A few questions before buying (FX series)...

Hello, all.
I am new to these forums, but have been reading for a while now. I do not currently own a laptop, but should be ordering my first notebook in a few days (as I should be shipping out May 22 for the Army) and have a few questions before doing so. I did look around and do my research but was unable to find the answers, so I figured I'd go ahead and ask people much more knowledgeable than I. Thanks in advance for all of your help!

I am considering buying the P171XL FX, or the P172X FX. There are a few noticeable differences between the two, but I want to know what warrants the huge price difference.

Currently online gateway is offering the P171XL FX for $2,800.00 vs $2,000.00 for the P172X FX.

The noticeable differences are that the higher end version has (2x200GB Hard Drive, 3gigs of RAM, and the 2.8GHz X7900) vs. (2x160GB Hard Drive, 4gigs of RAM, and the 2.4 T8300) in the lower end counter part. Oh, lets not forget that the P171XL FX has its HD-DVD that is absolutely moot at this point.

So 800 bucks gets you: .4GHz (.6GHz if you over clock the X7900), 80GB worth of hard drive space and a gig less ram.

Can anyone tell me what makes it worthwhile to get the P171XL FX? Am I just paying for the outdated HD-DVD, because we could all could get a great processor for less than the $800.00 price difference.

Secondly, should I choose to go with the P172X FX, I am curious about the 4 gigs of ram. My understanding is that the 32 bit version of Vista only utilizes 3 gigs of ram (even though it will recognize there is 4 gigs). So if this is correct, and assuming Gateway knows this tidbit as well, does anyone know if they are shipping the P172X FX with the 64 bit version of vista?

I have heard many people talk about upgrading to 64 bit Vista, but I can't imagine that Gateway would ship its laptops with an OS that it knows wont recognize the components it has put inside. Right? Right?

Oh, Well. Thanks again for any input or advise, I just want to make sure I am spending my money wisely. And again, many of you know this kinda stuff better than I, so any input is appreciated!

 

If you're going to be shipping out, depending on where you will be. You might want to consider getting the Sager 5793 instead. If you're willing to shell out that amount, the 5793 will definitely fit in your budget, give better performance, and be sturdier to boot. I would go for the 172X, as I personally feel the 172XL is pointless at this stage.

Whichever laptop you choose, definitely go for an accidental warranty upgrade.

 

go with p172x fx. hd dvd is long gone

 

Any idea as to whether or not the 172X (with 4 gigs of ram) is shipped with Vista 64 bit (as that would make sense)? Thanks for the quick response guys!

 

I'm pretty sure the 171X FX came with 32 bit, no clue about the 172X, you might try calling up Gateway, but don't be surprised if you get conflicting answers.

 

with that money you can buy something better then gateway...

 

i got the 6860 and it came preloaded with vista 64 bit, but..... it also came with a gateway vista 32/64 dvd to load either op. i wiped it clean and loaded the 32 bit op pre activated. i wonder if this holds true for the 171 & 172 class.... if so you could go either way. and if shelling out 2800 bucks or more...i would go with sager or clevo as well.

 

Yeah, i'll third the Sager 5793 sentiment. If your budget is $2000-$2500, get yourself a Sager 5793. I would recommend using XoticPC.com they're excellent and is probably the most reputable reseller here in the States and I've heard nothing but great things from people over at the Sager/Clevo forums.

 

Personally... I'd get the 6860FX... then use the extra money I saved on something else. If you really want close to the bleeding edge you could do better than gateway at your price point, but then in 6 months you'll be on the bottom again just like with any PC purchase.

Unless you're doing super serious gaming I think the 6860 is a super great bang for the buck and it handles nearly all current games at max settings... and if you are doing some serious gaming... upgrade to something better than gateway.

Best Buy has the 6860 for 1249.99 with a free PC game (up to 49.99)... you can also get a Vista Ultimate upgrade CD for 99... and I think there's also a printer deal in there too... probably just until Sunday though.

Your choice though... this is just my opinion.

 

I'll be shipping out for the Marine Corps on May 19th myself. But anyway,I'd go with the 6860, its reasonably durable, easily upgradable and a much better cost/performance ratio than any other gateway.

 

The 6860 (from Best Buy if im not mistaken) comes loaded with 4 gigs of RAM like the 172X, right? So that could be why Gateway had preloaded Vista 64 Bit, and could be a clue a to whether they would load the 172X with 32 or 64....

