Laptops Arena

It’s been a while since I least heard some interesting about Gateway laptops. Even so, this manufacturer did come with some swell models a couple of years ago and those models were really worth paying attention to.
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An example of one of the successful Gateway laptops is the T-6828. The unit reviewed here came at a price of $800. It was based on a 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 processor and 3 GB of RAM. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 250 GB and the graphics card is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 with up to 348 MB of shared video memory. The dimensions of this unit are 12/95 x 9.75 x 1.3 while the total weight of the laptop is 5.55 lbs. the operating system that generally comes shipped with this unit is the preinstalled version of the Windows Vista Home Premium. The 14.1 inch display comes at a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and thanks to the glossy coating, this laptop comes with beautiful colors and great levels of brightness and contrast.

As for the selection of ports and connections, this unit is host to 3 USB ports, one 5-in-1 digital media card reader, an Express Card slot, a VGA out, a Kensington lock slot, an Ethernet port, a modem jack and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks. As for the battery performance, this unit can stay on for almost 3 hours and 50 minutes with the display brightness set to medium level, the wireless card activated for some internet surfing and the Windows Vista power management profile set to “power saver”.



About 2 years ago, there was this Gateway laptop which was introduced on the market as an affordable gaming unit. It was known as the Gateway P-6831FX. It came at a price of approximately $1300 and it has a 1.67 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 5450 processor and 3 GB of RAM. The total storage space of the hard drive is 250 GB and the graphics card of this system is the nVidia GeForce 8800M GTS with 512 MB of GDDR3 video memory. The 17 inch display comes at a native resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. The display is somehow below the average point if we consider the performance of the screens on more recent gaming laptops. The horizontal viewing angles are quite poor.  The unit comes with the Windows Vista Home Premium operating system preinstalled.



The selection of ports and connections is very limited for a gaming laptop as the unit is host to only 3 USB ports, a FireWire port, a flash memory reader and a PC card slot. In general, battery performance on gaming unit is quite poor and we never expected to get anything better from this Gateway laptop. In consequence, our model reviewed managed to stay on for only one hour during Crysis game play. Never expect these laptop to offer decent battery performance because the specs inside, especially the processor and the graphics card are always going to eat up a lot of power.

Touch screen laptops have always been my favorite kind of notebooks as they can be used both as normal laptops and even as a tablet PC. One example of the many touch screen laptops that can be found on the market is the Gateway E-155C, a model which comes at a starting price of $1849 but the price of the unit reviewed here is $2073.
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The tablet Gateway takes its power from a 1.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 processor and 1 GB of RAM.  The graphics card found on this unit is the Intel Mobile Express 945 GM integrated. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 80 GB. The dimensions of this unit are 14.2 x 10.1 x 1.3 inches and the total weight of the system is 4.9 pounds (if we include the AC adapter that will lead to a total weight of 5.7 pounds). The screen measures 12.1 inches in diagonal. The unit comes with the preinstalled version of the Windows Vista Ultimate. This display comes with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels which is common for 15.4 inch laptops rather than 12 inch ones.

As for the selection of ports and features, this unit is quite under the category average. It comes with 2 USB ports, instead of 3 which is normal. Aside from those USB ports, you get a mini FireWire port, a multiformat digital media card reader, a VGA out, a PC card slot, an Ethernet port, a modem port and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks. It is easy to customize this laptop. For example, the unit reviewed came with a 80 GB hard drive which was over $25 the price of the standard 60 GB one. If you wish to go with the 120 GB hard drive you have to pay an extra $64. Additional RAM is also going to be more expensive.



When you are dealing with 12 inch tablet PCs, you expect to get a decent score when it comes to the battery performance as it is essential for ultra portable unit to be able to stay on for a considerable number of hours when you are away from a power outlet. While performing the video playback test that drains the battery, the Gateway E-155C managed to stay on for 1 hour and 55 minutes with the four cell but you can choose the six battery for an extra price of $40.



Unfortunately, the battery life is way too weak and for the same price, you can get a tablet notebook that comes with better battery performance than the E-155C. For example, the Toshiba Portege M400 is a tablet PC which is quite similar to the Gateway presented above, with the exception that the M400 is capable of staying 4 hours and 20 minutes with a very demanding battery drain test. This Toshiba tablet PC comes at a starting price of $1745 and it features the same 12.2 inch display as the Gateway E-155C.

Gateway notebooks have never actually been my favorite brand of laptops since I always like to buy things from manufacturers that I specifically trust. But this does not mean that Gateway notebooks are not to be taken into consideration when you want to purchase a decent laptop. In general, I have discovered that there are lots of Gateway notebooks that come at really affordable prices so it may not be such a bad idea to pay a little bit of attention to the 2 Gateway notebooks that we are going to present in this article.
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The first model that has managed to draw our attention is the Gateway MD7818u. This notebook is based on a 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor and 4 GB of RAM. the graphics card that can be found on this unit is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500 MHD while the total storage capacity of the hard drive is 500 GB. as you see, except for the integrated video card, we are dealing with some pretty good notebook components that assure us this Gateway notebook is not one of the slowest ones on the market. The display of the Gateway MD7818u measures 15.6 inches in diagonal and it comes with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Not only that, but it is covered in a glossy coating which is bound to make colors appear sharper and more vibrating.

