Entered CNET Catalog: 08/13/2008
SKU: 0827103150360
Manufacturer: Gateway Inc.
Manufacturer description
Bring your entertainment into extreme widescreen territory. Gateway P series notebooks feature 17" widescreen Ultrabright displays to view more of your movies, pictures and online entertainment like never before. Stream content, watch online videos and enjoy DVD movies in incredible quality. And waiting for your stalled PC is a thing of the past with dual-core performance and plenty of memory for all your multitasking demands.Product summary
The good: Features a high-end Centrino 2 CPU and Nvidia GeForce 9800 graphics card for an incredibly reasonable price; higher screen resolution than previous models; 4GB of RAM and 64-bit OS.
The bad: Lacks a few basic amenities, such as Bluetooth and a fingerprint reader; 200GB hard drive is merely average.
The bottom line: We don't know how Gateway makes money selling these things, but the combination of high-end components and low price makes the 17-inch Gateway P-7811FX the best mobile gaming deal going right now.
Editors' review
- Editors' Rating: 8.6
- Editors' Choice: Yes
- Reviewed on: 08/15/2008
Editors' note: This review is part of our Back to School 2008 roundup, covering specific configurations of popular laptops that can be found in retail stores.
Gateway's budget-minded, 17-inch gaming laptops have impressed lately, offering high-end graphics and enough CPU power to make for a decent gaming experience. Our only real knocks against the 6831FX were for their merely average processors (Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 or T5500) and 1,440x900 resolution, which is good for a high-end 15-inch machine but less ideal for a desktop replacement.
The new P-7811FX manages to fix most of the issues we had with those earlier Gateway budget-gaming laptops. It bumps the processor all the way up to a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 and the Centrino 2 platform, adds Nvidia's new GeForce 9800M GTS graphics card, and ups the screen resolution to an HD-friendly 1,920x1,200. Amazingly, it does all of this for $1,449. Sure, the P-7811FX costs about $100 more than those previous models, but for the PC gamer on a budget, we don't know of a better deal on a laptop right now.
| Price as reviewed | $1,449 |
| Processor | 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 |
| Memory | 4GB, 667MHz DDR3 |
| Hard drive | 200GB 7,200rpm |
| Chipset | Intel P45 |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Premium (64-bit) |
| Dimensions (WDH) | 15.7 x 12.2 x 1.6 inches |
| Screen size (diagonal) | 17.1 inches |
| System weight / Weight with AC adapter | 9.0/10.5 pounds |
| Category | Desktop Replacement |
Gateway's FX line of laptops, including the P-7811FX, skips the glowing alien heads and flashing lights of 17-inch gaming rigs from Alienware or Dell. Instead, it features a glossy black plastic chassis, with brushed aluminum detailing and copper accents around the keyboard. It makes for a subdued, yet sporty, look (although, it attracts fingerprints like crazy).
The full-size keyboard and separate number pad have roomy, comfortable keys. Above the keyboard is a row of media controls, with buttons cut right into the brushed metal border. These backlit buttons look cool, but are not as easy to use as the touch-sensitive controls found on most new laptops. There is one touch-sensitive control--a volume slider--which is responsive, but adjusts the volume too slowly for our tastes.
One of our chief complaints about the Gateway 6860FX and 6831FX models was concerning the 1,440x900-pixel display resolution, which is fine for an upscale 15-inch laptop, but not great for a 17-inch desktop replacement. Gateway apparently heard our gripes and upgraded the screen to the same 1,920x1,200 resolution one found on high-end gaming and multimedia laptops. It's also great for downloading and viewing HD-video content, and almost makes us wish we could pay a little more for a Blu-ray drive. Sadly, Gateway doesn't offer a Blu-ray-equipped model anywhere in its 17-inch P series. If your idea of entertainment drifts toward HD movies and away from 3D games, the HP Pavilion dv7-1025nr will hold some appeal. HP's $1,499 desktop replacement doesn't offer quite the graphics horsepower of the Gateway P-7811FX, but some models in the line feature a Blu-ray drive, and the laptop boasts a unique "frameless" bezel.
| Gateway P-7811FX | Average for category [desktop replacement] | |
| Video | VGA, HDMI | VGA-out, S-video, HDMI |
| Audio | Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks | Stereo speakers with subwoofer, headphone/microphone jacks. |
| Data | 3 USB 2.0, mini FireWire, SD card reader, eSATA | 4 USB 2.0, mini FireWire, SD card reader |
| Expansion | ExpressCard/54 | ExpressCard/54 |
| Networking | Modem, Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi | modem, Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth |
| Optical drive | DVD burner | DVD burner [high-end: HD DVD or Blu-Ray] |
With only three USB ports, there isn't as much connectivity as a laptop like the Dell Studio 15 offers, but we like the eSATA port for hooking up an external hard drive. Our review unit had a fingerprint reader and Bluetooth, but those two extras have been stripped from the final shipping version of the P-7811FX. We also expected to see a 250GB or 320GB hard drive instead of the 200GB unit here, but at least it spins at a quick 7,200rpm.
