Official M-6862 & M-6864FX owners thread

Hi folks,

Can Owners of Gateway M-6862 tell me how they like LIKE your WXGA Screen!?!?

Anyone wishing that had WXGA+ or WSXGA+ screen on the laptop!?!?
Forget about the cost ... just wondering ...

Thanks,

G!

 

Hi folks,

Can someone run the "PC Wizard" program and tell us who is the Manufacturer of the M-6862 screen!?!?

PC Wizard 2008.1.85
http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

Thanks,

G!

 

The screen has good and bad points. The worst point is of course is that it's glossy. I really dislike glossy screens on the other hand this appears to be a transflective LCD so it's visible in direct sunlight. So it's not perfect but it's tolerable. At home I use a viewsonic VX2025WM so I never really have to stare at the laptop screen all that much.

The LCD Panel on the laptop appears to be Samsung 154AT01-A01

 

Hi sigseg,

Thanks for the Screen info and the feel. You know I like PCW so much I keep forgetting the same info is available from Device Manager.

G!

 

I have no issues with the screen. I use it 100% indoors, mostly for internet.

 

Has anyone opened up the M-6862 to see if there is an EXPANSION slot available.

The Specs on Gateway suggest that might be an "Option" on some M-6862s ... but I don't think ours has that option.

Thanks,

G!

 

1 week owner of the 6862 and I love it.....especially the price. I am having no problems but decided to undervolt and am down to 1.0 on all with stable conditions. Runs alot cooler. As I type this core temps are 29.8 and usually top out in the upper 60's to low 70's where before it was mid 80's while stressing.

HWmonitor though doesn't seem to give me the video temp HD2600. I am using vista 64 formatted drive and clean install.

What other programs can I use for graphics temp monitoring besides hwmonitor or what am I doing wrong?

 

Nevermind,

Need to use the 32 bit program for the graphics to show up.

Thanks for starting this thread.

 

Just for fun I turned off voltages for all but the 6 and 12 and it seems I have increased performance significantly....Is this to be expected?

 

Hi mstng,

Living on the wild side ... hmmm!

G!

 

I don't know personally I think the screens beautiful. On a side note I think 1440x900 is nicer but then I've got no qualms with 1280x800. IMO very nice. Then again, so far I've used my notebook predominately in low light conditions so I don't get much glare. When used in front of the light, it does glare, as is to be expected.

 

Hi folks,

I turned on my Gateway M-6862 on yesterday ... Vista 64 is not as bad as I thought to be ... may be is the SP1 fix. I wanted XP Pro SP2 or SP3 ... since I know all of my Freewares would definitely run on that OS. After I make my Recovery Discs I will try out all my freeware and make a list what works and doesn't.

Appearance: I LOVE the laptop ... it is much, much nicer than the Blue or Red versions ... Silver Brushed Metal and Audio Keys on top look great.

Speakers are so, so .. not loud enough for my taste.

Screen is much better than I thought it to be ... the display model of Gateway at BB DO NOT do justice to this screen. I love the 1280X800 resolution also ... works fine for me so far.

Wireless ... I kinda tested the Wireless on it ... I am not sure if the Intel 4965 in this laptop is really working as a 4965 ... or may be there is another issue ... reception was weaker than my Intel 4965 in my Sager 2092 (Compal JFL92).

Webcam: Works perfectly .. love the webcam Helper Side Bar ... 1.3MP cam is Ok ... I was spoiled with 2.0MP cam on my Sager.

5-in-1 Card: I played with the Blank ... pushing it in and out ... got stuck ... so I thought "oh crap" ... but worked after fiddle'ing with it. For a minute I thought here it goes Gateway!

USB: I tried one of them Nice and tight ... and connects A-OK and fast. I plugged in my 320GB External on AC.

Power Plug: Nice and Tight feeling to it. so far so good.

Fan: Works and super quiet. Not Gamed at all yet ... so!

OK ... now I have some Q for you folks ...

Q: What Bloatware (TRIAL Softwares that came with M-6862) did you folks Uninstall from the laptop?

I was planning to get rid of "Norton 360" - "Napster" - "eBay" - "Microsoft Office Suite" ...

Did I miss anything else!?!?

Thanks,

G!

 

seriously gon, ***. Is this the first time youve touched a computer?

Anyways has anyone gone to windows xp? Any serious differences?

 

I wiped my drive clean and started with a fresh copy of vista 64....No problems so far...Not a believer that simply uninstalling will get everything.

Thanks....Now I also notice the flex on the left side of the keyboard.

 

I was messing around with 3dMark06 today, stock score is a little above 3600. So I wanted to try my hand at overclocking, load up AMD GPU Clock tool (because that's the only one I got to work) and it shows me the attached image.

Hmm, is that tool reporting the stock clock speeds wrong? 297/405 doesn't sound right, or is there some multiplier for those?

Thanks,
Clint

 

Hi mstng ... I wonder if you just blew your 1 year Gateway Warranty ... since you wiped the HD clean!!!

G!

