Mid-sized Dothan Notebook Roundup: Dell, Gateway, and HP/Compaq
by Andrew Ku on September 30, 2004 1:09 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Gateway M320XL: In the Field (cont.)
DisplayThe 15.0" XGA display comes at a price of increased real estate use, which does mean that this notebook will most likely be larger, in length and width specs, over other notebooks of the 14.1" display variety. Though, we should mention that a 15.0" XGA seems a bit unnatural to us. The text and overall size of everything at 1024 x 768 seems a bit like taking a small picture and blowing it up. Considering the price that displays are running, we would have liked to see a 15.0" SVGA+ screen. For us, the native XGA resolution should be a max limited to a 14.1" display.
On brightness, Gateway hits the low mark overall. Though, we must say that it is a bit of a toss up between the D600 and the M320XL when it comes to the brightness on AC power. Without having a lightmeter, it seems like Dell's D600 may be a tad brighter. In terms of dimmest display, Gateway can get dimmer than the other two at its lowest setting.
LEDs
Click to enlarge.
The LEDs for the M320XL are probably one of the brightest on any notebook. Though, we should mention that they use larger diodes than usually seen in notebooks. The two LEDs on the display (power - blue when active, and battery - green when active) are just simple LEDs that don't light up symbols which would distinguish them when the room is dark. The only way that you know which LED represents what is by being familiar with the LED layout. Note that these two LEDs are also visible when the laptop is closed.
Click to enlarge.
There are five LEDs located below the buttons for the touchpad (left to right: power - blue when active, wireless - blue when active, caps lock - blue when active, number lock - blue when active, and hard drive - blue when active), which are illuminated symbols. As we noted earlier, the problem that we have with this is that if you are typing, the LEDs are obscured from view.
Charger
The charger pack for the M320XL is fairly small and slim, which makes it easier to carry around. Though, we are puzzled by two things:
- the lack of a grounding prong - electrical grounding protection
- angled power connector
Click to enlarge.
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Monkeydonutstick - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
You can't be serious about comparing a Powerbook G4 to any of these. Powerbooks were owned by P3’s for Christ sake.plewis00 - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
I just wanted to point out as an nc6000 user that you didn't mention it's speakers (which as any Compaq user will know) are some of the best on any laptop - very rich with reasonable bass and strong volume, it easily rivals small stereos.Secondly, I don't think it's quite clear how much tougher the HP is than the Dell. I had both and pressing slightly on the Dell logo on the D600 would flex it down by about 3-4mm with very little pressure; the HP is far more robust, so it's size isn't that much of an issue (but the Dell is a bit of a headturner, the HP definitely isn't).
Also (only a small point) but given the Dell's and HP's graphics cards, a small 3D-based test (3DMark2001 SE?) wouldn't have gone amiss [that's the reason I had these machines for their size and graphics]. In seriousness, with that Gateway, what are you going to do with a 1.7Ghz Dothan CPU if not game sometimes, or that you couldn't do with a Pentium III-M 850Mhz?
manno - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
ksherman- "wheres the Macs? As far as im concerned, the Powerbook owns all these in terms of performance, size, weight, looks, and battery life... Its apparently even in the same price range as these "mid-sized" laptops... Bring on the Mac articles AT!"I have no clue about the technical aspect of the powerbooks size, weight, and battery life. But I do know you couldn't be more right about the looks... PLUS there's a Quake I... and I think a Quake II software renderer for Macs also... nudge nudge wink wink.
manno - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
SOFTWARE renderer origianl "Half-Life" or "Quake 2". Preferably Half-Life. Their software reneder is more taxing than Quake 2's. Old school, yes, but it's not biased tward desktop, or laptop video cards.peace on!... Crakers!
AndrewKu - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
#4 - Hopefully, we will get to that real soon.AndrewKu - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
#6 - Well, I hope we didn't knock it too much in the overall sense. But we are talking about the business user market segment, and we were putting more emphasis on the display more so than the other nic nacs.YaBaBom - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
I'm not a Gateway fan, but I think it's kind of silly to knock the Gateway laptop in the ratings because it doesn't have gigabit ethernet. Gigabit ethernet is nothing but a sales pitch as far as laptops are concerned, since the hard drives just arent capable of supplying data at gigabit speeds. I can tell you from experience that a D600 with gigabit doesnt transfer any faster than a C640 with 10/100 ethernet.brainwave64 - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
Great review! Very informative. It's hard to find good reviews of laptops that take into account things other than performance - like ergonomics, LED locations, battery life, weight, size, etc.--paperboy164
ksherman - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
wheres the Macs? As far as im concerned, the Powerbook owns all these in terms of performance, size, weight, looks, and battery life... Its apparently even in the same price range as these "mid-sized" laptops... Bring on the Mac articles AT!AndrewKu - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
#1 - A64 based laptops, at least so far, are those best reserved for the DTR market, and thus are focused on the performance aspect of the notebook market. If you want mobility, get a P-M based notebook.As for half-life or other gaming applications, one of these notebooks uses Intel's integrated graphic's system, so that wasn't something that was practical, and of the other two that use discrete GPUs, one uses a DX8 mobile graphics part.
#2 - Well... As far as weight and the general specs go, I think the whole market is becoming more and more grey. We will be back with a thin and light side of the Dothan market.