The Core 2 Duo T5000-series CPUs in the Gateway 6860FX and 6831FX were fine for playing even high-end games like Crysis on the 14-inches wide by 9-inches tall display, and we were happy to sacrifice some processing power for the GeForce 8800 graphics card that was the main selling point of those aggressively priced systems. The P-7811FX offers an excellent upgrade in that department; it moves up to a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU, part of Intel's new Centrino 2 platform. Combined with 4GB of RAM, the 64-bit OS needed to make use all that RAM, and a desktop-speed, 7200rpm hard drive, the Gateway was a strong performer in our round-up of high-end back-to-school laptops. It matched performance with two other P8400 systems, the HP Pavilion dv7-1025nr and the Sony VAIO FW140. (It's worth noting that some software and hardware can have additional compatibility and performance issues with the 64-bit version of Vista, although the specific applications we used for benchmarking worked well.)
The high-end Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card we liked so much in the Gateway FX series has also been upgraded in the P-7811FX--to the GeForce 9800 GTS. We were able to get 117 frames per second in Unreal Tournament 3 at a modest 1280x800 resolution--far more than the 78 frames per second we got with Toshiba's similarly priced gaming rig, the Qosmio X305-Q701, which has a Nvidia GeForce 9700M. Bumping the resolution up to 1,900x1,200, we still managed to get a very impressive 58 frames per second. The only laptop that comes close is the Alienware Area-51 m17x, which combines the same GeForce 9800 graphics card with a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 CPU, and is, naturally, much more expensive.
Our battery testing, using CNET Labs' video playback battery drain test, gave us 2 hours and 42 minute of battery life, which is fairly impressive for a desktop replacement. Because desktop replacements spend most of their time tethered to a single location, battery life isn't usually a big factor here.
The system includes an industry-standard, one-year warranty, with parts-and-labor coverage and return-to-depot service. Gateway offers a 24-7, toll-free, technical-support phone line, and the Web site has the usual driver downloads and FAQs, plus options for e-mailing or online chatting with technicians.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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1280x800, 0X AA, 0X AF |
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Find out more about how we test laptops.
Sony VAIO VGN-FW140 E/H
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400; 3072MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel GMA 4700MHD; 250GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm
HP Pavilion dv5-1015nr
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350; 4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9200M GS; 320GB Western Digital 5,400rpm
Gateway P-7811FX
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400; 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 667MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeFOrce 9800M GTS; 200GB Seagate 7,200rpm
HP Pavilion dv7-1025nr
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400; 4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT; 320GB Western Digital 5,400rpm
Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q701
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350; 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9700M GTS; 200GB Toshiba 7,200rpm
HP Pavilion dv5-1004nr
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.1GHz AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core ZM-80; 4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB ATI Radeon HD3200; 250GB Western Digital 5,400rpm
Dell XPS M1330-126B
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250; 4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 965GM Express; 320GB Western Digital 5,400rpm
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46out of 46 user reviews
Great Laptop but needs improvement
Pros: 17" screen with 1920 x 1200 Resolution
4GB of Ram
GeForce 9800M GTS Graphics Card
Cons: 200GB 7200RPM HDD is small
Overheating can be an issue
Drivers sometimes having issues
OS: This one comes preloaded with windows vista 64bit, Vista is a memory hog and with only 4GB of ram you be lucky to see 2gb useable. I quickly changed over to windows 7 and everything has been for the better.
HDD: The 200GB hard drive started to fill up on me pretty quickly and I found that I needed more room. There are 2 HDD slots for you to mount a 2nd drive if you need. I swapped out the 200GB HDD with 2 500GB HDD which I do not run in Raid 0, I use the other one for storage. This brings my laptop up for 1TB of space very nice improvement.
Graphics Card: This needed some special attention due to drivers being an issue. Later on I think Nvidia eventually updated this driver to function with no more crashes and errors. The previous driver was fine but it had its hick ups once in a while. Updated and haven't had any issues.
Bluetooth: Yes there is a way to make your computer bluetooth capabable. I installed a bluetooth adapter which occupies one of my usb slots now.
USB 3.0: Wondering how I can get this on my computer? I recently discovered expresscard slots which convert over to usb. Yes you can utilize that empty express slot which 90% of people do not use. I have 2X USB 3.0 slots now.
My scores for windows index went from and average 5.2 up to a 5.9 with these upgrades. The improved drivers brought the gaming graphics score to a 6.7
out of 46 user reviews
Single worst customer service I have ever experienced
Pros: I can not think of one single pro of owning a gateway.
Cons: Beginning with a faulty power supply ( google it, you will get thousands of hits on how to "fix " it)
I will not only never buy another Gateway product, I will go out of my way to make sure my friends, family, and strangers never buy another product from them.
out of 46 user reviews
Awesome laptop- great with games and the wallet!
Pros: Sturdy as a rock (dropped it twice and it's still chugging along), powerful, easy on the eyes and your bank account.
Cons: No bluetooth, a bit plasticky, no Blue-Ray. Can't find them new anymore. Could use a few more USB slots.
out of 46 user reviews
Workhorse system for desktop replacement of gaming
Pros: Solid speed, great display and graphics (especially if you got one from the very first batch with the 1900 x display instead of the 1440 x 900 display), 4 GB RAM, runs all flavors of Windows, full-size keyboard, large multimedia keys, GREAT PRICE!