 

Hi Mobile,

I have not mess around with OC ... but here i sone Thread ...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=124420

Also, I think I recall seeing another Thread here on NBR which is specifically talking about OCing this Specific ATI HD2600 card ... use the search button on top ... and you will see it.

Post back your results.

G!

 

OK, OK, I removed the comment on the Keyboard ... I was comparing it to my Compal! But, I guess you are right ... it ain't that bad!

G!

 

gonwk, yeah I agree with your review of it. The speakers aren't bad but external speakers are better.
As for bloatware, basically all I removed was napster and ebay. I figured if they're giving me 60 days of Norton I'll just use it w/ Comodo. Not a big Norton fan but if I got it why not. Didn't remove microsoft office cause I needed something to hold me over until my Microsoft Office disk comes in the mail (need it for classes).

 

i got a question so my speakers sounded funny like it wasn't balance and so i play music with winamp and when i moved the balance from center to left and center to right, the right side was much louder then left side, is this happening to anyone else?

 

Quite possibly....

Unless by "accident" I just so happen to have a hard drive failure also....

 

Hi Justin ... for after your Trial periood of Norton A/V .. you might consider using Avira.

BTW ... for other folks who are wondering ... here is a good combo that I use ... plus few other stuff that I mess around with and experiment.

FREE AntiVirus: "Avira Antivir"
http://www.free-av.com/

FREE Firewall: "Comodo Firewall Pro"
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

FREE Anti-Spyware: "SuperAntiSpyware"
http://www.superantispyware.com/

Hope this is of some help!

G!

 

Hi Vince,

I found out when you double-click on your Audio Icon in the Tray ... and say Expand ... you will notice that your "Levels" are messed up ... just Max them out ... that helped me with the sound.

I hope that was your Q.

G!

 

do you mean when i go to my sounds properties and the level tab is messed up? i see speakers and its not at max because i don't want it max

 

Hi Vince,

I already turned off my laptop for the day ... I gotta run some errands ... will play with it tomorrow ... to see what you mean .. I think I might have misunderstood your Q.

G!

 

Took some Gaming Benchmarks/Pics in Vista x64 (XP would have been better):
System: M-6862
3DMark05
Stock Clock: 5623
Overclocked: 5976 (621/714)

DMC 4
Avg FPS: 35~40fps

Pictures:

 

nicee screenshots! i'd really like a high res hmm is it worth it if i just had extra money to kill and buy a 15.4 screen that has higher res then 1280x800? or is that a waste of money and too much of a hassle

 

hey krazy are you gonna boot XP on the laptop?

 

Yeah I'm using Comodo right now (in tandem with Norton), will look into Avira and superantispyware

Right now I'm running Avast!, Comodo, and killing the 60 day trial of Norton 360

 

Yeah once my classes are over for the day I'm going to load up XP which will probably run like the wind on the laptop!

Then I'll post some more 3DMark05/3DMark06 scores.

Maybe add in some Halo 2 screens!

Note: Devil May Cry 4 is running on max everything at 2xAA

 

nicee, man i debating on a dual boot, is that what you're planning to do?

 

Hi krazyphire ... when you install your XP (what ver!?!?) ... let us know if you could find all the "Drivers" for everything. Also, since you are going thru the trouble see if they have the BlueTooth drivers. I know our M-6862 does not come stock with BT ... but in Gateway's website puts it as an "Option" ... so there must be a driver out there for it.

If you find all of them ... may be you can load them up on a "Freeware" share site.

Thanks,

G!

 

Um. It doesn't come with bluetooth so why do you need drivers for it?
If you are adding bluetooth, either the Microsoft Bluetooth Stack will work, or the drivers for the bluetooth module will work.
Yes, you can add bluetooth. There is a mini-card slot right next to the wireless card. This same mobo is used on other gateway laptops that come with bluetooth. I'm thinking of ordering the Dell 370 Bluetooth module, but I'm going to borrow my friend's first to test it.

How do you guys have so many copies of XP? I don't get it, a ton of people are installing XP over Vista.
Vista is running great for me. Solid Edge, and NX love the full 4gig of ram. Btw, I run zero antivirus, anti-spyware programs, and I just leave the windows firewall on.

also about the sound card. Do you guys hear a distinctive hissing when you plug in Ear buds into the headphone port? I mean a white noise type low hissing. Always there, even when I turn on Mute. Also it starts to do a static like clicking when I use the video card a lot (like rotating assemblies). Btw, I'm using Sennheiser cx300b, Shure e2c, d-jays, and Koss porta pros.

I had a thinkpad T42p with some ridiculous resolution screen. It was the most annoying thing ever. The desktop icons were tiny, text was close to unreadable, and browsing web pages was a hassle since everything was tiny, and stayed at one side of the screen. Sure you could turn up the dpi/text size/zoom, but that just made everything go out of proportion. Since then, I've specifically asked not to get high resolution screens unless the screen was physically bigger, like my dell 2407wfp.

also, did anybody here get a lite-on ac adapter? Both laptops I got were made by some unknown company, and they are wider than most ac adapters, almost like the Xbox 360 adapter proportions.

