gaming, as is the 8800gts. If you want more speed spend $600 on the 2.8ghz T9600.
 
juane414 said:
The T9400, T9300, T8300, or T8100 would all be decent 45nm upgrades. The 5xxx and 7xxx core 2 duos are all 65nm. Why do you need to overclock? The core 2 duo is plenty fast for gaming, as is the 8800gts. If you want more speed spend $600 on the 2.8ghz T9600.
Click to expand...

It's not about a need to overclock. It's a want to overclock. :)

I think I'll look into a T9600. Expensive, sure, but it will make this laptop a true desktop replacement.

My only gripe is that an upgraded model with a 9800M GTS is slated for release in a couple of weeks.
 
there is always going to be something better just around the corner. Enjoy the nice laptop you have, or you could see about returning it, but they may want to charge a restocking fee.
 
Yeah, but this one is just around the corner. I'm almost willing to pay the BB restocking fee to upgrade to the newer model.
 
aaronjb said:
I'm almost willing to pay the BB restocking fee to upgrade to the newer model.
Click to expand...

It's the stock P-6860 for $1349 with no upgrades done on your part? I think you should.
 
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