Cons: Big and heavy - but that's to be expected for this class of system.
out of 46 user reviews
$500 and it can run any game I throw at it.
Pros: Cheap, compiles programs quickly, large screen, HDMI output, very powerful laptop, cheap, fast, the color on the screen is fantastic
Cons: Heavy, adapter doesn't fit well, Ctrl key is oddly placed, especially for a gaming laptop, accidentally hit the wireless internet switch a lot, glass screen causes bad glare, crapware, camera is weak
The HDMI output has been incredible as well. Streaming has never looked better. I can also play any game on my 47" t.v. The colors look great and my console friends are VERY jealous. It looks and runs better than their Xbox's and I can carry mine with me everywhere I go!
Again, for the price, this deal can't be beat.
out of 46 user reviews
it is not worth the price for a "gaming computer".
Pros: good price for overpower work computer
Cons: overheats/freezes when trying to game.
heavy
not good to use outside can't see screen in sun
Gateway need to do something for the masses of people that bought this as a gaming computer but it does not look like anything will be done due to them saying there is no problem to most people.
out of 46 user reviews
Out of the Box Issues + Bad Customer Support = .5 Star
Pros: -good specs
-runs cool, no extras required
-nice fit and finish
Cons: - outsourced tech support
- repair facility cant fix a thing without breaking another
-unethical business practices in regard to their return policy.
out of 46 user reviews
EXCELLENT, High-performance laptop with minor setbacks
Pros: I love the monitor/ screen resolution. Video quality is beautiful. Effortless ability to hook it up to our Samsung LCD television. Other pros are: the portability of playing it anywhere, huge amount of memory/hard-drive space, nice specs
Cons: The digital-touch volume bar is poor quality. Sound quality could be a little better, but sufficient. Heavier than a typical laptop (obvious reasons). Had initial trouble finding a carrying case to fit. Overheating & battery life during gameplay...
out of 46 user reviews
Still a hard combination to beat and its a year old
Pros: High end out of the box.
Built in wireless
Awesome 9800m GTS 512mb DDR video card
7200rpm drive built in
2 Bays, for expandability
Large WUXGA Screen
Full HD 1920 x 1080
Mature drivers and bios available
Cons: No remote came with it to control movies
Alienware, Xoticpc... no one has these features for this cheap. The high end boutique gaming laptops are just severely overpriced...really. Don't bother with them. I haven't had any issues with this machine at all.
The new(er) gateway FX machines (7805-9u's) dropped the HD resolution (their highest is 1440) but increased to a 1GB Nvidia 9800m GTS.
You really aren't going to notice a big difference between the 512 and 1gb 9800m GTS cards. So my money is with the 7811FX, as it has that full HD rez.
When they have a 2gb graphics card with twice the bus speed and clock rating, thats when I'll think about an upgrade. Otherwise, I don't see letting go of this laptop for a LONG time.
So simply put, if you see a 7811-FX for sale anywhere (it would most likely be used) get it! You won't be disappointed.
out of 46 user reviews
Good in theory, bad experience and still not working
Pros: Very good system specs. Fast CPU and RAM, very nice 17" screen
Cons: Graphics card overheating issues lead to hang-ups while playing video games, defeating the purpose of this gaming laptop. TERRIBLE customer service and repair center can't help.
out of 46 user reviews
doomed to begin with
Pros: good for gaming? maybe?
Cons: When I bought this it locked up on games. They just reformat it. I sent it back 3 times in total. Then I said to myself, maybe its a bad drivers problem with the OS. I installed Windows 7 Beta on it, and poof, never froze again.
out of 46 user reviews
Great Laptop!
Pros: Comes with a lot of power and graphics capabilities.
Cons: Some of the exteriors are made of cheap plastic.
out of 46 user reviews
A Very Good Notebook
Pros: Very large hard drive, 1920*1200 resolution
Cons: Flimsy feeling keyboard, keys have a tendency to break (3 on the one I own)
The only knocks I have on this are the slow DVD burner in it (come on DVD drive makers... time to get at LEAST 16X burning on a laptop!) and the 'fingerprint magnet' glossy coating on the screen.
Updated on Mar 31, 2009In regards to the keyboard breaking thing..... Gateway isn't very good with fixing their notebooks. It took two WEEKS to get the computer back from them..... two weeks without my 'good computer' is unacceptable in my opinion.
Their computers are good... but they have to work on their warranty and repair turnaround time.
out of 46 user reviews
gaming computer that wont play games...
Pros: when it runs without freezing up its really nice.
Cons: Since day 1 this computer locks up while playing wow. Could take 1 min or 30 mins but it will lock up. Multiple tests by Geek Squad couldnt duplicate this problem besides online games. The first time I used it since getting it back it crashed.
out of 46 user reviews
Dont know what the fuss is about, my machine runs great
Pros: let me list them
4 gb ddr3 Ram , again DDR3!!! this is next generation, 2gb of ddr3 =4gb of ddr2
Extreme fast run time.
