So what will be changed in the next upgraded version of the gateway P-6860FX?

Because I was planning on getting the P-6860FX on sale for 1099 (pretty good deal) but once I got home from vacation, Bestbuy took it off display.

The sales rep told me that they should be coming in with a newer version in only a couple weeks.

This surprised me, I was thinking it would take a lot longer but then again this is a pretty popular laptop and I suppose they want to get it back on the market ASAP.

Any how, considering gateways website has updated the P-172FX to the P-173FX with a better processor, more ram, bigger harddrive, 64 bit vista, I have a feeling the next version of the FX at BB probably won't be TOO big of a leap.

Some are saying that it'll have the 9800 in it and what not, but I don't think so, it'll probably just have a better processor (the P173FX has a T7500 which is a 2.2ghz, not bad at all, way better than 1.8ghz).

What do you guys think? Is it possible for them to put the 8800GTX? Besides that there really isn't anything they can upgrade, it already had a big harddrive (although a 5400rpm one w/ only 8mb cache), 4gb of Ram, and 64 bit vista.

Basically I'm split between these two gateways, and the new MSI laptops coming out (the ones on the puma platform with the ATI 3850 in it)

 

They seem to put the best components that they can afford into the fx's while keeping the price around $1349. That seems to be the magic number for them. I very much doubt that the 9800 or 8800 gtx will be in the next one, those cards are too new and as a result more expensive. Plus I guess allot of the effected GPU's (the overheating thing) were 8800gtx cards, so I don't know how many of those we will see coming out in the future.They will more than likely just jump to the next generation 9000 series cards.
Seanno

 

But isn't the 9800 comparable to the 8800?

 

The 9800 has similar but slightly better performance than the 8800 gtx overall but is much better with Dx10 as I recall from a "Tom's Hardware" article I read. It is more expensive Than the 8800gts or Gtx though so thats why I don't think they will use it. Also the 8000 series overheating problem that was big in the news in the last couple of weeks with Nvidea potentially being forced to recall thousands of GPU's. I guess from some of the dell and alienware boards that I have read, a good number of them have been 8800m gtx cards. So I don't know if they will make allot more of those Gpu's in the future, as a result. After I read that though I tested my computer and got a temperature program online (free) to see what my Gpu was registering for temperature under load and it was in the low 60's so I think that I'm allright. I have a P6860 T9300 8800 gts.
Seanno

 

So which 9000 series graphics card do you think the next one will use? It has to be at least as powerful as the 8800GTS of course...I would hope it would be more powerful.

 

Sorry your guess is incorrect. The only 8800m machine experiencing overheat problem is the Alienware m15x, and that's due to poorly-designed cooling system.

 

The 8800's are built on a G92m core. Nvidia's problems are with the 8 cores. And the 9800m GTS is identical in specs to the 8800m GTS, just die-shrunk.

 

who cares if it gets hot if it works lol

 

Famous last words before the notebook explodes.

 

..or your crotch bursts into flames.

 

Sounds like my Saturday nights...

 

Would this mean lower-wattage/cooler-running GPU at the same spec as the current mobile 8800GTS? Longer battery life? Less heat in my lap (and all that implies about potential reproduction issues...)?

 

Well, looks like I could be wrong about the 9800m GTS, as they both have 64 UP's, they are built on different cores, so could show different performance.

 

I just recently purchased the P-6860FX from Best Buy on sale over the 4th weekend...Even at the normal $1350 price, it definitely seems to be the best bang for the buck, and I looked at everything everywhere.

My only thing complaints are the weight (hey, its a 17" after all), and the heat that generates from the left side (I assume the GPU). It plays World of Warcraft at 1440x900 (or w/e the widescreen resolution is) without any problems. It jumps every now and then for a split second, but then is smooth as butter again.

Only had it 2 weeks, but so far those are the only 2 complaints I have, and those are fairly minor. I like the fact that it CAN be upgraded (for those like me who know what they are doing) to a much better processor should I ever need it. The other complaint, not really about the laptop, is that you have to get the extended warranty from best buy... ugh... $350 is ouch. I stuck with the 1 year... *crosses fingers*.

 

Any more news about the new FX that's coming to best buy??

I found the following: (Read the 5th paragraph down)
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thr...l_centrino.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_techbeat

Apparently it will be Montevina based, go for around $1400 and have 4 gigs of ram.

