Gateway 7410GX A64/ATI9600 Notebook $899 w/free Canon Printer AR

[pappadj]

EDIT: Sorry fellas, no dvdr after all. Nero Infotool has it unchecked now... maybe it's my eyes. It does have a sticker saying "Multi-format DVD Burner Create,burn and share DVDs". O well. Still a hot deal.

$1150 Gateway 7410GX
-$250 INSTANT discount Link (Print It)
$900 (+Tax of course, only downside)
Promo ends Saturday 11/20

Also add the Pixma iP1500 Color Photo Printer for $50 and get a rebate. Not sure if this is available in all stores but I'm sure there's some (free printer with computer) deal in most stores anyway.

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8 GHz
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz L2 Cache Size: 1 MB
256MB PC2700 DDR RAM (THE BIGGEST DRAWBACK... still gets a 5/5 nevertheless and it's the easiest upgrade)
60 GB HDD (No specs yet)
24X/24X/24X/8X DVD/CD-RW Combo (IT DOES NOT BURN DVDs, sorry)
64MB ATI® Mobility RADEON? 9600 (INDEPENDENT MEMORY)
15.4" TFT, 1280 x 800 Widescreen LCD
4 USB 2.0 Ports (and 1 firewire)
1 VGA External Connector
1 RJ-11 Modem and 1 RJ-45 Ethernet LAN
802.11b/802.11g
XP Home, Nero, Power DVD, MS Works, etc. (not much else worth mentioning with software)

Height: 1.6 in
Width: 14.0 in
Depth: 10.4 in
Weight: 7.5 lbs
Limited Warranty: 1 Year (12 Months)

The Gateway 7410GX Notebook has a $250 (Print It and Bring it to a CompUSA store) advertised discount. I just bought mine and I'm happy so far. More specs and benchmarks coming soon. The compusa manager even asked me not to talk about it so that's why I of course had to post the details here first..... duh!

 

[MrC4]

Great deal! I have the emachines version with 512 megs of ram and I love it!!

 

[AdamsJabbar]

Originally posted by: pappadj

64MB ATI® Mobility RADEON? 9600 (Shared of course)

The video memory on this notebook is not shared. It is 64MB dedicated video memory. Shared memory is like the Intel Extreme garbage included on some other notebooks where system memory is used for the video buffer.

Just wanted to clear this up since I love my notebook and think everybody should own it.

 

[RossMAN]

How does the CPU compare to a Centrino?
How is battery life?
What about heat issues (I won't be using it on my lap)?
How loud is this?
Do you know what chipset the 802.11b/g WiFi is?

 

[mscdex0]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
How does the CPU compare to a Centrino?
How is battery life?
What about heat issues (I won't be using it on my lap)?
How loud is this?
Do you know what chipset the 802.11b/g WiFi is?

 

[Heinrich]

The Gateway 7405 has an "ultrabrite" glossy screen. Does this one also? Is it easy to put 1 gig into it?

Rossman - this is a more powerful CPU than a Centrino - by far, but it consumes more power. Typically batterly life will be ~2 hours, whereas a Centrino can get you 3. But this is 64 bit technology that will easily trounce a Centrino for games or Photoshop, etc.

 

[Threader]

Wonder if the hinge plastic will crack on this too? looks just like my E-machines.

I haven't returned mine yet for warranty hinge replacement cause I'm scared they will just send me another refurb.

I was lucky enough to get a 5400rpm HD and a defect free screen. Not just ready to give that up for a cosmetic problem. The screen panel still holds up quite well.

 

[Macro2]

What's this about a hinge?

 

[pappadj]

I wish I had more time to work on it last night but I will get more specs tonight. Note, the store should take a preorder sale if it is not in stock (at least the mgr at the store here said it would not be a prob) so if you're holding out to get more details on the system first then you should still be ok.

