Gateway P-7805u FX Edition user reviews

5.0 stars

"Great gaming laptop for the price. Screen is 1920x1200." on February 25, 2009 by Radutzu

Pros: Good viedo performance. Low cost.

Cons: No bluetooth.

Summary: I'm not sure if this was just a fluke, but I purchased the laptop within the first week it came out, and even though on the web Gateway list the screen resolution as 1440x900, mine actually came with a screen that supports 1920x1200. I've read of several people that bought theirs with the higher screen resolution, so again I'm not sure if this was the case for just the initial batch.

2.5 stars

"Great computer" on April 20, 2009 by 1chaos

Pros: The mechanical Specs are amazing for this price range
CONS

Cons: This product has a MAJOR overheating issue

Summary: However this malfunction doesn't occur on all models, 50% of them are ok and never have problems, i have been to bestbuy recently to look at this product and the GeekSquad guy said that he had seen 7 or 8 of the original 10 come back and be exchanged. Said it was a great computer if you could find one that works. The return Policy is 14 days to find the problem and return it or you must deal with Gateway, this problem is very apparent and can be found if you run a video card test for a couple hours.
He suggested finding the P-7801u last years model as it could be tweaked to the DDR3 memory and card.

On a side note i ended up purchasing the HP HDX 18t customizable from www.shopping.hp.com to include the 2.66 Ghz processor, 4GB DDR3 Memory, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M, and a 640GB 7200 rpm Hard drive. Using the coupon code from www.deals2buy.com for 30% off this laptop saving me $650 dollars off the final price.

4.5 stars

"Satisfied COD4 and COD5 Player" on March 4, 2009 by Nathan54AB

Pros: - Runs COD4 and COD5 great with effect settings at high and at max resolution of 1440x900.
- I also occasionally play The Sims 2 with all add-on packs. Loading times in it are very speedy.
- Love the HDMI port. Takes care of one of the cons.

Cons: - Could stand to have included a faster clocked processor.
- No DVI output - lame VGA. Has HDMI though, which is great.
- Ctrl button on keyboard (important for gaming) is small and right next to the Windows button.

Summary: Overall I am very satisfied by this laptop. It surpassed my expectations with very minor cons.
I don't mind the reduced screen resolution. As far as gaming is concerned, I think 1920x1200 on a 17" laptop screen is impractical and only practical on a larger monitor.
It could stand to have come with a faster clocked processor. Gateway should have made an option for that.
Laptop battery extends out the back by about one inch, but I don't mind that. Just got to remember that it's there.
When using my external hookups, I easily forget I'm working with a laptop computer. As far as overall performance is concerned, it feels much like a high class desktop.
The laptop speakers are just that - laptop speakers. Can't expect much from them. I just use headphones. Specifically, Plantronics Gamecom 777, which are outstanding.
I also really like the look of this laptop. Although there's no lights that light up the keyboard, I don't mind that. The very bright (almost too bright) screen helps illuminate the keyboard.

COD4 & COD5 (all effects set on their highest with 1440x900 resolution):
This laptop plays these two games exceptionally well. I play it on an external 22" monitor (I don't mind playing on the laptops 17" screen, but as long as I have a choice I'm gonna hook a bigger monitor up to it) with resolution capability of 1680x1050. I still run it at 1440x900 because it's smoother even though it is still very playable at 1680x1050.
Other Statistical Data:
- Frame rates typically stayed around in the 50s and 60s.
- Frame rates went up to 70s, 80s, and sometimes 90s when complex graphics didn't take over the whole screen.
- Frame rates dropped to 40s and sometimes 30s when complex graphics took up the entire screen, but never drops below 30.

The Sims 2 w/ All Add-on Packs:
Not much to say here. The Sims 2 is a fairly simple game. This game shines more from RAM and CPU power more than it does the graphics card. Strangely, this game seemed noticeably slower on my old desktop computer which had a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme processor. I totally expected this laptop to run TS2 a little slower, but it's actually a little faster!
Other Statistical Data:
- Took roughly 30 seconds to get through the main loading screen.
- Took roughly 120 seconds to create a new neighborhood.
- Took roughly 20 seconds to load the Pleasantview neighborhood.
- Took roughly 30 seconds to load the Goth family in Pleasantview.
- The Sims 2 has simpler graphics compared to games like COD4 and COD5, so frame rates are no issue here.

