Yamaha Home Theater
Entered CNET Catalog: 09/17/2005
SKU: nx500x
Manufacturer: Gateway Inc.
Product summary
The good: Affordable; well configured for the price; good performance; solid design.
The bad: Lacks DVD burner; somewhat dim display; unimpressive battery life; small hard drive.
The bottom line: Gateway's affordable NX500X proves that you don't have to spend an exorbitant amount of money to get a respectably configured notebook.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/10/2005
Gateway's affordable NX500X proves that you don't have to spend an exorbitant amount of money to get a respectably configured notebook. Our $950 test configuration featured a nice wide-screen design, a typical array of features, and solid performance. Battery life was just so-so, however; if your work requires lots of time away from the socket, we recommend the comparably priced, though slightly bulkier, HP Compaq Presario V2300.
Though Gateway calls it a thin-and-light, we consider the NX500X more of a midsize laptop; it weighs 6.3 pounds and measures 10.4 inches deep, 14 inches wide, and 1.3 inches thick. Clad in sophisticated hues of gray and black, the NX500X has a pleasing design that feels extremely sturdy and solid. The system's big, firm keyboard provides deep key travel and is quite comfortable to use for long typing stints. Under the keys is a moderately sized touch pad that features a separate area on its right side for scrolling through documents. The mouse buttons are wide but too small for our taste.
The laptop features a 15.4-inch wide-screen display with a standard 1,280x800 native resolution; it lacks the glossy, high-contrast treatment found on other models, and we found it to be a bit dimmer than average.
Featuring a typical array of connections, the Gateway NX500X comes with four USB 2.0 ports, a PC Card slot, and support for Ethernet and modem. There's also a 4-in-1 memory card reader, and a FireWire port for connecting to digital video cameras and other similar devices. Integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi comes standard.
Configured surprisingly well in light of its modest sticker price, our Gateway NX500X test unit came equipped with a midrange 1.73GHz Pentium M CPU; 512MB of slow 333MHz DDR SDRAM; and a meager 40GB hard drive that's too small for those with large amounts of digital data. To keep the price under a grand, the system foregoes a more expensive DVD burner and features a fixed DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive that can play CDs and DVDs but burn only CDs.
The Gateway NX500X's performance was good, landing it a competitive score on CNET Labs' MobileMark benchmark that rivaled the comparably priced Acer TravelMate 2355LCi. The NX500X will ably handle productivity tasks such as e-mail, Web surfing, and word processing. Its standard 6-cell battery delivered average life--just shy of 3 hours--placing it ahead of the Acer's 2 hours but behind the Dell's 3 hours, 45 minutes and the HP's impressive 6-hour time. You can purchase an 8-cell ($30) or 12-cell battery ($60) on Gateway's Web site (CNET did not test either of these batteries).
Gateway backs the NX500X notebook with a standard one-year warranty that includes replacing faulty parts and repairing the laptop should it need to be serviced. For technical help, a 24/7 toll-free phone hotline is available, and you can also reach someone via e-mail. If that's not enough hand-holding, the company also sells a myriad of extended and more expensive warranty plans.
For more detailed information about warranties and service plans, check out Computer Shopper's overview of 37 major computer vendors.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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BAPCo MobileMark2005 performance rating |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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BAPCo MobileMark2005 Battery Life Minutes |
Find out more about how we test Windows notebooks.
System configurations:
Gateway NX500X
Windows XP Home; 1.7GHz Intel Pentium M 735; 512MB DDR-SDRAM PC2700 333MHz; Intel 82852/8285 64MB; Hitachi Travelstar 4K40 40GB 4200rpm
Compaq Presario V2300
Windows XP Home; 1.8GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-34; 512MB DDR SDRAM PC2700 333MHz; ATI Mobility Xpress 200M 128MB; Fujitsu MHT2060AT 60GB 4200rpm
Dell Inspiron 6000
Windows XP Home; 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M 730; 512MB DDR2 PC3200 SDRAM 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 60GB 5400rpm
Acer TravelMate 2355LCibr />
Windows XP Professional; 1.4GHz Intel Celerton M-360; 512MB DDR-SDRAM PC2700 333MHz; Intel i855GM/GME 64MB; Hitachi Travelstar 80GN 60GB 4200rpm
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 User Rating: 
3/10
Gateway Systems are the worst!
Pros: Waiting 4 weeks for delivery
Cons: The system crashing out of the box while loading software!
I guess I will stick with my old IBM, dropped and well traveled it still works. Gateway could learn of few things about laptops from IBM.
I gave it a 3 for the ability to turn on. It's the least I could do!
User Rating: 
8/10
Powerful, Reliable, and Inexpensive
Pros: Sleek, stylish design. Widescreen. Intel Centrino Optional
Cons: On base model, dim screen and lackluster memory/HD
Overall I am very pleased with this computer. The ultrabright screen in a necessity; the standard screen is dim but the ultrabright screen brings out a great deal of clarity. I agree with other reviewers at a short battery life. I must say that the standard 6-cell battery is at best a match for dell's standard 4-cell. An upgrade to the 8-cell battery (at no extra size) lets me watch 2 1/2 hours of video either from the HD or a DVD before I get a low battery. I expect 3.5 hours during regular computing.
The built in wireless from intel is a godsend. Not having to worry about a PCMICA card hanging out 2 inches makes true 'lap'top computing a breeze. And lets not forget the 4-in-1 SD card reader. For backing up files I find it much more convienent than a flash drive. I just keep a 2gb SDcard in my wallet and keep my backups on it. There is the small issue with SDcard compatibility with other PC's that dont have a reader, one can always go to Kinkos or Staples in the event of a crash to retrieve backup data. I prefer the card-in-wallet over a flash-drive on the keychain.
The design is modern, art deco, and even futuristic. It is simple, sleek, and beautiful. People often show interest in cafe's and coffeshops when I take it out of the case. For the price (my model was $1100.00) I can honestly say I have not found a better deal elsewhere. For moderate computing needs on the go, I highly reccomend this PC.
I have had this machine for 10 months now. I bought it with the ATI Raedon 600x mobile video card, 60gb hard drive, ultrabright screen, and 1.7ghz intel pentuim M processor. I spent a grand total of $1100 on it, and it was worth every penny.
I have had the hard drive and cd drive fail on me, however gateway replaced them for free, no questions asked. Even the return shipping was included. I am currently running Vista ultimate on it, with no issues whatsoever. This machine is very powerful and can handle advanced graphics and demanding software such as flash and dreamwever. Overall, I would rate this machine as a 7. Very good, but the base model at $800 lacks that extra umph.
User Rating: 
10/10
Good deal works like a charm
Pros: Not Available
Cons: Not Available
User Rating: 
9/10
An amazing computer
Pros: Very fast and very thin
Cons: Wireless internet can be slow with online games (steam powered games)
I love this computer and I havent had any problems with it yet.
User Rating: 
1/10
Nice until it breaks down and needs 4 repairs
Pros: Hard to imagine any at this moment
Cons: How many times does my computer have to be sent back still broken.
