| Laptops and Notebooks Reviews : Gateway |
 | Gateway NV7923u 17.3-Inch Laptop (NightSky Black)
Problems on second day -- 2010-03-10
I purchased this laptop because it had an Intel i5 processor and 17.3 in. display for the same price as a similarly equipped HP with an i3 and 15.6 in. display. After a quick delivery by Amazon the computer began to malfunction on the second day. The mouse pad would not respond about 40% of the time and when I would click on certain programs nothing would happen. After a second day failure I would not recommend this laptop. On the upside, Amazon was very easy to deal with for the return. I think I will purchase the HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop as a replacement. In the end Gateway gets one star, but Amazon gets five.
Great desktop replacement laptop -- 2010-03-08
Got my Gateway computer quickly. The computer runs great and really fast i5 processor with a fast 1066mhz FSB and 4 GB DDR 3 memory. Big 17.3" screen. Win 7 seems to be pretty good. A few old programs and drivers won't update to 7. My 9 year old printer won't work and got a Lexmark wireless printer. Set up was quick and everything works great. Keyboard is comfortable but keys are flat. Laptop is large in size but light for it's size. Battery life is around 2 1/2 hours. Build quality is good and the price couldn't be beat by the competition. I got an HP wireless mouse with a tiny USB dongel. Worked as soon as I connected them together. The only weakness is the 128 MB integrated graphics and shared memory of around 1.7 MB. If you want to use the high end gamer games you will have to pony up around $150 more for the higher end model with the 1 MB graphics card. For the price this computer is a bargain.
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 | Gateway NV7922u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Cherry Red)
Great computer at a great price -- 2010-03-09
I, like many others, searched high and low for laptops. I looked here and I looked there. I went to Micro Center and still wasn't satisfied with the prices. To get a similar laptop from Hp or Dell, you're talking a grand easy. The weight isn't bad in my opinion, considering it's a 17.3 incher. The screen is amazing. The led backlight really makes the screen pop. The amazon website had listed a lower, incorrect, screen resolution. It is in fact 1600 x 1900 and looks great. The buttons are pretty quiet when pushed and having a normal keypad to the side is nice. It doesn't have firewire or an expresscard slot but really, who cares. Having USB 2.0 pretty much makes that obsolete in my opinion. Firewire is not freakishly better, also in my opinion. I have a strong anti-apple product mindset also so this computer is really nice for me as it is extremely fast. I have a dell 3.2 Ghz dual core desktop with 3gb of ram running xp professional and it's a snail compared to this thing. I run Traktor Scratch Pro on it and it runs flawlessly, not skipping a beat and when you check the cpu meter it's hardly registering any stress on this machine. It's also so quiet I honestly never notice it making noise, not even a little. Sometimes, if it's quiet around you, you'll notice a little toot but really this thing whispers. The heat hasn't been an issue at all as well. I'll have it running for hours watching streamed movies and then set it on my lap and it's lukewarm at best. I really have nothing bad to say about this laptop. It's got HDMI for your audio/video feed to your HD. It doesn't have s-video but seriously I checked and on amazon it costs like 1.50 approx. for a vga to s-video adapter cord if you really want that feature. I'll tell you though, with a screen this lovely and large I think you'll have no problem watching movies right off this puppy. The integrated webcam and mic work seamlessly with websites. The sound from the speakers is pretty decent and if you get the right programs, you can adjust the volume even louder and they still sound pretty good for a laptop. I still hook up my amplified pc speakers while I'm at home and my wife and I watch a movie on it. I read the other guys review where he mentions having a problem with the USB drives. I've had no such issue and I'm guessing he just got a lemon. It happens and is understandable. I haven't had to deal with customer service, knocking on wood, so I can't give that a review. The multi-touch is kind of neat. Basically makes it easy to zoom in/out on any page, text, pic, and/or etc.. It's got dvd multi recorder drive instead of blu-ray but this also doesn't matter to me at all. They're not amazing enough nor cheap enough for me to give two squats of a thought to it until such time as it is the standard for everyone. Plus you can find an external usb blu-ray for around a hundred. The touch sensitive feature buttons up top of the keyboard area are neat and work really well, very responsive. Overall I seriously give this computer a near perfect score for my purposes. I love it and I hope it keeps kicking butt the way it has been.