Things I know about the system (I will work on getting more specs)

LCD: There is a brightness adjustment in the BIOS but not sure if it's an ultrabright
HDD: Not sure of the rpms
Battery Life: At 90% it had a little over 2 hours (I THINK)
Heat: It was warm on my lap but not uncomfortable
Loudness: Surprisingly quiet
WiFi: 802.11b/g (has a sticker that states will go 105Mbps mode) I will find out the chipset
Comparisons: Will run Sandra tonight
Memory capacity: 1.2 GB
Chipset: It was a K8 Apollo... I can't remember the rest atm
Hinge: The floor model showed some wear on the back where the hinge is but the 2 notebooks I got look fine so far. 1 day will not tell the tale however.

It seriously needs memory. Anyone have an idea on what would be a good 512MB pc3200 chip for this system? thinking corsair xms low latency module

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Heinrich
The Gateway 7405 has an "ultrabrite" glossy screen. Does this one also? Is it easy to put 1 gig into it?

Rossman - this is a more powerful CPU than a Centrino - by far, but it consumes more power. Typically batterly life will be ~2 hours, whereas a Centrino can get you 3. But this is 64 bit technology that will easily trounce a Centrino for games or Photoshop, etc.

Thanks for the info. Battery life isn't a major concern as long as it's decent (2+ hours) as it will remain plugged in 99.99% of the time.

 

[dapic]

At my local CompUSA (Tyson's corner, VA), where I just purchased this lappy, they HAD Sandra installed on the display unit, but I didn't have too much time to look at it. And I haven't opened mine up, just in case I shall return it.

Also, I think the at the bottom of the coupon says that:

Quantities limited to stock on hand. No rain checks.

Another difference between this and the eMachine is that it doesn't have the media-card reader.

 

[pappadj]

dapic, preordering a system shouldn't be a problem as rainchecks are generally if the product is not in stock at all and will have to be ordered at another time. I may be wrong (or maybe the manager was) but he said it was ok as long as the date of purchase is on or before Saturday. If in doubt check with the manager as he has the power of the key

Also, the media reader is not included and that is kind of a bummer. I was happy that it had a firewire port however.

 

[dapic]

pappadj, I think the pre-order/raincheck issue may rely on the manager. I didn't ask the question at my store tho.

Another nice thing is that because it's now holiday season, you can return it (if un-opened) before Jan 8. 2005 for a full refund. It's usually 14 day, I was told. And this is printed on my receipt too, so there should be no question about this. Anyway, I felt I had little reason not to jump in.

Thank you so much, pappadj!

The only downside is that I gotta keep my eyes open for some notebook RAM deal now.

 

[Kelemvor]

This laptop deal and other CompUSa deal over in this thread...

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...4670&enterthread=y

 

[imported_Funkatation]

I bought this last night... apparently the last one they had in stock.. tried to pressure me to buy TAP, but I didn't want to. Its definitely a speedy laptop. When the fan comes on it seems rather loud, but doesnt stay on too long. Would have been nice if it had the media reader, but oh well. Now to find an elegant bluetooth solution for this thing... Don't want a USB dongle.

 

[pappadj]

I've created a post for the best notebook memory for the system also. Here is the link if anyone is interested or have any suggestions.

Hey Funk, it will be another 5 hours or so before I can get all the responses to the questions above about the system, can you see what you can find.

 

[pappadj]

OK I have a chance to play with it now. Here are some answers to previous questions.

HDD: 4200 rpm Hitachi drive HITACHI_DK23FA-60 (little dissappointed)
MEM: slot 1 - 256MB (Non-user replaceable... EDIT: the internal slot should be accessible fairly easily as the problem with the emachines was that the media reader was in the way, not sure if the systems are mirror images of each other yet inside)
slot 2 - 1GB Max (User upgradeable)
NOISE - Now that I've been playing with it more, the fans can be kinda loud inside when they turn on.
WiFi - Broadcom 802.11g
Heat - Still running different temp progs but physically my legs are starting to sweat a little.

Still don't know how to find out if I have an Ultra Bright LCD, any ideas?
Check my link on the post before this for more details, specs and memory info.
Anyway to tell who manufactures this motherboard without opening it up? I'll open it later.

