7-Endless
Jul 3rd, 2006, 12:58 AM
Here's my first crack at a review. Feedback is appreciated!!
Being fed up for the last time with the XGA screen on my R51 Thinkpad, I began the search for a new notebook. Having mainly been an IBM Thinkpad and Dell Inspiron/Latitude user for most of my life, I originally kept my search to both brands. But after trying several configurations with various models – I was beginning to lose hope that I was not going to be able to find the configuration (see below) I wanted in my price range (under $1500).
Any Core Duo notebook (except the T2300E)
Must have dedicated video card
Gigabit LAN
Wireless
1 GB RAM
At least 60 GB hard drive
Firewire
Minimum SXGA or WXGA resolution
DVD Burner
So I began looking at other brands such as HP, Averatec, Toshiba, Acer, etc. but still couldn’t find any model that met the above criteria. But after further research I came across the Gateway MX6750 Platinum Edition notebook. I’ve always been pretty skeptical about the build quality and reliability of the Gateway notebooks but after seeing a couple family members happy with their entry level Celery models for over a year now, I decided to at least check it out.
After doing further research, I found that the MX6750 notebook is one of the new Platinum Edition models which Gateway began rolling out earlier this year. The Platinum Edition models are being positioned as upscale/premium pc models of the Gateway brand that are focused on the entertainment and gaming experience.
The specifications of the MX6750 are as follows:
• Intel Core Duo Processor T2300 with Intel 945PM chipset
• Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
• 15.4" UltraBright WXGA (1280x800) display
• 1 GB DDR2 533MHz RAM
• Radeon Mobility x1400 with 256 MB Hypermemory (128 MB dedicated on board)
• 100GB 5400RPM Hitachi SATA Hard Drive
• 8X DVD +/- dual layer recorder
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet and 56K Modem
• High Definition Audio
• 8 cell battery
• Ports – Svideo out, VGA, IEEE 1394, 4 x USB 2.0, 4 in 1 card reader
• Type I/II PCMICA card slot
• Port replicator connector (on bottom)
• Price - $1299 CDN + tax
Upon first seeing any of the new Platinum Edition models, you can definitely see that Gateway was serious when they said “upscale”. The Platinum Edition models have a very sleek, rich metallic look with a polished finish. The build quality is also clearly a big step up from the typical Gateway/eMachine model. The notebook has a very sturdy and solid feel. I wouldn’t put it above the Thinkpads or some of the HP business class notebooks but it definitely surprised me. In fact, one of my co-workers went as far to say that the MX6750 was much more solid and better build quality than his Inspiron 6000.
Screen:
Like most of the more recent notebooks nowadays, the MX6750 sports a 15.4" wide screen with the glossy finish. Although, the glossy finish is great for gaming and watching DVD’s, these screens are much more prone to reflections and can be a pain in the neck depending on the lighting conditions you are in.
I was a bit weary about the glossy screen but after a couple days of use (in the office and at home), I did not experience any problems with the viewing angles or reflections. The screen seems to be on par with most other screens if not better (still love the Macbook Pro screen the best). Only gripe is that like most other notebooks today, there was some slight light leakage at the bottom when viewing a black background in a dark environment. The good news is that this is not noticeable during regular use and is not as bad as some of the horror stories I’ve heard with the Dell Inspiron 640m/6400 models.
Performance:
After reading the reviews of several other Intel Core Duo notebooks, I was really curious to see how the MX6750 would fare.
While typing this review and playing an audio CD, CPU usage hovered around the 2% mark. While typing and playing a DVD, the usage hovered around the 7% CPU usage mark.
Taking a cue from notebookreview.com, I decided to try running Super Pi for calculating Pi up to 2 Million digits:
Super Pi only – 1min 27 secs
Super Pi while watching DVD – 1 min 27 secs
Very nice results :)
Graphics:
Ah, the part I was looking forward to the most as I was very anxious to see how the x1400 stacked up as a mid tier gaming card.
At first, I was a little bit worried as my 3DMark05 scores were only hitting the 480’s-490’s. But after posting for some help in this forum, lazybum131 reminded me of ATI’s PowerPlay option which will typically reduce clock speeds if the AC Adapter is not connected. Sure enough, this was the issue and upon re-running 3DMark05 with the AC plugged in, the MX6750 scored a 2152. Nothing jaw dropping, but this score does approach the performance of the X700/GeForce Go 6600 graphic cards. Suffice it to say that this card should be capable of playing almost any game out there right now with the right tweaking.
Sound:
Although the specs for the MX6750 show High Definition audio, the sound quality seemed to be on par with most other notebooks on the market today. Perhaps, better speakers such as the Harmon Karden’s found on some of the Toshiba Qosmio models may have helped.
Battery:
The MX6750 comes with an 8 cell battery and so far I’ve been getting approximately 3.5 hours of life (regular to light use) and about 2.5 hours for straight DVD Playback.