As for getting a Sager or a Gateway for the money... Well, I am pretty impressed with the amount that you get from Gateway for the money. And at that price point (the 2k range) there is little to no difference between what you get from the two different companies. Sure, if I was willing to go a little higher to like 3-4k, then Sager would look like my best option, but no dice there.

Also, Gateway (or their alternative financing company) does some good things for US military personnel in the financing area.

 

Hey, yeah, sorry for the confusion if so... I am not currently serving in the US Army and shipping out to Iraq or somewhere else. I will be shipping out to Basic Combat Training on May 22 for 9 weeks, and to AIT at Fort Huachuca, Arizona for AIT after Basic. I will be in AIT for 47 weeks and 3 days, as my MOS has one of the longest training periods. Speaking of which, my MOS is 35T: Military Intelligence Systems Maintainer/Integrator. I am really looking forward to this, but am sad because I will be away from my wife for so long. It's really important to get a laptop by the time I am at AIT because:

a) I can have/use electronics etc, at that point.
b) Having a laptop will allow me to converse with my wife, family and friends.
c) It (gaming) will give me something to do vs. getting into trouble while being so far away from the wife and being with a bunch younguns (I am 25).

 

I am not currently in the USMC myself either and I am shipping out for boot camp as well, then to Infantry school and then either to Twenty Nine Palms, CA or FL for my MOS school. I chose a laptop for just about the same reasons as you plus the fact that I'll use it for distance learning as well, although the age related reason doesn't apply to me since I am 18

I'll probably buy a higher end notebook when this one is useless (which won't be for at least 3 years) since I'll have more money then.

 

Yeah, Cyclist14, thats the Corp for ya. You are a rifleman first. Your job comes second. As for the laptop itself, I want play some games like Starcraft 2 when it ships, and currently Sins of a Solar Empire which are a bit CPU intensive. Thats why I want at least the 2.4GHz processor in the 172X and why I was considering the 171XL.

Looks like the 172X is the way to go for now, and it seems that it may have 64 bit loaded if Gateway made the same decision as they did with the 6860. We'll see when I talk to my rep.

As for the financing, I just need to do so until I get my Enlistment bonus. Then Ill pay it off. But in the mean time Gateway has good financing options for military personnel.

 

yeah, the 172x FX has a better display and CPU than the 6860 FX so that would be the better option, although you could have an upgraded 6860 for less (although it would have a voided warranty )

 

Actually, no. If you're shelling out more than 2k+, you can get better stuff on the Sager.

5793
T8300
320 GB 5400 HDD
8800M GTX
1680 x 1050
2302 (My guess is no tax unless you live in the state)

172X
T8300
320 GB (160 x 2) 7200 RPM
8800M GTS
1920 x 1200
1999 + tax.

Depending on where you are, the 172X works out to be about 2100-2200.

For the $100+, you get the 8800M GTX, but lose the 7200 RPM drives and some resolution. You could shell out more and equalize the screen, as well as get a better processor. These are merely hardware differences. Chassis/service and warranty issues are another matter.

What I think the 172X has going for it over the Sager is its warranty. You can get a 3 year accidental damange warranty with on site service for a relatively low price. That's probably it's greatest selling point for me.

If you're comparing the 172XL to the 5793, don't even bothering to go there.

 

The P-172x fx costs $2209.97 with a 3 year accidental damage warranty/ System warranty. The warranty it self is $259.98. You can get 10% off the price by haggling with a sales rep, I would suggest Rico, I got a huge discount when these where in preorder. While the Sager is a awesome laptop, you also my do good with the P-6080fx thats the best buys version fx series, for $1,249.99 with a 8800gts you can't find anything that comes close.

 

yep, the buying point for the 5793 for me would have to be the 8800m gtx. the 8800m gts was the buying point to get the 6860 in the first place.

 

Buy the P-6080fx and use the extra $1,000.00 to buy a x9000, and still have enough to buy 2-200gb 7200rpm hard drives, set them up in raid0 woot! sweet!