320gb
Huge 17 inch display
Best Graphics on market
Finally this machine wont out be out of date for a while.
for ddr3 it cheap
Cons: one more list
no bluetooth
no blue ray
overheating
4-5 hour battery life
other then that there available every where Best Buy just got them by the tons
some other features THAT IT HAS:
HDMI port
SD Card port
eSATA port
Blazing fast loadtimes
if your a gamer or a small buisness o
out of 46 user reviews
NEVER BUY GATEWAY
Pros: Great products, great prices
Cons: No Service. Literally, no service. They sold it to a 3rd party and it went bankrupt.
Never EVER buy from Gateway, you can't trust them. The tech support and service they have today may be gone tomorrow.
out of 46 user reviews
Impressive machine with only a few minor inconveniences
Pros: * Best 3D performance for the price
* Beautiful high-definition display
* HDMI and eSATA ports
* Good productivity performance
Cons: * Speakers not very powerful
* No Blu-ray drive
* Good luck finding one
The 1080p screen on the P-7811FX gives crisp imagery and remarkably wide viewing angles, but you may want to keep ambient light to a minimum as the glossy coating tends to be a bit too reflective, that however is a minor issue. Watched a movie on it and it looked great and showed no noticeable motion blur. The speakers are the problem, which are merely adequate, a subwoofer would have helped. You better invest in some headphones.
Some of my concerns are it's weight, at 9.3lbs this beast is on the heavy side. heat management is important if you plan on running this at it's maximum potential. They also stopped producing them in bulk, so you'll either have to go directly to Gateway, or find one elsewhere online. The reason for the reduced production has nothing to do with the machine's performance, its' just that the price they had it at was TOO LOW. Overall this machine may spend most of its' life tethered near a power outlet, which is fine because it's a desktop replacement. Even though its' heavy for a laptop, it is way more portable than the traditional PC. Laptops will only get more powerful from here, and it looks like the age of the desktop PC is seeing it's end with machines like this.
Updated on Jan 30, 2009Get rid of the junk software, and dump Vista the moment Windows 7 launches. Customer support is a joke, better if you know someone who actually knows how computers work if you have problems. Had the computer for a good month now, and played Fallout 3 full tilt with no issues. Holds my music, games and downloads fairly well, although I've already filled half the Disk space. Invest in a cooling pad and a portable hard drive (currently using a Free Agent Go). Still loving it, although it really does attract dust and finger prints like crazy, wipe it down if it matters that much to you.
out of 46 user reviews
Laptop Fails as does Gateway Customer Service
Pros: Works as long as I'm not using the charger.
Cons: Locks up while playing WoW, only while using the charger.
The main reason for buying this laptop was purely for gaming, and from Gateway's website and Bestbuy.com where I purchased the laptop all signs pointed to this being a gamer's laptop.
I can't even run WoW with the charger in, it will be anywhere from 1-5 minutes, sometimes an hour and then the laptop will freeze and only a hard reset will bring the laptop back on.
Gateway customer support IS AWFUL. They make you run around through all their support forums or sites, and if you try to get anyone actually over the phone, plan on waiting over an hour just to talk to their "tier 2" support for them to only tell you "Sorry, send in your laptop for warranty repair" Hello? This is a brand new laptop, I'm not paying more money just to make this damn thing work.
Gateway is not helpful at all, doesn't even attempt to assist the customer in the best way possible, they just sit behind their warranty and their ****** merchandise.
out of 46 user reviews
Still the best in it's price range. By far.
Pros: 9800m gts is an excellent card, runs cooler than expected.
2 hard drive bays, and I THINK raid is possible (not sure).
Screen is 1920x1200, which is amazing for a laptop.
Full keyboard w/ num pad.
DDR3 Memory and a 64 bit OS.
Easy to access CPU.
Cons: Crappy digital volume bar. Would have preferred volume buttons.
Fn and Ctrl are switched, but you get used to it.
Arrow keys are a little small and close together.
Poor driver support by Gateway.
out of 46 user reviews
Don't Bother
Pros: Sounds like it's a great machine
Cons: Impossible to purchase
out of 46 user reviews
Power, Looks, and Function all for a GREAT price
Pros: Great for gaming
Great Price
Fast Fast Fast & Powerful
Best of all it looks AWESOME
Cons: Right shift key is small...
Also, it can get a little hot, but what do you expect from a 9800GTS?
out of 46 user reviews
Would be an amazing laptop if it were realible
Pros: Clearly its a great laptop from first glance. Does well for gaming and well you name it. Beautiful display so on so forth.
Cons: This laptop has to many internal problems from bad hardware. Mainly the hard drive.
So it would be awesome, If it could work. That and 64 bit windows vista "mojave"lol For you who see the adds DONT BE FOOLED BY THEM!!
!!!VISTA IS UTTER GARBAGE!!!