Wireless:
Fitted with the Intel 3945 abg card, the range seems to be very good (much better than the Intel 2200 on my R51) with this card and I’ve come across no disconnect issues so far.
Keyboard and Touchpad:
The keyboard on the MX6750 has a nice soft feel and good response, but the Thinkpad keyboards are still my favourite. I would have to say that this keyboard has a similar feel to the Toshiba Satellite models. The touchpad is pretty standard and the buttons had a nice click feel to it.
OS and Software:
The MX6750 comes preloaded with Win XP MCE 2005 and your typical bloatware – Office 2003 trial, AOL trial, McAfee trial, MS Money, MS Encarta, MS Works, etc, etc.
Noise:
This is one very quiet notebook and I can’t remember ever noticing fan or any sort of clicking or humming noises at all while using it.
Portability:
With the 8 cell battery, the MX6750 weighs in about 6.5 lbs – not too bad. It hasn’t felt any heavier than my R51 Thinkpad when commuting to downtown T.O. on the GO train.
Heat:
After 20-30 mins of use, the bottom of the MX6750 does get warm but even after a couple of hours it’s temperature is still pretty much the same. At one point, I left the notebook on my dining table for about an hour without realizing that a small plastic bag was underneath, but thankfully I came back to find that the plastic bag did not melt at all.
Conclusion:
I think it would be an understatement to say that I was impressed with this notebook. After several years of mediocrity, Gateway seems to be back on the right track but for those who are still weary about the reliability – purchasing an extended warranty may help ease these fears. I have no qualms about recommending this notebook to others as it does provide great value and bang for the buck at only $1299 CDN. The Processor and graphics performance was impressive and besides some slight light leakage at the bottom (only noticeable on a pure black background in the dark), the screen is actually half decent - although WXGA+ or WSXGA would have been really the icing on the cake.
Pros:
+Intel Core Duo processor
+Radeon x1400 graphics card
+Runs quiet
+Sleek polished look and solid build quality
+Has a great feature set for the price (Gigabit LAN, firewire, 4 x USB and 4 in 1 media card reader, Svideo out, VGA, etc.)
+Decent screen
+Decent battery life
Cons:
-Keyboard not as firm as the Thinkpads and Dell’s
-Would like to see WXGA+ (1440x900)
-Better speakers would have been nice
-Reliability of Gateway still a question but so far so good
-No Toll Free Tech Support
Being fed up for the last time with the XGA screen on my R51 Thinkpad, I began the search for a new notebook. Having mainly been an IBM Thinkpad and Dell Inspiron/Latitude user for most of my life, I originally kept my search to both brands. But after trying several configurations with various models – I was beginning to lose hope that I was not going to be able to find the configuration (see below) I wanted in my price range (under $1500).
Any Core Duo notebook (except the T2300E)
Must have dedicated video card
Gigabit LAN
Wireless
1 GB RAM
At least 60 GB hard drive
Firewire
Minimum SXGA or WXGA resolution
DVD Burner
So I began looking at other brands such as HP, Averatec, Toshiba, Acer, etc. but still couldn’t find any model that met the above criteria. But after further research I came across the Gateway MX6750 Platinum Edition notebook. I’ve always been pretty skeptical about the build quality and reliability of the Gateway notebooks but after seeing a couple family members happy with their entry level Celery models for over a year now, I decided to at least check it out.
After doing further research, I found that the MX6750 notebook is one of the new Platinum Edition models which Gateway began rolling out earlier this year. The Platinum Edition models are being positioned as upscale/premium pc models of the Gateway brand that are focused on the entertainment and gaming experience.
The specifications of the MX6750 are as follows:
• Intel Core Duo Processor T2300 with Intel 945PM chipset
• Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
• 15.4" UltraBright WXGA (1280x800) display
• 1 GB DDR2 533MHz RAM
• Radeon Mobility x1400 with 256 MB Hypermemory (128 MB dedicated on board)
• 100GB 5400RPM Hitachi SATA Hard Drive
• 8X DVD +/- dual layer recorder
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet and 56K Modem
• High Definition Audio
• 8 cell battery
• Ports – Svideo out, VGA, IEEE 1394, 4 x USB 2.0, 4 in 1 card reader
• Type I/II PCMICA card slot
• Port replicator connector (on bottom)
• Price - $1299 CDN + tax
Upon first seeing any of the new Platinum Edition models, you can definitely see that Gateway was serious when they said “upscale”. The Platinum Edition models have a very sleek, rich metallic look with a polished finish. The build quality is also clearly a big step up from the typical Gateway/eMachine model. The notebook has a very sturdy and solid feel. I wouldn’t put it above the Thinkpads or some of the HP business class notebooks but it definitely surprised me. In fact, one of my co-workers went as far to say that the MX6750 was much more solid and better build quality than his Inspiron 6000.
