I buy laptop computers more often than usual. Why? They have great deal on a particular model, then I buy it, use it for a while, then give (or sell it under its value) to a family member who needs a computer. More like a charity work than an average consumer behavior. That is why I don’t usually choose a top-of-the-line machine when I shop for a laptop. Even if I use it for work, all I need is basic applications like Remote Desktop connection, Firefox, and Open Office. My newly purchased Gateway M-6850FX is a slightly different story. This time I decided to get a laptop where I can do work AND play games. But does it deliver what I need?

First, this laptop is a BestBuy-exclusive. I don’t think you can find this model in any other stores. This is also my 4th laptop purchase from BestBuy. Therefore this review will cover the laptop itself as well as the experiences with the BestBuy. I also submitted an honest review to their website, but apparently they decided not to put it.

Why BestBuy?

I don’t know why Gateway chose them as a partner,  but I know why I did. BestBuy used to have the best deals when you combine their credit card and in-store discounts on certain items. I got my first Compaq laptop ($770), and paid it over a year with their interest-free credit card. Couple years after, second and third laptops were purchased using the same card, but with a less-better deal (6-month no-interest). Last time I checked, they were always giving 6-month interest-free deal on any laptop. While I was expecting the same deal, I realized it is now 3-month interest-free (or 90-day SAC) if you purchase a laptop with their credit card. If there is a competitor with much cheaper price, you can just buy from them with a regular credit card, and after 3 months maybe it will cost you less (depending on how much APR you get) This is something you may want to consider.

Store Pickup or Free Shipping

This laptop was available in one of the local stores here in Southern California. They were also offering free shipping. Unlike my three previous purchases, I chose the shipping option this time, naively thinking that they would ship it from a warehouse in California. They shipped the computer somewhere from Ohio, and after a week I received a dented box. I don’t want to blame anybody in particular, these things could happen during any shipment.  Luckily computer came in one piece, and the force that caused the dent didn’t reach the laptop. Note to self: Select Store Pickup, NOT the Free Shipping.

Features

This model was the only one with a powerful dedicated graphics (ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600) and a price tag of $900. Please note that there are typos in BestBuy’s website stating the graphics chip is 2600HT  and 2600XT. There is no such model as 2600HT, and according to GPU-Z this model has regular 2600, not XT. It has 512 MB GDDR3 which is pretty good comparing to industry average. It also features an HDMI output for an HD experience. I didn’t have a cable to test it but if you have an HDTV/projector with HDMI input this is the way to connect it and enjoy your movies/games on a bigger screen. Native resolution is 1200×800 for the LCD screen on the laptop, but I am sure it can be changed for other screens you connect to.

Intel Core2Duo T5550 CPU running at 1.83 Ghz is sufficient, and 3GB DDR2 667 memory is more than what I have on my desktop. Then again, it is running Windows Vista so it needs all that juice. 320 GB disk is more than enough unless you collect movies and/or do film editing.  5400 RPM doesn’t really feel slow, and I think it is better NOT to have 7200 in this machine since it is already procuding enough heat.

Built-in web cam is always convenient to communicate with your friends and families without any need of wearing a headset and installing a USB camera. Speakers on this model is not that good so you may still want to consider headphones. But the volume control is pretty cool and innovative: It’s a small pad with (-) and (+) on each end. You can either press the signs to adjust the volume (traditional), or slide your finger on the pad (innovative). Still it cannot beat the wheel the Toshiba Qosmio has.

This is the first time I encountered a  laptop with no lock mechanisms or latches on the cover.  You close the cover, and it closes! You don’t need to push a button to unlock it. It is not too easy to close it by one hand at the first time since it tends to shut itself fast and tight. In my first attempt I closed too fast kind of bang the cover. This feature got rid of unnecessary extra pieces that may give you headache in the future.

Touch pad and buttons don’t feel any better than an average laptop. Same for the optical drive (DVD writer) which has the more economical “tray” style rather than the more convenient and cool “slot” one. Built-in card reader is a plus so you can transfer your photos and other data from your memory card. 3 USB ports are conveniently located – one on the right, 2 on the left.

Annoyances

“Comes with built-in electric heater” – that’s what I put under “Cons” when I submit my review to BestBuy, and it is true. All that power comes with a price – and that’s usually the heat. I am sure many other similar laptops produce this much heat, but for a machine that is advertised as a “gaming laptop” it could have a better design so that heat would not interfere with the actual usage. To be more specific, rear left corner of the laptop gets hot. And that’s where you put your left hand if you are playing a typical 3D game that uses W-A-S-D keys. Now you have a hand sizzling on a grill that says Intel and ATI on it OK it’s not really that bad, you may just find it annoying sometimes.

Another little annoyance is the left CTRL key. It is as small as you expect on a laptop keyboard, and inconveniently located between the Fn key and the Windows key. If your game uses that key, good luck – you either do nothing by pressing Fn or go back to desktop by pressing the Windows (but you get lucky 1/3 of the time)

Battery Life

Gateway M-6850FX comes with a 6-cell battery, which is the very basic battery you get with most of the laptops. I could not find any upgrade options or a better battery for this model. After it boots up, it shows about 2.5 hours estimated battery time on Balanced power plan. Of course that’s because there was no activity going on at that time. Once you start firing applications that use the CPU and the harddisk, that estimated time goes down to 1.5 or even 1 hour. I did a little test with a relatively heavy load. I connected a laser mouse, and played some Team Fortress 2 over the Internet. So not only CPU and GPU was used, wireless and some USB power was utilized as well. Under this conditions I was able play total of 1 hour, then Steam politely showed a popup that I had only 6 minutes of battery life left without interrupting my game (that’s Steam’s feature, not the laptop’s). I consider 1 hour of gameplay with a 6-cell battery pretty good. However if you are going to a cafe without electric plugs and expect to run this laptop for few hours, it is best to find a battery upgrade when available.

Performance

I only tested 2 games: Day of Defeat: Source, and Team Fortress 2. Both are DirectX 9 games. I haven’t tried any software that takes advantage of Vista’s latest Direct X 10. However none of the games above had any problems/slowdowns during the gameplay, and they were on high settings by default. As for the business performance part, I only do remote desktop so this computer’s performance kind of irrelevant to me. If you wish to see any benchmark however, please let me know I can run it for you. Below are the Windows Vista’s performance scores:

CPU 4.8
RAM 4.5
Graphics 5.9
Gaming Graphics 5.1
Harddisk 5.3

Conclusion

If you are gamer with a $900 budget, this is your best bet. It will satisfy most of your gaming needs on the go, and deliver everything else for your work and entertainment. If you don’t play 3D games, or if you want the best performance available you should look at other alternatives. 7.5/10