So if you werent scared away already just wait theres more
The operating system for this product isnt so much a slap in the face of gateway since obviously this laptop is about sporting the latest and greatest so naturally XP wont fall into that. But vista has so many problems with general functions its depressing. I couldnt even buy a game from direct2drive.com cause for some unfor seen error and it wasnt a firewall or problem with the website. Its that Vista 64bit or 32bit for that matter are bug ridden incompatible plagues to the PC society. Not to mention all the "asking permission" to continue thing. Yes it can be turned off but only to a degree. You think that permission garbage is gonna stop a virus. Absolutely not. Its just slows you the user down. Oh and whats Microsoft's answer to fixing all the problems? A stupid comercial about people who know nothing about computers testing it out for the first time and being awed because its pretty to look at. EPIC FAIL!
Maybe my review for windows vista should be seperate from the laptop but in anycase this computer will die on you fast!! If your for some reason lucky enough to have it live for an extended period of time you'll be cursed with windows vista. They honestly should have a recall on this product.
On a side note:
One nice thing about gateway though is when you do call to get it fixed. You talk to a "american". I'm not racist - not at all. But when I had problems with my old dell or Xbox 360 and I've had to call for those. Its always someone in India who happens to be named Jason Smith and who has very broken and hard to understand english.
So props to you Gateway. I'm dead serious.
out of 46 user reviews
Almost perfect
Pros: Excellent graphics at an unbeatable price. Solid design -- aesthetically pleasing and durable. Leaves plenty of room for expansion with easily upgradeable processor and HDD.
Cons: Heavy, No Dual-link DVI
I haven't looked back. The laptop does almost everything I want it to do. I really wish it had a Dual-Link DVI port instead of the HDMI, however, since it can't drive a 30-inch display at its native resolution. Apart from that, I've now got a happy Ubuntu Linux portable that can run Crysis at medium/1920x1200 without any slowdown for the price of a regular Macbook. Amazing deal. I'm a Gateway customer now ^^.
out of 46 user reviews
P-7811FX = Amazing laptop for $1200
Pros: Fantastic Performance
Great Features
Great Price
Looks good too
Cons: It's Huge
Vista operating system (No drivers support for Windows XP)
Speaker volume
I play FPS games like COD4 Modern Warfare, COD World at War, Left 4 Dead, etc The P-7811FX plays them all on high settings, smooth as butter.
Pros:
*Fantastic Performance*
Intel P8400 Core 2 Duo (Centrino 2) CPU
4GB DDR3 memory
512MB nVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTS graphics
17" screen with 1920 x 1200 resolution
Wireless N
HDMI, eSATA, 1394, USB 2.0 (x3), card reader, webcam & mic
Includes both 32bit & 64bit versions of Vista Home Premium SP1
Cons:
1. It's huge. It sucks to carry this big thing around, but once you get to your destination it's great. I wish gateway made this laptop in a 14" or 15" model for better portability.
2. In the event that you choose to ditch Vista, which is what comes preinstalled on the 7811FX, Gateway does not provide drivers for Windows XP .
3. Glossy black case looks great until you get your palm prints all over it.
4. Tiny speakers = poor sound quality, typical of all laptops I suspect. Speaker volume can be inadequate at times. You will need to wear headphones if you're in a noisy environment.
out of 46 user reviews
Not appropriate for business use if you need relability
Pros: Crystal clear screen, graphics were great. Laptop ran very smoothly when it was running.
Cons: HD failed after less than 4 months of use. Shell and keyboard components flimsy.
out of 46 user reviews
Why did they stop making it!??!
Pros: Can some one please research this and find more info on why production of this unit is halted?? it doesn't even appear on the gateway site -srry i had to use reviews to get the msg out
Cons: they stopped making it
out of 46 user reviews
Where did it go?
Pros: Don't have one -- I was thinking of getting one, but now it's not available anywhere! Anyone know what happened?
Cons: they're not for sale?
out of 46 user reviews
best in price range
Pros: There is nothing I don't like about this PC. We don't travel with this notebook other than room to room so the weight isn't a issue. We got this to replace a year old Dell Inspiron 1720 that had become a nightmare. This is twice the PC for $350 less.
Cons: A little heavy, I don't like Vista. Linux once the warrantee expires
We got this to replace a year old Dell Inspiron 1720 that had become a nightmare. This is twice the PC for $350 less. Also it doesn't get too hot. This is our 5th notebook [2 Dell 2 HP] and by far the most enjoyable to use.
out of 46 user reviews
Good But sever problems
Pros: Excellent video card, Good price for what you get
Cons: Video Card crashes with any and all games tried, hard lock have to power down the system and turn is back on to break the lock
out of 46 user reviews
Amazing laptop, no doubt about it.
Pros: Pretty much the best laptop you can get right now.
For gaming, it is a dream come true.
And you will never have a problem with running everyday things.
Cons: It is big, and has a weird kind of look to it.
Not the most attractive laptop out there.
The webcam does tend to not turn on sometimes.
Useless bluetooth button, that doesn't work.
Battery can die pretty fast, depending on what you're doing.
It's pretty much good for anything.
I'm not a huge gamer, but it is always nice to know that I can play any game I want.
This laptop matches all of the system requirements for any game out there.
The screen is big and had a very clean look to it.
The resolution is amazing.
I highly recommend buying this laptop.
