Torn between 6850 and the 6860

Right now I am torn between these two laptops from Gateway.
I like the portability (15" screen) of the 6850, however I like the power of the 6850 (17" screen).

I intend to use the laptop for gaming and school.

The games I play right now are Battlefield 2142, CoD 4 and CoH. Would the 6850 be a good choice? I would like to be able to run BF 2142 all setting high, while the other two games use medium settings.

I know some will say go for the 6860FX with the 8800m card, and yes I am leaning towards it, however I am not a fan of the bulk it brings along. (being a 17" laptop). I am a fan of gateways, so it will come down between these two models.

Thanks in advance, Best Buy trip tomorrow after hearing your input.

 

6850 it is.

 

I would suggest looking into the gateway M-152XL instead of the 6850. They are both similar machines for the same price (i got mine for 899) but the M-152XL has a T8300 processor.

 

Can you update the processor in the 6850?

So graphic wise, can I get what I want to get done with the 9500m in the 6850?

 

the 6850 doesnt have a 9500m...it has a Radeon HD 2600

the DRR3 HD 2600 is inbetween the DRR2 8600M GT and the DRR3 8600M GT.

The HD 2600 will run any game out there right now, altho it might have to be on low/medium settings for the really high end games like Crysis and such. Its not as "future proof" as the 8800, but it should last you nicely for 2-3; you should be able to play mainstream games in that time but no promise for the newest and most demanding ones. Remember developers keep into account that not all people have high end graphic cards.

 

Ok so I should be set to max things out on BF2142. Does Call of Duty 4 and Company of Heroes fall into the "high-end" game category?

 

both Call of Duty 4 and Company of Heroes, imo, belongs to mid-high category.

 

Well, I think I am going to go with the 6860FX, that way I am somewhat future-proofed. I think I will get a backpack that holds that laptop, instead of a "man-bag".

one last question, the battery life. On average will the 6850 run longer than the 6860 (both while gaming or not gaming)

 

I have a MSI GX600 15.4" laptop which is similar to the M-6850FX and I also have the 17" P-6860FX and I can tell you that there is a big difference in weight. For portability the 15.4" is a better buy espeicially if you are always taking it with you. If it it is just once in a while than the 17" is not that bad, but it is heavier, approx. 2-3 pounds. Hope this helps. God Bless

 

if you are also a little patient, bestbuy puts the 6860FX on sale about once every month.

 

I have been patient lol
Money is not an issue though, I just don't want to spend over $1,500 on a laptop.

 

well if you want you could get a 3 years + accidental for under 1500 once it goes on sale. but hey its your money man.

 

You can buy the laptop at Best Buy, and still buy a warrenty though gateway, just call gateway after you buy it, I think it's cheaper too.

 

Well the p6850 is onsale this week at Best Buy for $200 off so that is not a bad deal at all. For gaming though its no all that compareable to the P6860, due to the Gpu Which is in the low 3000 range in general fo 3dmark06. That would probably play COD4 pretty well ,no where near max settings but playable. I had a Xps Gen 2 with a 6800 ultra in it before my present P6860 (3dmark06 about 2500) and it played COD4 allright. COD4 is one of those games that scales well. It plays on lesser systems but, when I played it on my P6860 the first time I thought it was a different game (so much more detail, shadows ectl.). This link will give you some insight on what you can expect performance wise from that GPU.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-2600.3771.0.html
Hope that helps.
Seanno

 

I thought this to be true as well, but on purchases from best buy they don't give you as good a deal on the warrenty, it is different than the warranty they list for online purchases. I actually planned on getting the warrenty through Gateway on my P6860. But after trying to do this on the phone and hearing their offer, I chose to go with the BB offer (it was a better deal). You have to do it over the phone or in conference with a Gateway Rep because if you go to try and add it after registering online it won't give you the option for a warrenty (or not the usual way). I think the reason for this, has to do with the fact that these computers(P6860,P6831 and P6850) are exclusive to Best Buy and they make a sizeable sum of cash from warrenties at Best Buy, so they may have had an agreement that Gateway couldn't undercut them on the warrenty, or something like that. The computers on the Gateway site itself, Have a better deal on the warrenty though.
Seanno

 

Good to know, thank you.