Bang for the buck -- 2010-03-05
The good: i5 M430 processor. For the most part, I only run simple productivity software and surf the internet, but the speed is an improvement over my old P4 desktop. The 17.3" widescreen is bright and crisp. HDMI out is handy for streaming Netflix to the HDTV.
The bad: I would have expected some video editing software included (even if they were the 'express' or 'lite' versions), but at this price I shouldn't have. Also, some Window 7 compatibility issues with existing network printer. The driver is not available. The position of the pgup and pgdn keys on the numberpad is undesireable.
Overall: For the price point this system performs well, but I would have liked to have seen some more software.
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 | Gateway NV5929u (mislabeled as NV5927u), i5-430m, 4GB DDR3 memory, Blu-ray disc drive, n-wifi, 6-cell battery, 15.6" laptop computer, Windows 7 64-bit,
Good Price. Seems good so far -- 2010-02-09
The item was in good condition. It came in a timely manner. It looks great and so far everything is good. My only concern is that i don't know how to tell if it's actually an i5 Processor. It says i3 everywhere and i guess we just need to trust the story that it was a mistaken i5 processor.
Well worth it -- 2010-02-01
I was one of the lucky ones. I got the mislabeled one , but I my mom bought one two and hers also had the i5. I think it's a great computer for the price plus bluray , 4g ram. Hdmi output. This is the spec I've been waiting for. I would not have bought it at 749
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| Gateway NV7919u 17.3-Inch Laptop (NightSky Black)
Great value for power, functionality, features (NV7919u) -- 2010-02-17
I have a core i7 quad 3.07ghz desktop Gateway FX series and after quite a bit of research, I decided to go with this model as I wanted something portable for the rest of the house since the FX desktop is in the home theater downstairs. My main selling feature was great performance features(core i5, 4gb ram, SATA hdd, 17.3" nice screen, HDMI out, etc) and having the blu-ray player built in already (as opposed to installing it later down the road or having an external drive).
I can compare it to a Dell Studio 15 Duo core processor at 2.8 ghz that was purchased by my fiance within the last year for about $1400. This computer blows it away not only in price, but also style, performance, features, screen, components, pretty much everything.
This Gateway NV7919u laptop has a huge screen, sitting next to a Dell Studio 15, it looks like a monster. The LCD is good build quality with bright colors and decent blacks. This laptop looks great too with a carbon fiber-like outside and black sleek keyboard area with some media buttons at the top. It looks better in person than the pictures show.
This computer is for the performace-minded person(core i5 is decent) who doesn't mind the size, wants to multi-task with a large amount of media without being slowed down, including movies- HD and SD, pictures, media burning, maybe some light gaming, and possibly using this laptop's HDMI out as a blu-ray player in a pinch (I've hooked it up to the 3 HDTV's in the house and it works well- although they all have dedicated blu-ray players and receivers). Not quite as good as the stand-alone blu-ray players, but looks decent on a Samsung 40" 650, 61" DLP, and 52" 750B series LCD-tv's. One thing I haven't tested much of is the battery life, but it appears to last at least 3 hours with all the power-savings things down or off.
If you don't need the blu-ray player in a laptop, this exact configuration (core i5, 4gb DDR3 ram, 500gb SATA hdd, 1.7gb on-board graphics, 17.3" screen, HDMI out, etc) can be had for approximately $100-$200 less made by Gateway model number 7923u Gateway NV7923u 17.3-Inch Laptop (NightSky Black) for $679 at the time of writing which represents a stunning amount of features for price. Again, the blu-ray was important enough for me to pay the extra money, although for most people the other model should be great.
Overall, this laptop is a powerhouse that performs with the best of them, with a good LCD screen, great components including a blu-ray player, and great features especially given the sub $1000 price tag($799 at the time of writing).
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 | Gateway NV5614u 15.6-Inch Blue Laptop - Up to 2.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)
Great computer! -- 2010-03-06
This is a great computer! The screen is crystal clear. Windows 7 is awesome. It loads up fast. The only problem that we have had is with Internet Explorer telling us that its not responding.