Also, on Overclock.net, user Dethklok posted the following specs for what he claims will be the new FX, although he didn't post the source:

Here's the thread where he posted it:
http://www.overclock.net/laptops-no...laptop-series-thread-mods-56.html#post4235584


I'm very interested in this as I'm not in the States, but will be visiting from July 28th till Aug 9th and I want to buy a laptop at Best Buy. Does anyone have any more info on it, hopefully a release date or more info on specs?

 

Wow, a 9800m GTX?! That seems insane...

 

I think that it is impossible to get such config for $1400, please look at sager with similar setup it costs $2500 (NP5796 model).

 

I would say it will have a 9800gt which interms of performance is exactly the same as the 8800gtx but the cost is quite abit less i think memory serves me correct 96 shaders vs 112 and 512 megs of vram vs 1gig on the gtx . as for harddrive id say the 320 again and probably not 7200rpm but not a 200gig single drive that would be sort of a step backwards cause of the space lost regardless of the slight performance gain . the 8400 seems possible after seeing some of the prices and as for WUXGA im not holding my breath but would lean more towards the same wxga screen probably not even wsxga this of course would be referring to the bestbuy model .

 

Please look at http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=90846&action=customize. I don't think that $1400 price tag will be possible even for Gateway.

 

This is gateway were talking about and if you look at the 6860fx most people would have said theres no way they can sell that laptop for less then 1100 dollars on sale or 1349 off sale . the only real changes will be processor and video card which in the bulk that gateway will buy/sell in i can see them making a 1400 dollar bestbuy exclusive with some nice specs. best buy sells these laptops at cost or below cost when on sale as lost leader items .

 

But with the Gateway can it even use all of its GPU with the slower cpu?
Where is the right balance for gaming?

 

You can still buy the P-6860FX online through worstbuy...err I mean bestbuy. I almost bought one of these when they came out but opted for the dell being as though the 1920x1200 FX was $2k+. After seeing my dell with that res its hard to use my 17in Toshiba at work with 1440x900.

 

My understanding was that next upgraded version won't be based on the same motherboard as DDR3 was mentioned somewhere in that thread. If it is true then the base price has to be higher then current 6860 becase:
- DDR3 memories are more expensive then DDR2
- it is a new line of Nvidia graphics cards (new stuff = high price at launch)
- it is a brand new Intel platfrom (new stuff = high price at launch)
and Gateway can't do anything about that even buying thousands of units.

 

Umm i dont know what were arguing about. here you go montevina and all except this is a 9700gts but toshiba laptops are always more expensive then gateways and this is priced nicely and the new gateway model wont have all the bells and whistles the toshiba has like harmon kardon speakers and that expensive gaudy case to drive the price up .


http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272076

scroll about half way down the page and you will see the price of the machine.

 

Hmm, I'm afraid that you are correct. The question is what GPU will be delivered with Gateway.

 

That's a 2.0 Ghz in the Best Buy X305. And if you look at Toshiba's new pricing, it's actually semi-decent. The G55 and F50 both look a lot more competitive price wise than Toshiba used to.

I'm thinking 9800M GTX is highly unlikely for the new iteration of the P-series. The 9800M GT is a better bet. 1920 x 1200 would be highly unlikely as well. If Gateway can shoehorn all of that into a 17" that costs $1,400, I'd be impressed. I just want Gateway to reinforce the damned screen.

With regards to whoever it was that said the Gateway 1920 x 1200 screen goes for 2K+, that's not true. The XL goes for less than $2k, and if you call them up, you should be able to get a few hundred dollars off.

 

Do we know the date for the new FX model?

 

November 5th, 1955.

 

"Don't worry. As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88mph the instant the lightning strikes the tower... everything will be fine."

 

Exactly........

 

I was trying to be serious. It is important information for me as I don't know if I should buy 6860 or wait let's say 2 weeks and buy new model

 

Nobody knows for sure. This question is asked a lot and is always met with the same answer. I just figured I'd throw a little humor into the mix.

 

Consider this, the P6860FX is no longer available in stores, or at least it's not supposed to be. This usually indicates that there's a new model coming soon. Soon can be anything up till a few months though. But I'm thinking within a month or so.

 

Thanks
I understand that is not physically available in BestBuy stores but you can still order it on-line from them? How it was before when 6831 was going to be replaced with 6860?

 

The 68xx models were a BB exclusive, so they are not available direct from Gateway. However, there are a couple newer FX models with similar specs you can order direct from Gateway.com

 

Is it worth the wait to buy this laptop? or buy it from BB next month?