You won't be sorry.
out of 46 user reviews
Absolutely Impressed! Noobs, stay home.
Pros: Screen, graphics power, HD Speed, stability, 64 bit OS, Mobile Powerhouse!
Cons: Yep... it does make some heat. Comes bundled with "Crapware".
The down side: It's already been mentioned... it does make some heat when gaming. I knew this going in and purchased a cooling pad along with the machine. So far this has been a "feature". I set my coffee cup next to the outflow port and it stays hot for hours! :D Other cons include the Nobodywantsme-ware included and pre-installed. This is where home schooled mouse button pushers should stay away. A complete dump and reinstall of operating system is drivers is a great recommendation but I did not find it necessary in my case. I had Best Buy fire the thing up and update all the drivers. Once I got it home, I updated the ones they missed then uninstalled all of the Crapware except for Norton 360 (which I find very useful). I think that so long as you preform this action prior to installing ANYTHING else, you won't have to do a complete reformat (at least, I didn't).
Other subtle annoyances are a lack of cabling. It's hard to gripe about this considering the cost of this laptop. I mean... for less than $1500 and considering what you already get... what does one expect? I find myself purchasing both and external SATA (for my backup drive) and Firewire cable equipped with the tiny connector on the computer end. I've also purchased a Bluetooth dongle that fits inside of one of the USB port (I love this thing by the way. Very handy to have).
About the only other thing on my current wish list is a backpack to house this monster for transport and possibly a USB hub that affixes itself to the laptop. Curretnly, I have my trackball hookes to the port on the right, the Bluetooth dongle and cooling pad plugged into the left (my kingdom for a Bluetooth version of my Trackball). I can't think of a thing at the monent though, of what else I might need to plug into a USB port. The cam is built in (and does a fantastic job btw), and the internal microphone does well for most things (my Bluetooth device does the rest).
My bottom line: I've built a boat load of machines and purchased a number of laptops over the years. With every build and every purchase there's always some aspect of the final product that elaves you thinking, "Hmmm... I thought that would be better" --or-- "I expected this to be faster" --or-- "The display isn't as sweet as I'd expected" or whatever... This is the first time that I've just been hands down impressed. It may not outperform all the computers that your buddy says he has but I'd bet a dollar it will outperform the one he REALLY has. In other words: Sure, there are some bleeding edge builds out there that are stacked but to get this kind of performace from a a self-build... I guarantee that you'll be spending considerably more.
Updated on Oct 6, 2008Pardon my typos, A larger editing screen would be a nice addition.
Best Buy's price is 1449.99 no the 1249.99 listed here.
out of 46 user reviews
Awesome Notebook
Pros: I have had this thing for less than a month and it has surprised me. It has done things that I never dreamed I could do.
Cons: No Bluetooth or fingerprint reader. No Blue Ray but that is not a biggie.
out of 46 user reviews
The best Price-Performance Balanced gaming notebook.
Pros: Excellent 1920x1200 screen, powerful specs, 9800m GTS is a powerhouse, eSATA & HDMI ports, 2nd Hard Drive Bay, stylish design, lighter than other 17" gaming notebooks, fantastic battery for a 17" notebook, PRICE! It's only $1,250!
Cons: No black-lit keys, only 3 USB ports, battery sticks out 1" in back, lack of purchase options such as Blu-Ray & 2nd Hard Drive (although not hard to find from other stores).
The processor is no slouch, either. At only 2.26ghz, it might seem like a step down from Intel's T-series, but it performs much much faster, even on Vista 64-Bit. To add to that, thanks to Centrino 2's power optimization, the P-7811FX boasts a vastly superior battery life compared to other 17" notebooks. With brightness at 65%, that battery can support up to 3 hours of wireless web-browsing, or 2.5 hrs of DVD playback.
It comes with Vista 64-Bit installed--which I preferred to take full advantage of the 4 GB of DDR3 RAM @ a blistering 1066mhz--but the disc also includes the 32-Bit version. The amount of Gateway "bloatware" was average, but not bothersome.
The design is hit or miss, as some might be turned off by the orange rust accents. The keyboard is responsive and crisp, although no touch-key media bar hampers the style. Only 3 high-speed USB ports on board, but the inclusion of an HDMI output as well as an eSATA cable make up for it. Simple Wi-Fi switch on the front makes for convenience, however one oddity is the lack of a Touch Pad on/off function key. High Definition audio os sufficient, however the built-in speakers don't impress as there are no subwoofers. Thankfully, most of the useful ports are on the sides, which is a convenient touch, and the built-in memory card reader is faster thand the average bunch. Some may balk at the battery, which pertrudes out the back by 1" (I sure did), but it doesn't get in the way of much, but be cautious when purchasing a 17" bag or case.
This notebook, although doesn't meet all of the media requirements I'd like, is a definate must-buy for any mobile gamer who doesn't have the means to shell out an arm, leg, and first-born for performance. I would've like some purhase options to add in a Blu-Ray drive & a 2nd HDD, but can't expect much as this is sold exclusively at Best Buy retail outlets (but I bought a compatible Blu-Ray drive on NewEgg for $260). In the end, for $1,250, this thing is the ultimate steal, as it easily out-performs Sager, ASUS, HP, and Alienware notebooks that start at $400 more, and can easily run up to twice the price in order to match the performance of the P-7811FX. Simply put, you cannot find better performance at this price.
out of 46 user reviews
Excellent laptop with high configuration and low price
Pros: Best Graphics ever....