 

well, I bought the 6860 however the microphone jack is not working. WTF? I am a gamer, I need it to work.

I am off to work right now, but when I get home tonight I will try to re-install the sound drivers. If that does not work, best buy can take it back right?

I have seen other posts about the mic jack not working too, but there has been really no definite answer.

 

Best Buy will take it back as long as it's 14 days. Not an issue in your case.

 

if they refuse, just ask to talk to manager.

 

This could help: The sound card and driver uses the microphone plug as both a microphone and line in plug. Most of the Time when I plug my headset in the sound card program comes up (automatically) and asks weather it's a line in or microphone. I of course pick mic from the list and everything is fine. Every now and then, when I plug in my headset the soundcard utility program doesn't start and if I try to do online game it doesn't work. But all you have to do in that case is go into the control panel open the utility and manually select it. When I tried it it worked for me..........Hope that was helpful.
Seanno

 

I feel the 6860 is just the only one to get.

The 6850 is ordinary on the market place you can find better.

 

Yeah, go for the 17" FX and prepare to rock it hard!

 

Yeah, I am so happy I bought my 6860FX I got it right before work. I really want to leave early to play some games on it lmao.


Your explanation about using it as a line-in also makes sense. I was wondering where the line-in jack was. I will go home tonight and try to get it to work. If not, I do have a usb adapter, but I don't want to use a usb port for a headset.

 

What days do they put it on sale..?

 

Sunday i think

 

Best Buy weekly sales start on Sunday. And last a week (obviously).

 

Well, I can't seem to find the audio driver. The built-in mic is working, and when I use an usb adapter it works.... I am still having problems with the mic/line in jack

 

Well I found it located in the control panel. You are right, when you plug something in it, it wants you to choose. However, I have yet to get a message to pop up so I have to go into the program manually.

I am loving this thing though!
BF2142 all maxed out 60FPS-80FPS
CoD4 all maxed out 50FPS-65FPS

Nice!
I plan on getting a better cpu when the prices go down.

 

Glad I could help. Enjoy our P6860.
Seanno

 

I am going to hijack this thread a little. I have been looking at different laptops for a while, I wanted to stay under $1000, but I don't have to.

Do you guys think that the 6860 it worth the $450 difference from the 6850?
BB prices ($1349 and $899 on sale). I am not that big into gaming but I do play some. My current laptop can't even run "The Movies"!

 

If you are not "into big gaming" do not buy the 6860 seeing as that is a really big laptop that is a good deal for gamers, since it has a 8800. The type that like to play the most new and demanding games.

The 6850 comes to be a good deal, but the M-152XL from Gateway's website is a better deal; it gives you a stronger processor, and if you take to sales rep, they should gave you 100 bucks off to make it the same price as the 6850 from bestbuy.

The 6860 is a bit more future proof then the 6850/M-152XL since it has a 8800 but you would probably end up upgrading the processor on the 6860 eventually.

Personally i would recommend the M-152XL if you arent a huge gamer...saves you money and gives you a lighter, yet powerful, notebook.

 

The P6860 has got allot of advantages over the 6850 gaming wise. Also the thing to concider is the Upgradability of P6860 I don't really know how upgradable the P6850 is? It is a different chasis unlike the rest of the P series that are all 17 inch. If your an avid gamer looking to play today and tomorrows frontline games then the P6860 is for you. If you only play ocassionally and beefy graphics aren't that important to you (and portability is important) then the 6850may be a good match for you. But, keep in mind, the ati card in that computer only does ok with the games that are out now. So tomorrow..........well I don't really know how it will do. I have more faith in the 8800gts for future games. Hope that was helpful.
Seanno

 

it does more then "okay". But ya.

 

Thanks guys.
I haven't been able to find much reviews at all on the 8650, but you info has helped. I may look into the M-152XL.