Great laptop replacing a fellow Gateway laptop -- 2010-01-28
This laptop was purchased to replace a 5-year-old Gateway M350WVN. I had a little problem with the delivery person for UPS, which was a substitute, dropping off the laptop at a neighbor's house. However, nothing is wrong with this great Gateway. With the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system, 4gb of ram, and an excellent dual-core processor, this laptop has enough power for me, a college student. This is a great value for money, helped further by Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping, which actually got the laptop here in one day. 5 stars for a great laptop and delivery time by Amazon. Review actually written on this laptop.
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 | Gateway EC1456u 11.6-Inch HD Display Black Laptop - Up to 7 Hours of Battery Life
I'm taking it back. -- 2010-03-05
This computer cannot see my wireless network unless it is within 20 feet of the router. My older laptop and two desktops see it fine. I am not satisfied that I will be able to get within 20 feet of a network setup in France. Going to France was the reason I purchased this smaller notebook, but I'll go with my old laptop or purchase a netbook.
Excellent ultra portable, for the price especially -- 2010-02-27
I did a lot of research, from price to cpu to features. First off, if you're getting this laptop, at least part of your reason has to be for size/portability. With that said, your choices are netbooks or laptops up to 13 inches.
I ruled out netbooks because the screens where just a little too small and mostly because the CPU and graphics were just not worth it. When I looked at the netbooks on display at the stores, they were horrible. From the outside the netbooks look cool and sleek, but the second you actually test drive one, you will realize they are really not for anything but getting your emails...and maybe a little Internet surfing.
It was hard for me to rule out the 13" laptops. They were obviously more powerful and had good graphics. In the end I had to weigh whether I wanted a more powerful laptop or a more portable one, with much, much better battery life. I made this decision because I don't play any real graphically intensive games....which is really the only thing you can't do with this laptop.
Most of the computers in this category are using the low voltage (Intel SU series) cpu, GMA 4500 graphics chip and 2-4 GB memory, so really your deciding based on look and feel. Here are some things to consider when thinking about upgrading and whether it's worth it.
cpu - su4100 versus su7100 : the only difference is really something called virtualization, which allows you to dual boot with Vista and such. probably something you're not doing. $50 - $100 price difference.
2GB versus 4GB - this model comes with 4, so no upgrading here. You need 3 or more to take advantage of Windows 7 64 bit.
Gateway has a new model with a disk drive - adds about a 1/2 lb and cost ~$60 more. This would be a major consideration...but to be honest, I haven't touched my disk drive on my old laptop for months. I think this is less and less needed, especially with streaming video.
Gateway versus Acer (same company). No difference except style. One thing I notice that was a deal breaker for me was that the Acer version doesn't close completely shut...there's a small gap and you can see the keys inside. Dumb design in my opinion.
No bluetooth on this model or the equivalent Acer (UPDATE: Acer came out with a bluetooth model for $90 more)
Now my first impressions. I love the look and feel of this laptop. It looks sleek and the keyboard has a nice feel (full size is nice). In a perfect world, the hinges and mouse buttons would be brushed chrome/titanium rather than a shinier chrome...and a more matted case rather than the shiny black. one other thing I need to note that made me choose this item...the mouse buttons on this laptop are flush to the edge, which makes it easier for someone with bigger hands to click.
As for performance, there's really nothing to say...it does everything I need it to do. I've surfed the web, played some online poker, watched some HD youtube, synced up by iTunes and just about everything else. Unless you're playing graphic intense games, this laptop will do just fine (can't say that about netbooks). P.S. - changed the default test size from 100% to 125% and this made the screen size an absolute non-issue.
I can't really think of any cons, so pros and cons won't really help. I'm giving it 5 stars, though not perfect, it's close.
Bottom line: I think this is the perfect laptop for anyone that likes to take their laptop with them when they travel. Whether the travel is back and forth from school or work, vacation, or long weekends away.
UPDATE: Still lovin the laptop. Just wanted to add that the multi-gesture trackpad works really well. You'll have to adjust it to your preference, but once you have it locked in to your likes, it's nice. Especially with the "pinch" in and out to zoom in and out, like the iPhone/iTouch. It's handy when you need to increase the size of something because of the smaller screen. Also tried the HDMI on my 42" plasma and played HD youtube, looked great...started surfing the web via the 42" TV, it was quite a treat :)
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 | Gateway NV5435U Notebook PC
Very Nice Quality and Features -- 2010-03-06
First, a clarification. The Amazon web page says it's a NV5435u and if you read down further, it says the model is NV5423u. The 5435 model is the blue cover version while the 5423 has a cherry red cover; that's the difference - the product specs are the same otherwise as far as I can tell. I needed a new laptop with a bigger screen and when first searching, I thought I should be able to find a 15" screen or so at a lower price, considering how PC prices have dropped over time. That didn't pan out, I ended up in the $450+ price range. I chose this one as it offers a nice 15.6" widescreen, has alot of RAM and disk space and another feature I wanted was the HDMI-out connection so I can plug this directly into my HDTV.