Excellent for Gaming....
Low Price...
Cons: Bulky....
No Bluetooth....
out of 46 user reviews
Excellent. The best value laptop for the price. Sep 08.
Pros: Beautiful 1920x1200 clear screen. Good processor, easilty handles photoshop CS3 etc. Excellent for gaming: 9800M wipes the flaw with the inferior HP Pavilion dv7-1055ea which only sports a meagre 9600M. Fantastic computer at an amazing price.
Cons: Battery life is not amazing but beats other gaming laptops thanks to Centrino 2 power conservation. Can't help thinking the complaints about Vista64 are from noobs essentially unfamiliar with getting the latest drivers. I've had no trouble with that.
out of 46 user reviews
things you should know before buying this laptop
Pros: one of the best gaming laptop right now (CPU is okay, beautiful display, good video card and DRAM) + nice price for gamers on tight budget(unless you want a desktop)
Cons: have to "reinstall" everything(vista 64bit OS, lots of drivers), which take sometime to finish, gets a little hot while playing games, needs a cooling pad(kinda hard to find most cheap cooling pad are for 15" laptop), a little heavy(about 10lbs)
if you don't, good luck on playing games and happily there after, since laptop itself comes with BUNCH of trash software, which gets really messy and slow down the laptop.
second, if you are using it for gaming, you might want to get a cooling pad(or cooler pad), not only helps prevent laptop from overheating, also saves your furniture from heat.
third, run into a little compatibility problem(vista OS 64), you can choose to install the 32 one with the CD that comes with it
forth, as a desktop replacement laptop, its heavy, around 9.2lbs, if you move around a lot, or always traveling, the entire package might weight over 12lbs(laptop, cooler pad, ac adapter, extra hard drive, accessories)
as explain above, I am still happy this laptop, excellent graphic and performance all that good stuff for $1,300
out of 46 user reviews
I couldn't find a better deal...love the performance!
Pros: IThere isn't an excess of annoying trial software loaded and useless apps sucking up the system resources while your trying to play. Took minimal time to tweak and load what I wanted and optimize-update the system....flawless performance.
Cons: It does lack some basic features, as they mention bluetooth. They do mention the size of the hard drive but it is 7200RPM vs average 5400RPM, better read write performance makes up for lack of size. Lacks some basic apps but you can always download
Great laptop Gateway, I'll be buying another for my son in a few months!
out of 46 user reviews
Best In Class Value
Pros: For the money this is Speedy Gonzales, fast RAM, Front Side Buss, Hard Dive, Graphics etc
Cons: Not a big enough hard drive. 64 Bit Windows is annoying to try and use with legacy devices.
out of 46 user reviews
Enough Lemons to Make Lemonade
Pros: Nothing but top-end components for a great price, 1920X1200 screen was awesome
Cons: Hardlocks in all 3D games.
I installed my son's games and they ran fine for me in my short tests, but when my son ran them for more than 15 minutes they caused hardlocks. I suspect it is the GPU but could never determine if it was overheating, or if it was the extremely bad beta drivers that Gateway was pushing with this computer. I did try a couple of other beta drivers they didn't push and they didn't solve the problem either.
Speaking of Gateway support when I tried to get some help from them they claimed ?since they didn?t know how my computer was configured they could only point me to? a link explaining how to diagnose lock issues and how to shutoff services, and programs that get loaded at startup. None of which was any help. On top of this the gateway drivers and support page seemed to only work half of the time and didn?t even allow you to pick the correct OS for this computer until sometime in the second week of September about 8-10 days after I had purchased this computer.
On top of those issues I ran into Vista 64 software compatibility issues with a few of the older games the grandparents got for my son. QuickTime really never worked right (couldn't see the menu bar when it was embedded in web pages). It also seemed like Internet explorer was fighting me at every turn. IE 64 bit seems like it has a lot of compatibility issue and I gave up on it after a couple of minutes.
So after fighting the first computer for about 11 days I took it back and exchanged it for another thinking the first must have been a lemon. THE SECOND ONE HAD ALL THE SAME PROBLEMS. So I returned that on and got my money back.
Contrary to how all of this sounds I am really sorry to have had to return this computer because had the potential to be awesome, and I really did want it to be. I just am not willing to bet $1300 that the issues I was experiencing were something Gateway could fix with driver/bios updates.
out of 46 user reviews
Amazing Laptop!
Pros: -Super fast
-Best keyboard I have ever used!
-Best GPU I have ever used! nVidia 9800M GTS
-Best Screen I have ever seen on a laptop.
-DDR3 Memory (should be faster than DDR3)
-1000Mhz system bus
-Best price/value, mine was about $1300
Cons: -Hard Drive heat up a little but much less than many other high end laptops, I think it is a general problem now for new laptops to have hard drive heating up.