Screen:
Like most of the more recent notebooks nowadays, the MX6750 sports a 15.4" wide screen with the glossy finish. Although, the glossy finish is great for gaming and watching DVD’s, these screens are much more prone to reflections and can be a pain in the neck depending on the lighting conditions you are in.
I was a bit weary about the glossy screen but after a couple days of use (in the office and at home), I did not experience any problems with the viewing angles or reflections. The screen seems to be on par with most other screens if not better (still love the Macbook Pro screen the best). Only gripe is that like most other notebooks today, there was some slight light leakage at the bottom when viewing a black background in a dark environment. The good news is that this is not noticeable during regular use and is not as bad as some of the horror stories I’ve heard with the Dell Inspiron 640m/6400 models.
Performance:
After reading the reviews of several other Intel Core Duo notebooks, I was really curious to see how the MX6750 would fare.
While typing this review and playing an audio CD, CPU usage hovered around the 2% mark. While typing and playing a DVD, the usage hovered around the 7% CPU usage mark.
Taking a cue from notebookreview.com, I decided to try running Super Pi for calculating Pi up to 2 Million digits:
Super Pi only – 1min 27 secs
Super Pi while watching DVD – 1 min 27 secs
Very nice results :)
Graphics:
Ah, the part I was looking forward to the most as I was very anxious to see how the x1400 stacked up as a mid tier gaming card.
At first, I was a little bit worried as my 3DMark05 scores were only hitting the 480’s-490’s. But after posting for some help in this forum, lazybum131 reminded me of ATI’s PowerPlay option which will typically reduce clock speeds if the AC Adapter is not connected. Sure enough, this was the issue and upon re-running 3DMark05 with the AC plugged in, the MX6750 scored a 2152. Nothing jaw dropping, but this score does approach the performance of the X700/GeForce Go 6600 graphic cards. Suffice it to say that this card should be capable of playing almost any game out there right now with the right tweaking.
Sound:
Although the specs for the MX6750 show High Definition audio, the sound quality seemed to be on par with most other notebooks on the market today. Perhaps, better speakers such as the Harmon Karden’s found on some of the Toshiba Qosmio models may have helped.
Battery:
The MX6750 comes with an 8 cell battery and so far I’ve been getting approximately 3.5 hours of life (regular to light use) and about 2.5 hours for straight DVD Playback.
Wireless:
Fitted with the Intel 3945 abg card, the range seems to be very good (much better than the Intel 2200 on my R51) with this card and I’ve come across no disconnect issues so far.
Keyboard and Touchpad:
The keyboard on the MX6750 has a nice soft feel and good response, but the Thinkpad keyboards are still my favourite. I would have to say that this keyboard has a similar feel to the Toshiba Satellite models. The touchpad is pretty standard and the buttons had a nice click feel to it.
OS and Software:
The MX6750 comes preloaded with Win XP MCE 2005 and your typical bloatware – Office 2003 trial, AOL trial, McAfee trial, MS Money, MS Encarta, MS Works, etc, etc.
Noise:
This is one very quiet notebook and I can’t remember ever noticing fan or any sort of clicking or humming noises at all while using it.
Portability:
With the 8 cell battery, the MX6750 weighs in about 6.5 lbs – not too bad. It hasn’t felt any heavier than my R51 Thinkpad when commuting to downtown T.O. on the GO train.
Heat:
After 20-30 mins of use, the bottom of the MX6750 does get warm but even after a couple of hours it’s temperature is still pretty much the same. At one point, I left the notebook on my dining table for about an hour without realizing that a small plastic bag was underneath, but thankfully I came back to find that the plastic bag did not melt at all.
Conclusion:
I think it would be an understatement to say that I was impressed with this notebook. After several years of mediocrity, Gateway seems to be back on the right track but for those who are still weary about the reliability – purchasing an extended warranty may help ease these fears. I have no qualms about recommending this notebook to others as it does provide great value and bang for the buck at only $1299 CDN. The Processor and graphics performance was impressive and besides some slight light leakage at the bottom (only noticeable on a pure black background in the dark), the screen is actually half decent - although WXGA+ or WSXGA would have been really the icing on the cake.
Pros:
+Intel Core Duo processor
+Radeon x1400 graphics card
+Runs quiet
+Sleek polished look and solid build quality
+Has a great feature set for the price (Gigabit LAN, firewire, 4 x USB and 4 in 1 media card reader, Svideo out, VGA, etc.)
+Decent screen
+Decent battery life
Cons:
-Keyboard not as firm as the Thinkpads and Dell’s
-Would like to see WXGA+ (1440x900)
-Better speakers would have been nice
-Reliability of Gateway still a question but so far so good
-No Toll Free Tech Support