EDIT: Still not dissapointed but I'll round up PROs and CONs. I would probably give it a 9/10 now that I've learned some things about it but after $100 spent for a chip of 512MB should bring the price up to a little over $1000 (after tax) and this should make the system a 10/10.

PROs
$900 pricetag (no rebates needed for notebook)
A64 3000+ w/1MBCache
ATI 9600+ video (apparently very ocable, think i'll get one of those cooling pads )
Quality seems very good

CONs
256MB MEM and only 1 slot avail to upgrade (internal 256 is difficult to rpl but it can be upgraded... wonder if I can get 2GB out of this?)
No Media-Card Reader
4200rpm drive possible
No DVDR drive (expected)

 

[jburk]

Please help!

I printed out the flyer and took it over to the COMPUSA in White Plains NY and they refused to give me the instant rebate! I even showed them the pdf that's on the images.compusa.com website, and they still refused the discount. What's the best way to get them to honor the special? Are there any stores in the NYC metro area that have honored the listed price? Is there any sort of information on the COMPUSA website that would indicate that there is a real instant rebate on this notebook?

Thanks!

 

[Heinrich]

jburk - they should have an interenet connection in the store, I would log in with the laptop in the back! Or call ahead to a different store.

The Best Buy version - the 7405, has 512MB, a glossy screen, a faster CPU, a DVD writer, firewire, and the media card reader for $1249 right now.

 

[pappadj]

jburk, I concur with Heinrich. They are probably looking up the promos on their internal network. Have them connect via the internet and link back to the site. Stand strong that the site is from image.compusa.com which is a domain THEY OWN. Make sure you get a manager and if he doesn't help, let him know you want the General or Regional Manager. That's F'd up that they are giving you a hard time about it. Get names and if they still don't help, check back with a GM (or whomever is over the store managers) tomorrow and adv that so and so denied you the offer and that you want them to honor it. I'm not one to complain but something like that pisses me off as it's their offer and they are giving you crap about it and wasting your time. I like CompUSA but they would have to kick me out if they deny the offer and I would show the police offeicer the false advertisement and advise that I would be letting a local news station known about it.

OK, time's tick'n so run Forrest run!

 

[jburk]

Thanks for both of your messages. Short story is that I finally did end up getting the laptop. Long story is that after I posted here, I called over to another COMPUSA across the river and they said that they would honor an emailed promotion. I finally get across the river and make it to the store (holiday shopping seems to have started a week early here) and they decide that they will not honor the flyer. The manager insists that he has never seen the flyer, and it's below their cost of $1030, so they can't override it. They seem to think that it's from a fake domain - I offer to show them the link on image.compusa.com but they said that it's a "private FTP server" (total bullshit). I leave my name and number with the manager so he can let me know if he can find anything out from the corporate office on Monday (fat chance I'll hear from him again). I went over to the Best Buy in the same mall to buy the higher end version for $1150 that Heinrich mentioned -not ideal, but I really wanted to get the laptop today, and I managed to justify the extra price to myself. (After a standard 20 minute wait for the salesperson) they told me that they were out of them, and I'd have to go back across the river to another Best Buy. I go back across the river and finally get someone to bring out the laptop. Right as the guy is ringing it up, I see my voicemail indicator on the phone, and call it, and it's the manager from the COMPUSA #2 saying that he finally dragged his ass over to his computer and did see the emailed promotion, and would honor it. I drive back across the river, fight through holiday crowds, and finally manage to purchase the damn laptop and drive back home (total elapsed time, 7 hours). I also resist the urge to drive back to COMPUSA #1 from my earlier post to rub the receipt in their faces.

So it all ended well for me, but the manager had mentioned earlier that at least one other guy had come through and gotten shot down on the same email flyer (possibly on the same laptop). So whoever else got screwed by the managers on this deal - you have my complete sympathies. Hopefully you can go back in on Monday, tell them to check their damn email, and they can make you whole on the deal.