-Online driver support is very poor, no proper drivers for 32bits.
Noise is somewhat noticeable, there are two fans in this laptop. One on the left side for GPU and one on the back for CPU. The left side fan does bother me a little bit, because it turns itself on and off regularly and sometimes surprises me a little.
The laptop comes with Vista 64 bits installed, though I need to run a software in 32bits, so I formatted the hard drive and installed vista 32bits. Though, to my surprise there is little or no online support for drivers download on the gateway website. Eventually, I got all the drivers needed in notebookreview.com discussion. All my 4Gb DDR3 Ram was recognized in 32bits after the vista service pack 1 was installed.
Another noticeable problem is the heating of the hard drive, which is right under my right wrist. I had the same problem with the Sager NP8660, but the p-7811fx generate less heat and is more tolerable. It seems like many of the new laptops are having hard drive heating problems, I am not sure why.
Overall, this laptop is very gorgeous and does everything exceedingly well and the battery life is good. I would recommend this laptop to anyone want a cheap high end laptop that will last many years.
out of 46 user reviews
Only beated by HP Pavilion dv7-1055ea
Pros: GPU, RAM, resolution
Cons: Brand, CPU, hard disk capacity, no Blu-Ray, no Bluetooth, no fingerprint reader, no hard disk protection in case of sudden movements, no remote control, number of USB ports
out of 46 user reviews
best midend all around desktop
Pros: highend gpu 9800m gts, excelent components, dirt cheap price
Cons: loud clanky touchpad buttons , battery stick out 1 inch
2. build is sturdy, 8.8p on the system, with adaptor about 10p, carryable. rit palmrest gets warm with hard drive underneath it. smart creative hard drive compartment design, no screws needed( has springs). 2nd hd has tray and conector handy. cpu is located at the bottom, easy to upgrade.
3. performance, montevian 2.26 scored 34.1s on wprime, pretty good. ofc u can swap the cpu for a faster one like 2.53(30.6s on wprime) or 2.8. not sure about extreme processors since p7811 comes with only 120w adaptor vs dell xps 1730 230w.
ddr3 1066mhz memory scores 5.9 on wei, interesting. hard drive is 7200rpm with 16mb cache, the fastest on the market. 9800mgts
is super, great fps and video quality, scored 8731 on 3d mark06, my old dell xps ( 256mb 8700m gt) 3d06 score is 4400. ya, do the math.
lcd screen is good, no light leakage, color is a bit to dark though, even changed brightness & gamma setting , colors still very dark.
lcd screen is not good enough to
go with 9800m gts. speaker is the best i ever heard from a notebook with audio 2.0, ZERO DISTORTION. however volume is low and sound effects is way behind dell xps 1730 with 5.0+subwoofer.
lets put it this way, p7811 is like that cleveland basketball team, with one superstar James--gpu 9800m gts tries to carry mediocre components , yet always falls short.
gateway p7811 is more of an all around desktop
replacement than a gaming specialist like dell xps 1730.
the unit i bought from queens center bestbuy
had bsod-blue screen of death, restarts every 15-30 mins. ran prime95 on it, all passed.
didnt ship with correct drivers or applications.
so i installed vista x64 on my own hd, and installed intel wifi & nvidia graphics driver only,
and now its problem free.
this gateway p7811 gives me a feeling of "dell"
with their design. also, no way any pc maker can make money sell this at $1249.
either gateway do it for brand awareness or
just wasting their parent company acer's money.
from a consumer's standpoint, this could be the bargian of decade.
Updated on Sep 9, 2008ok, the faulty driver is intel chipset driver that caued p7811 to restart every 30 mins. any question u can go to notebookreview.com forum,
about drivers and vista x32 support, u can find drivers on laptopvideo2go.com. actaully vista x32 runs faster than x64 on p7811.
hit yes on "was this review helpful" and bump my post up, thx!
out of 46 user reviews
Best Laptop
Pros: Performance, keyboard layout, graphics, the screen resolution is amazing!
Cons: Lackluster look, Looked at an Asus gamer laptop also, and the Asus had a more attractive look, but I went with the performance of the Gateway new graphic card.
out of 46 user reviews
Excellent bang for the buck superior graphics card
Pros: Superb Nvidia Discreet Graphics, 17 inch 1920x1080 Screen, Keyboard, Design, External DVD/Media Controls, second hard drive bay for RAID configuration, HDMI output, IEEE 1394, Gigabit Ethernet, Latest Core 2 and FSB, Vista 64-bit, Speed.
Cons: HDMI 1.2 vs. 1.3a. No built-in Bluetooth. No Blu-Ray factory option.
In summary, a definite buy.
out of 46 user reviews
Simply amazing! More hard drive would be nice
Pros: Amazing performance, 64 bit vista is lightning fast while running multiple applications, great screen and resolution, roomy keyboard, good wireless connectivity.
Cons: Hard drive is smaller than expected but is upgradable. This is frustrating but not a deal breaker. The button to open the optical drive is in an awkward position.
out of 46 user reviews
Very Impressive
Pros: It seems that a lot for the specs given
Cons: That´s my question.....
Regards