 

and you would still have cash left over after that...lol

 

What's up OORaidenOO? Greetings from a Marine Corporal in Iraq! I have had my P-171XL FX for about a month now, and couldn't be happier with it. At the time I ordered it, it was on sale for 2699.99, which I got a 10% discount on top of by going thru sales rep Rico Baeza. (He is very helpful and highly recommended). I did however order lots of extras which probably helped get that discount, including the 3-year basic warranty and 3-year accidental damage plan, which I believe is essential in the military, especially if you deploy alot. All in all my total came to about $3G even, not too bad considering tax and the warranties. But in retrospect, would I get the XL FX over the X FX? Probably not. I don't really have buyers remorse, but as it stands now the extra clock speed, HDD space and HD DVD ROM aren't worth the extra $ (why oh why can't they offer Blu-Ray now?). Keep in mind at the time I ordered mine the X FX wasn't to the 172s yet, it was still the 171s which had less RAM and didn't have the dual, RAID'ed HDDs, so the XL seemed like a better deal than it is now.

And that's my 2cents.

 

hey, i think you can buy Bluray drives for laptops. Aren't they all standardized or do they need to be brand specific?

For the record, I love my 6860FX, I was originally looking at buying a Sager, for months actually, but I just didn't want to spend the extra $1000 for the 5793(T9300,8800GTX,4G RAM). I just upgraded the processor to a T9300 and it's running outstanding for all my games, maxed out in most. The 8800GTS that comes in these Gateway's are mighty impressive, as I've got most games jacked up. Even before I upgraded the processor, I still had no problems playing just about every new game I have.

In other gaming news, GTAIV should come to PC in the Fall, the latest rumor that Rockstar says "no comment" to, which isn't a "no" and will probably come within 6-8 months like the previous titles. I just hope you guys that are deployed have easy access to buy games, not sure how that works.

 

Thanks for all the great help guys! I really do appreciate all the input.

Again, one reason I am interested in the gateway is due to the excellent financing options presented to me for military personnel, and warranties offered. I believe I have decided upon the 172X. Besides, gateway no longer has the 171XL listed on their website, so I'll have to wait and see if they are releasing the 172XL version and what it's specs are.

And as compared to a Sager NP5793 configured the same as the 172X it comes to $2,521.03 at xoticpc.com. Configured as such includes the T8300 CPU, 8800 512 GTX GPU, 4GB of RAM, 17" WUXGA 1920x1200 screen, 1x320GB 5400RPM hard drive and all other components including fingerprint reader, wifi, bluetooth and camera... I think you forgot an OS when determining price that was $2,302.00, dtwn83. So add Windows 64Bit to boot, which brings the grand total to the $2,521.03. Thats $500.00 more than the 172X, not to mention that the hard drives really aren't equal at all.

So if I am getting bang for the buck, without coming out of pocket to upgrade the CPU in the P-6080FX or a different laptop I think I'll go with Gateway for sure, and currently the 172X to be specific. Again we'll have to see whats up with the 172XL when they drop it!

As for the 172X...Has anyone found out definitively whether or not they have Vista 64bit included in the 172X to match the 4GB of RAM?

Thanks again everyone, YOU ALL ROCK!!!

 

im going to go out on a limb here, but i think the whole fx class 6831/6860 & 172x have the same case and motherboard.(speculation and guessing) with that said. the 172 series is configured with higher end stuff while the 6831/6860 are pre configured lessor models, but cost less money to upgrade to a machine higher in specs to the 172 models.. (is what im thinking)

gateway should have let this series (fx) be configured by th buyer.

example.
i paid 1350 tax included
x9000 $612 dollars
1920x1200 screen $325

$2287 haven't gotten the extended warranty yet.... still debating.

and the only thing it's missing is a fingerprint scanner.
172 comes with dual 160 gb hd's while the 6860 comes with one 320 gb hd


6831/6860 still beats the price with money left over, but for those not wanting to take chances...then of course..the 172x

and that's my 3 cents...

oh yeah...and you get the out dated hd dvd rom drive

 

the 171 is dedicated video....

 

I am in the same boat here. I calculated it out, and the cheapest thing to do is to go to best buy, the the 6860, upgrade the CPU form Newegg, enjoy the fact (I think) that the 6860 has a 64-bit OS, and then buy another 320gb hdd, and setup data striping.

It nets you this....

2.4ghz Penryn
4gb of usable ram
8800gts with the perfect gaming display (you don't want much higher)
640gb of data striped HDD space

for the price of $1700

then get the 3 year warranty.