 

I highly doubt it will be stocked with the 9800m GTX. More like the 9800m GTS, which will perform similar to the 8800m GTS, but may run a little cooler.

Plus, with new tech, I see them dropping the RAM down, and keeping the same CPU. They just can't afford to throw a new high end 9 series, a T9300/8300, and 4Gb of RAM in a notebook for the same price.

 

its probably going to be a couple months before that hits retail the 6831/6860 are the same exact machine except for 1gig more of ram and a 320gig harddrive vs 250 so the switch wasnt much but introducing a whole new model usually takes time .

 

I figure the big change will be one of two things.

Either the 8800gtx will be introduced, as the 9800gtx will start dropping the 8800gtx's price quite soon.

or

It will have a 400gb raid 0 7200RPM hard drive, and 4-4-4-12 Ram

Lets face it when you start talking to gamers using words like latency and load times you can sell them anything

 

well apparently it will be called P-7811FX at best buy, and include a 9800 gts, and go for about $1450

Check the overclock.net thread I linked to on my previous post for updated info.
He took back his initial spec of a 9800 GTX and said he misquoted, and it was 9800 GTS. I hope he didn't misquote any of the other specs (specially the display resolution)

 

Hmm. Interesting. Thanks for the info, rsm!

 

Now that looks a little more realistic, as the 9800m GTS isn't much, if maybe a 5-10% boost in some games. It will probably still have the lacking CPU, but well worth $1,400!

 

If it does have the higher resolution and the P8400, it's a pretty amazing buy. The P8400 is not a poor CPU at all, it's actually pretty good, a 2.26 Ghz with 3 MB cache.

 

Hopefully the P8400 is in the specs... I just have a feeling these will change before release.

 

I guess I'll wait until mid August to buy since the updated version is rumored to have a 1920x1200 resolution.

 

now this thread is interesting...sort of skimmed through.

that guy in the other thread is speculating that. (gateway with a 9800m gtx card) no proof as of yet.

that best buy toshiba is a 9700m gts card and not a 9800m gtx card. the gtx version is 3500 bucks and going over seas.

i posted this in the sager thread, but will post it here as well

The cards line up with specs as follows:

9700M GT
32 shaders
625MHz core clock
1,550MHz shader clock
128-bit Memory interface
800MHz memory clock

9700M GTS
48shaders
530MHz core clock
1,325MHz shader clock
256-bit Memory interface
800MHz memory clock

9800M GTS
64 shaders
600MHz core clock
1,500MHz shader clock
256-bit Memory interface
800MHz memory clock

9800M GT
96 shaders
500MHz core clock
1,250MHz shader clock
256-bit Memory interface
800MHz memory clock

9800M GTX
112 shaders
500MHz core clock
1,250MHz shader clock
256-bit Memory interface
800MHz memory clock

The new Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q701 is a Best Buy exclusive system that retails for $1,549.99. The machine has Toshiba’s slick looking fiery finish with Rouge design. Graphics for the notebook are via NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GTS discrete card and the CPU is an Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 processor. (not my quote but still a fact)

 

if the gateway has the 9800gts like that one guy is claiming it might actually be nice with a 600mhz core and 1500mhz shader especially if theres some headroom for some good old OC . Will it be worth running out and getting one right away if you already own a 6860 probably not except for us lunatics who need something new to tinker with .. the toshiba while nicely specced and gaudy and garish as liza minelli on a good day would be a very nice machine except for the 9700gts . when i first saw it and the price i was going to go check it out but the video card will be its downfall atleast to me maybe not the casual gamer though. The one thing that concerns me though with the 9800gts is the 64shaders again like ours already and the real question is as games become more and more shader intensive are we really getting crippled for the future .

Might be time to yank out the 8800gtx in my desktop and throw in a gtx280 just so i dont go out and waste another 1500 on a new laptop that i dont need but have something new to play around with till i make it explode .

 

yeah, they have a few versions of the same laptop, so no down fall.

 

i know but not at a some what decent price i refuse to pay 3500 for a laptop with a 9800gtx and i dont think that card will hit the bestbuy retail units anytime soon .

 

What's the point in buying a laptop that expensive when you can have a desktop with a more powerful GPU for half the price?

I mean there needs to be a point where you go, "Oh, alright, I'm paying a $2000 premium to make a desktop portable and I think I shouldn't pay that because I'm wasting money."

Anyways, I think the Gateway will be fitted with a 9800m GTS, 1920x1200 resolution and the standard stuff with an updated CPU.