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Kubuntu Linux On My Tough Old Gateway MX6433 |
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I own a Gateway MX6433 laptop purchased directly from the company website a few years ago. It features an AMD Turion 64 Mobile processor at 1.6 GHz and 1 MB L2 Cache. It also came standard with an 80 GB PATA hard drive (which I have since replaced with a 120 GB), ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics card, integrated wi-fi, LAN adapter, and 512 MB Memory. Right off the bat I was thrilled that the memory was expandable up to 2 GB and I took advantage of this. I run Kubuntu Linux (a variation of Ubuntu) as my OS, with Windows XP in Virtual Box, and that takes a lot of memory to run smoothly. |
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As soon as I got the machine I replaced the Windows OS with Kubuntu, and everything worked flawlessly except for the wireless network. I was able to solve the problem in about 30 minutes and haven't had any trouble since. Weighing around 6lbs I like this laptop's robust character. It has endured several falls as well as an angry friend who slammed the top down so hard he cracked the LCD display. Other than replacing the 15.4 inch display I've had no other hardware issues. I've upgraded the hard drive and the memory and this thing just keeps on going. Even after three years the battery still has an average one-hour life. That's sweet. My two biggest complaints are the keyboard and the graphics card. The keyboard appears to be full-size at first, but it's not. It's slightly smaller and more compact, which makes it difficult for me to work all day. I am a professional writer and I make my living at this keyboard, so something just a tad larger would be nice. As for the graphics card, although ATI does provide Linux drivers, they have since ceased writing them for this particular card. As my Kubuntu system marches on I will have to be content with generic drivers and limited 3D capability. But since I'm not a gamer and usually only run productivity software, it's no big deal. This laptop is a few years old now, and looking around ebay I can see not many are listed for sale. That must mean one thing, people don't want to part with their tough as old boots Gateway MX6433! By M.Gerwitz for Cheaperlaptop.com Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - Dig Deep in the Bargain Basement - Gateway MX6650 - Gateway NV5378U - Tech Novice Loves Her Red Gateway NV5469Zu - Site map - Privacy policy |