Gateway LX.W430X.001 P801U 17" Notebook PC

by Gateway

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 14.4 pounds
• ASIN: B001J8B5P6
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,644 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 24, 2008

Product Description

Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz / 4GB RAM / 320GB Hard Drive / NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS / DVD+-R/RW Drive / 802.11AGN / Webcam / Vista Home Premium 64 Built-in Webcamera and Microphone NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS with 1024MB Dedicated Video Memory DVD+-R/RW Drive with Double Layer Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN 802.11a/b/g/n

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Please...know what you're buying., January 22, 2009

By 

M.D.C. "The Franchise" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gateway LX.W430X.001 P801U 17" Notebook PC (Personal Computers)

First, I did not buy this from Amazon. This model (P-7805u. They changed the ad after the fact, probably after they saw my review) was specifically manufactured for sale at BBuy, and that store has this laptop for much cheaper than you can find it online. That is all I will say about that.

Second, this is marketed as a "gaming" laptop, but it's really supposed to be considered a desktop replacement - meaning offering comparable strength to a decently powered desktop PC. IN this regard, the laptop more than succeeds, blowing away even my media server which was already a powerful device in of itself. What really sets this laptop aside from its competitors has got to be the fact that it combines all that is great about hardware into one package: A decently sized, quite speedy hard drive (7200RPMs, which is the fastest you can get for a laptop hard drive). But wait, there's more...because you can add another hard drive and set up a RAID 0 or 1, effectively turning this into a super sized file server. This is the first laptop I've seen that is capable of this - and in fact, the instruction book even tells you how and why to do it. It ENCOURAGES you to do it. Either for file access efficiency or security/redundancy. I think this is fantastic.

Filling out the order is 4GB of RAM standard, upgradeable to 8GB, I believe. For a laptop I can't imagine needing anywhere near that much, but it's nice to have the option. The 4 GB is more than enough for all but the most intensive of applications. Speaking of intensive applications, between the HDD seek, processor power, and RAM allocation, there's almost nothing this laptop can't handle. You can test this theory by running the Windows Experience Index test and seeing what the results are; this is the ONLY laptop at BBuy that scored over a 5.0 (5.2 was the final score). That means it did extremely well in all categories, which I'm telling you is rare. Even my media server didn't score that high (4.6) and it's no slouch either!

The OS is Vista Home Premium 64 Bit, but the laptop could easily run Ultimate 64 if you cared to go that route. The main difference and deciding factor is whether or not you'll be using the laptop for business purposes. If not, Home Premium is more than enough. What people need to know about the OS: It's actually two sides, one for 64 bit applications and core, one for legacy applications under 32 and prior. If your applications provide a 64-bit version, you'll want to opt for that, but most applications stick with 32-bit as it's easier to manage and troubleshoot. If you've always been using standard Windows you're probably new to the 64-bit OS; in which case, you'll be learning the OS all over again with this one. There are functions inherent to 64-bit Vista that must be adjusted to - nothing too extreme, but it's just a learning experience. Various sites (Google is your friend) out on the Interwebs can help you with this transition. If you're not trying to learn a new OS, you could always get the 32 bit version, wipe the drive and install it. You just will not benefit from any additional memory.

The video was also a standout, being the only laptop at BBuy that featured 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution. Side note: if the monitor does not support the resolution in parentheses, it doesn't support 1080p no matter who tells you what. That shouldn't really affect you much if you don't watch movies and TV on your laptop, because it includes an HDMI output port, allowing you to send the high resolution signal to a supported TV. This is excellent, and I believe laptops are getting into the habit of including this as a standard feature. What you'll want to be minded of: 99% of hotels do not and will not upgrade their TVs to support HDMI, so traveling will yield no benefits for you.

It makes no nevermind, because the laptop is so darn heavy you probably won't want to travel much with it if at all. Being a desktop replacement, you won't get much power out of it when it's not on the cable, and it's got a 9-cell battery. Expect no more than 3.5 hours of standard power under the lightest of conditions. Most of that is eaten up by the processor and video card, honestly.

Summary: This is a great laptop if you understand what it is that you are getting. If you expect to get something this inexpensive that can perform like an Alienware, you will be sorely disappointed. There's a reason those computers are so expensive, just like there is a reason this is priced significantly lower. This is lower because the processor, while powerful, isn't the "Extreme" model which is better suited for the workload, but less efficient on power resources. If you're looking to have a "mobile desktop", this is the unit for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great performance laptop - terrific value, February 18, 2009

By 

Britton (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gateway LX.W430X.001 P801U 17" Notebook PC (Personal Computers)

I am so pleased that I purchased this laptop. The screen is beautiful. I love the resolution (WUXGA - 1920x1200). Games like Titan Quest, Sacred 2, Warcraft III, DOOM 3, etc. run flawlessly. With 4-GB of RAM, 320-GB 7200RPM Hard Drive, NVIDIA 9800M GTS with 1-GB dedicated DDR3 video memory, and the P8600 Intel CPU, this is a terrific value compared to the much higher priced other performance laptops.

While playing games it can get warm. It is not an issue as long as there is adequate airspace below the laptop (where the air intake vents are). I have not had any heat related problems.

For regular usage, battery life has been good. I get almost four hours of photo editing and wireless web browsing. I have not tested battery life while gaming. I would expect shorter battery life under heavy gaming.

The only "cons" I have are:
- It's a fingerprint magnet. I wish laptop manufacturers would get away from these glossy surfaces.
- The USB port on the right side is too close to where the mouse is. This can be handled by getting a mouse with a very small USB receiver which would stay out of the way.

There are better performing gaming laptops out there but they are nearly twice the price.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent buy!, March 27, 2009

By 

William L. Jarrell "wjarrell33" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gateway LX.W430X.001 P801U 17" Notebook PC (Personal Computers)

I looked long and hard to find a gaming laptop that would not break the bank and I am not disappointed in the 7801u! This computer plays Crisis at full resolution for hours on end. There are a few things that I do not like about the laptop, finger prints, flimsy top covering, no blue tooth, or blue ray but what do you expect for 1299.00. For the price you cant go wrong its the best deal out there. One other thing to note is the laptop is so large that I have had a hard time finding a good carry bag to transport it in, I finally ended up with a Sony product that it will barely fit into. Take the plunge you wont be disappointed with this laptop. Owned for one month....