Above the display, you can find a 1.3 MP webcam that comes with its very own integrated microphone. As for the selection of ports and connections, the Gateway MD7818u is host to 4 USB ports, one Ethernet port, the modem port, a Kensington lock slot, a HDMI port, a VGA out, one Express Card slot, an SD card reader and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks. The dimensions of this notebook are 15.28 x 10.43 x 1.70 inches while the total weight is 6 lbs and 12.4 oz. the operating system which is regularly shipped with this unit is the 64 bit version of the Windows Vista Home Premium and you get all of these goodies and specs for a price as low as $800.



The other Gateway notebook that we wanted to talk to you about is the Gateway M-152XL. This notebook is a bit more powerful than the model we presented above but the price is also higher as this notebook has a $1300 price tag. The unit is based on a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 processor and 3 GB of RAM. The graphics card used on this laptop is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 that comes with 512MB GDDR3 video memory. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 160 GB. The display of the Gateway M-152XL measures 15.4 inches is diagonal and it comes at a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Above this display there is a 1.3 megapixels camera and you also get an integrated Bluetooth device. The unit is generally shipped with the 32 bit version of the Windows Vista Home Premium operating system.

When most of you are searching on the market for a good gaming unit, how many of you would actually consider in buying a Gateway gaming laptop? Back in 2008, Gateway proudly presented one of the most affordable gaming laptops ever: the Gateway P-7811 FX.

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This unit was based on a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. The graphics card is none other than the nVidia GeForce 9800 M GTS with 512 MB of DDR3 video memory. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 200 GB. As you can notice, the combination between these specs is quite amazing. And to think that this laptop could be yours for only $1400. Compare this price to the price of other gaming notebook and you will end up wondering why you never considered in buying a Gateway gaming laptop. Since it is a gaming unit, it has to come with a big display. The screen of the Gateway P-7811 FX measured 17 inches in diagonal and it has a 1920 x 1200 maximum resolution. The glossy covering provides this laptop with beautiful colors. The horizontal viewing angles are great so if you want to watch a movie now and then, the laptop is going to be of great use. The brightness and contrast levels are average.

The keyboard is fully sized and it comes with a dedicated numerical pad. The keys offer great feedback and they are covered in a glossy texture. Even if the keys support is strong, you will notice a small amount of flexing in the keyboard area. The touchpad is large, just like you would expect it to be on a 17 inch laptop. The surface has a matte finish. Sensitivity is great and the left and right mouse buttons are easy to press using your thumb. The unit comes with 3 USB ports, one HDMI port, the Ethernet port and one feature that allows you to disable all the external light surrounding the notebook which is a good idea when you are looking to save some battery life. The speakers did not offer anything spectacular in terms of sound quality. In general, gaming laptop come with integrated subwoofer and you get quite a nice sound quality but in this case you are going to need external speakers.



Battery life was quite amazing for a laptop with the specs of this Gateway gaming laptop. With the display brightness adjusted to 60%, the wireless card enabled and the Windows Vista power management profile set to “balanced mode”, you will get about 3 hours and 10 minutes of battery life. If you were planning on carrying this laptop around with you, it is fair to say that this unit will manage to help you get some of the work done. The display is excellent, the laptop looks good and the performance is excellent for the price of $1400. Even if it could handle some more USB ports, this laptop does offer great quality and good performance for the price.

Gateway notebook computers are definitely models that I could live with. Even if Gateway has not produced anything interesting or amazing lately, the models which are currently available on the market as not as bad as some people may think.

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The Gateway P-7805u FX is one of those Gateway notebook computers that I was talking about. It runs on a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor which is combined with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM.

We always mention when the RAM of the notebook reviewed is DDR3 because it is not that common for laptop o have this type of RAM and it’s better than the common DDR2 (DDR3 has a better file transfer rate). The graphics card is the nVidia GeForce 9800M GTS which has 1 GB of GDDR3 video memory. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 320 GB. Other features are the integrated DVD burner optical drive which has Labelflash (this technology allow you to make your own DVD labels) and the 1.3 megapixel webcam. The price of the unit configures was $1300 back in 2009 but I guess it must have dropped a bit since then.



The 17 inch screen comes with 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution. The colors are sharp and vibrating and the image is beautiful and clear. The levels of brightness and contrast are very good and the screen looks basically flawless. The horizontal viewing angles are better than the vertical ones but, yet again, who will be looking at the display from above in order to care about vertical viewing angles. The speakers are located above the keyboard which is an excellent location to place laptop speakers because the sound is projected straight up and towards the user. The speakers are not that great on this unit because the volume levels are weak and headphones or external speakers are definitely a much better choice. The keyboard comes with a dedicated numerical pad which feels very comfortable to type on. There is barely any flex registered when you type. The touchpad suffers from zero lag and the matte covering feels very pleasant to the touch.



The unit hosts 3 USB ports, one Express card slot, a Kensington lock slot, a FireWire port, an Ethernet port, a HDMI port, a GA out, an eSATA port, a 4-in-1 media card reader, a modem port and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks. In general, gaming laptop like this one over here never have good performance when it comes to battery life. To our huge surprise, the battery of this unit did not act like a gaming laptop battery. With the display brightness set to 70%, the wireless card activated and the Windows Vista power management profile set to “balanced mode”, the laptop managed to stay on hours 3 hours and 30 minutes. These numbers are quite impressive for a17 inch gaming unit with powerful components inside.  You have to admit that the unit offers incredible specs for the price and the overall performance is acceptable.