 

Hi gecko,

1) Before you order your DELL BT Module ... I think you might want to Open Up your M-6862 and see if there is a "Spare" Slot for the Mini-Card to go into!!! BTW ... I have to have BT connection!

2) Boy, I am saddened to hear that there is a "Hiss" problem with the Headphone Jack ... I have to check it ... but if it is true then I am SOL'ed ... sinc eI was hoping to get a louder sound via my earphones ... oh well ... plus BB has the crappy 15% restocking fee that makes it tough to return the unit under 2 weeks and not get cheated.

G!

 

hey gecko i just plugged in some sandisk earbuds that came with my sansa e260 and i do hear a hissing but its VERY VERY low i had to like put my hands against my ear with ear bud to hear it but its like so low i don't know its there , my volume was at MAX too

EDIT* i plugged in my headphones (plantronics audio 90s) and did the same thing pressed against my ear but i can't even hear anything

 

ohh i got bluetooth, came with my canadian m-6873h.
So nobody has put xp on it yet?

 

Yea. There is an extra slot. Its just empty right now, and is parallel to the wireless card slot. The two slots are exactly the same. I would open it again and take a pic , but the panel is horribly designed and is hard to take off. Also there is plenty of room to stick an antenna in there for the bluetooth, and there are two screw mounting holes for the card.

For now I'm using the Mogo bluetooth module (apparently one of the smallest usb bluetooth adapters), but I can't stand the bluesoeil bluetooth drivers that it is only compatible with. Can't complain too much since it was free.

I'm pretty sure the hissing is from all the electronic interference. Since it's there at the same volume now matter what you do in windows. I was just trying to confirm if it's just my laptop or present in everybody's laptop. The hissing is in my thinkpads too, just very very low compared to this one. It is very clear and unbearable on my d-jays, but then again they pickup the hiss from ipods (had to get a special connector for my ipod to get rid of the hiss).

 

Yeah I get a bit of a hiss when I use headphones but if I remember correctly every computer I've ever had headphones in would give a hiss. Its like the feedback from a stereo.

I don't know

Anybody noticed a whine similar to the hiss coming out of their laptop? Comes from around the Caps lock/a/s key area. I'm thinking it could just the processor making its noise (since I've noticed all processors make some kind of noise).

 

hey i got a question, my temps are normal not so hot but just for the hell of it, should i open up laptop and replace thermal paste with my AS5?

 

I found pictures of the extra slot for Bluetooth or another wireless card. Just goto the Part Replacement pdf on gateway's website.
http://support.gateway.com/s/Manuals/Mobile/8512565.pdf
Scroll down to the last two pages where it tells you how to replace the wireless module. Look at the pictures carefully, and you'll see the extra slow.

 

Hi gecko,

THANKS! +rep!

I must have downloaded ton of PDF files from Gateways ... I don't know how I missed this little jewel!

Gecko ... am I missing something ... looking at picture in Step 9 and going to picture showing Steps 10 & 11 ... the Antenna wires magically disapper!!!

Thanks,

G!

 

Hi folks,

@ gecko or anyone else ...

If you add a Bluetooth mini-card to your Gateway M-6862 laptop ... please post back with the following ...

1) How many Antenna Wires there are ... 2 or 3? I haven't got around opening mine ... so busy at work and at home I haven't even had the laptop on.

2) Order of the Antenna Wires Colors? For Example form Left to Right wires go in RED - WHITE - then BLUE (I just used those colors for example ... I am not sure what the colors are).

3) Also Model of the Mini-Card that you used! And where did you buy it from and how much?

Thanks,

G!

 

Okay that didn't work so well in the first run, and I had to recover it to vista 32bit. I'm going to try it again with all of the drivers on a USB.

 

Thanks for the great info so far peeps. I just got my gateway the other day and this is my first notebook. I am typically a desktop guy and I am suprised at the amount of updating you can do to this system.

 

Welcome to the Club!

 

if anyone is having temp problems, go with power saving mode. i went from 68c on cores and 73c on gpu with WoW up using performance to 50c cpu /63c gpu with power saving, and thats with a cooler.

 

Hi folks,

You won't believe what I just found out by mere chance (playing around with 2008 PC Wizard program) ... my Gateway M-6862 instead of having a T5750 in it ... like the box says ... it actually has a T7200 in it. That means a notch better CPU ... 2.0GHz but an 4MB L2 vs the 2MB L2 for T5750.

G!

 

Now, did you open the computer to check this or is this from a PCWizard like observation? Those CPU programs are easily fooled by this CPU because the T5750 is essentially a budget T7200.

 

Well ... I'll check that out when I open it up for adding my BT card and other stuff.

G!

 

Would the drivers in the link below work for the HD2600 in this notebook (6862)?

I ask because I couldn't find the HD2600 under the mobility radeon on ATI/AMD's official website. I had to go through their regular Radeon (desktop) to get to this driver.

I'd like to have my driver completely up to date as right now I have stock drivers (8.452.0.0), and the ones in the link are 8.9 I believe.

http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx?p=vista64/common-vista64