Once I got the laptop, I was very pleasantly surprised with the crispness of the display as compared to my Toshiba Satellite that's a few years old and also to my IBM Thinkpad from the office. This Gateway screen at the default resolution has the sharpness you get with high-definition TV. The difference in the display quality is very obvious - and I used to think my other laptops had very nice screen quality, but now they pale in comparison. Speaker quality is very good. I also like the keyboard, it's crisp, does not have that cheap feel to it and contains a numeric keypad, which I like. My other laptops have Windows XP Pro, which I like and I'm always skeptical about the need for Microsoft to develop a new operating system, but the Windows 7 on here is quick to boot up and is user friendly. The messages that pop up are a bit more straightforward and complete.
The Gateway Games console is installed on it with a number of Wild Tangent games. It was disappointing to find that my Trend Micro Internet Security software found the Cryp_Mangled virus in about 100 of the files related to these games. I got rid of all of the games in the console, even the few that didn't come up with a virus. Internet research indicated Wild Tangent has said that there's just some code in some files that looks like a virus, but isn't - other info on the internet says Wild Tangent is spyware. To be on the safe side, I got rid of it all , rescanned and the PC is fine. Gateway would be best off not pre-loading this on their machines. It sounds like a number of computer manufacturers preload this particular game package on their machines. Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase and highly recommend this impressive laptop.
Best bang for the buck laptop -- 2009-12-17
My last Gateway laptop was great, so I replaced it with this one. I'm very happy with almost everything about it. It's the cheapest laptop with 4 gigs of ram, high def capability, number pad, N wireless, and an LED-LCD screen. These specs cost $260 more at most places. My only small gripes are with a shared memory video card (but it's 1024mb), the mouse pad buttons are hard to get used to, and typing is more difficult because the number pad is integrated into the keyboard. I love the function buttons above the keyboard, but didn't realize they were buttons at first, and the awesome mouse pad. I have recommended this laptop to a lot of my friends and will continue to do so.
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 | Gateway EC1440U 11.6-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)
Gateway is the best -- 2010-02-21
I purchased the Gateway netbook from Beach Camera and am very satisfied. (free shipping and Fedex tracking). The video quality is good. The sound isn't great but that's because of the small size. My desktop pc is also a gateway, and it's been working without problems for a year. I reccomend Webroot for protection, it's simple and inexpensive. The 11.6" size is a little easier on the eyes than the more common 10.1", and it still fits in the carrying cases made for the ten inch netbooks.
The detachable battery lasts from 3 to 6 hours with a display telling you how many hours and minutes you have left, along with the battery percentage. There's three usb ports, two on the right, one on the left. Also an HDMI port for transfering the display to a TV. The startup and shut down time is very fast. I haven't had any freezeups or any other problem at all. There is no cd/dvd drive due to the size, but you can get an external usb drive for around sixty bucks.
If you're looking for small laptop and think the 10.1" netbooks are to small, this is the way to go. The $450 pricetag is a great deal considering this machine works as fast as an expensive desktop pc. Highly reccomended.
A lot going for it -- 2010-02-14
I bought this as a gift for a friend, but set it up and used it for a few weeks first. It is a deal, for sure. Ideal for a portable life. The 15" laptops are too big and heavy IMHO. Used this one on a flight without feeling cramped. Had a Samsung netbook before, which was great but the 10" screen is too small for serious work. 11.6" is a perfect screen size, for travel at least. I got over 5 hours on the battery, which is great. I was surprised at how fast it starts up and shuts down, must be the Windows 7? And it's an attractive machine too. My only complaint, and it is a serious one, is the flat keys. The Samsung has it beat there, by a yard, and my ThinkPad keyboard is in another league all together. All my future laptops will be 12 inch.
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