5.0 stars

"Great gaming/graphic intensive notebook for the price" on February 7, 2009 by Jhedin

Pros: Excellent graphic handling for a notebook in this price range.
Plays all modern games although not all at the highest levels.
NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GTS graphics.
4 G 1066MHz DDR3 RAM

Cons: Would be nice if it had built-in bluetooth.
Only 3 USB ports which could be a problem for some.
Finger print magnet, but easily removed with a microfiber cloth.

Summary: The Gateway FX P-7805u (and it's "twin" the P-7801u) are probably at this writing the best "bang for the buck" notebooks on the market designed for (from Gateway's site) "high-end gaming, video editing, graphic design and intensive 3D apps", arguably equaling or bettering other notebook systems costing hundreds (and maybe thousands) of dollars more. In my opinion, any reviews of this system should keep in mind the value at this price point regarding gaming and video intensive applications. The 7805u specs include a 17" High-Definition Widescreen WXGA+ Display (1440 x 900), although some units, particularlly the early ones, came with the display that is on the 7801u, the 17" High-Definition Widescreen WUXGA Display (1920 x 1200), exceeding what is called "true HD". The display appears to be the only difference between the two units, other than the fact that the 7805u appears to be a Best Buy exclusive. From reading feedback from users with either monitor, once adjusted (the "factory" adjustments seem somewhat muted to most) they are very bright and crisp.

The Intel Core2 Duo Processor1 P8400 (2.26GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache) may not be the highest level processor available, but it does get a Vista Experience Index score of 5.2, which is more than Crysis recommends (5.0) as a minimum, so the game is playable thanks to the NVIDIA® GeForce 9800M GTS Graphics with 1GB of GDDR3 Discrete Video Memory at the WUXGA level although not at the highest settings.

The Vista Experience Numbers, right out of the box are:
Processor-5.2
Memory (RAM)-5.9
Graphics-5.9
Gaming Graphics-5.9
Primary HD-5.7
Overall -5.2.

Interestingly, some owners have reported a 5.8 number for their 320GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive, but this doesn't affect the "overall" number. The notebook has room for a second HD and it supports RAID 0. Owners who have added a second, identical 320 HD in the RAID 0 configuration report that they are now getting a 5.9 VIE number for their HD.

Other future expandability by the owner includes replacing the DVD player with a Blu-Ray player and swapping out the CPU for a faster CPU. As of this writing I don't believe it has been confirmed that a Quad Core CPU can be installed in this unit, however it does appear that Gateway may be releasing the FX P-7808u with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 sometime in 2009. Also, it has not been confirmed, but it is believed that the system can also be upgraded to 8G RAM.

I've been using my 7805u for almost a month and really don't have any negatives worth mentioning (other than the "cons", above). I like the look and feel of it and expected a 17" notebook to take up some desk space and be a little heavy (little over 9 pounds), so neither of these are an issue with me. In fact, quite the opposite - the extra "real estate" of the 17" screen running at 1920 x 1200 is great. Yeah, I was fortunate to be one of those folks that got a WUXGA P-7805u.

To Gateway's credit, the system did not come with a lot of "bloatware" and I was able to delete/uninstall the programs I did not want very easily. The notebook comes with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) with SP1. While the 64-bit version is becoming less problematic, you should insure that all the programs you plan to run on this unit are Vista 64 capable. Not that this is specific to this notebook, but it is something worth noting. I?ve had no problem and the system zips though everything I tried so far.
For a "gamer" who absolutely must have a notebook PC and is on a tight budget, the Gateway P-7805u (and P-7801u) FX Notebook will certainly get them "into the game" and it has enough capability and future expandability to keep them in the game for awhile, in my opinion.

Updated on Feb 21, 2009

I disagree with CNet reviewer Dan Ackerman's statement that this is a "fixed-configuration system", unless he only means that as an ordering option through Gateway. It has a second HD bay where another HD or SSD can be installed. Also, end users or their local PC Service location, can upgrade the CPU or remove the multi-DVD player and replace it with a Blu-ray/multi-DVD unit. Further, some owner's have installed an internal Bluetooth card. The FX P-7801u has the higher resolution WUSGA 1920 x 1200 screen, and a recently introduced P-7807u has the slightly faster Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz. The soon to be released Gateway FX P-7808u reportedly will include an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 2GHz, 500G HD, and Bluetooth. The FX P-78xx family appears to be getting larger.