Customer Reviews

Gateway NV7920u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Cherry Red)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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).

I have had this laptop for over a week now. It offers a lot for the money. The i5 seems to fly. I am at a hotel now and it got onto there WI-FI with no problem. I could have saved $120.00 by not getting the blu-ray but now I am more up to date. The screen is so big and clear I see no reason to ever buy another desktop model. This is more than enough computer for what I use it for. I think the person before me must have gotten a defective Gateway. It is too bad for Gateway that their help and support people did not take care of him like Amazon takes care of their customers.
I have an eight year old Gateway and I hope I have as good luck with their new company and product as I did with the old one. If I have a problem with this one I will come back with another review and let you all know. Their support may hurt them in the long run.
I cannot say enough good about the customer support, speed of delivery and courtesy of Amazon. SUPPORT is why people come back.

My NV79 was delivered on March 2. It is now March 20. The PC was delivered quickly, and we were pleased with it. Three days ago, the touchpad stopped working. I opened a chat session with Gateway tech service and entered a formal tech issue as well. The tech chat suggested that I install a new touchpad driver (same version that was loaded on the PC). The formal tech issue via email suggested the same solution. I reinstalled the driver and of course, it did not work.

I called Amazon and asked what recourse I had with this PC. They told me that since this model would take 6-8 weeks to replace, I would be better served to simply return it for a full refund. It is now Saturday, and I will give Gateway till Tuesday to fix the problem. Then I will send it back and get a Dell. Amazon rocks.

Well, Now it is Sunday, and Acer (Gateway) sent me an email with a tech support call in phone number. I called the number and the guy fixed the problem in 2 seconds. There is a soft key above the keyboard that enables/disables the touchpad. I was a tard. I recommend that everyone be patient with their tech support person. It really is difficult to help helpless people over a chat or telephone line. Especially with something as complicated as a PC. When the person you are trying to help is not cooperating, it is even more difficult. I am happy I was patient, and found the problem. I did not want to pack this up and send it back anyway. We needed this PC for the house.

I will update this to a higher rating if Gateway fixes the problem in the next few days. I am not hopeful. Well Shame on ME! I increased the rating to 4 stars. See my comments below:

The PC is fast and pretty neat. I selected this one over a dell because the Dell equivilent required an additional $250 to get the i5 processor (over the i3). I just noticed that the i5 is now standard on the Dells. The Dells still don't offer a Bluray disk, but they probably will shortly. I have not seen the Dell screen, but while the Gateway looks great straight on, it is pretty bad from angles as narrow as 30 degrees horizontal and maybe 20 degrees the vertical plane. This means that if there are two looking at the screen watching a video or movie, it becomes very difficult. I don't think two could watch a movie on an airplane with this PC. And there is only one headphone port -- so it would be impossible for two to watch a movie without a splitter.

For an extra $100 - $200 Dell provides an additional head phone port, and possibly a better screen. But you will not get a bluray player at this time. I am still pleased with my purchase of the Gateway.

Bought this from amazon.com a few weeks ago. I too was worried about that one customer review but couldnt find another brand that has all the goodies - core i5 processor, 17.3" wide screen, built in blu ray/dvd, 4GB DDR3 memory, 500GB hard drive, etc. Glad I took a chance. Best bang for the buck! Works flawlessly with my D Link DIR 855 immediately. Blu ray movies look and sound great. No need for external speakers. Love the bright 17.3" 1600x900 resolution. Processor speed is very responsive - seems to outperform my ACER desktop (3GB DDR3) with core 2 quad processor. Battery life with continuous wi-fi and movies on are approximately 3 hours. The laptop feels surprisingly lightish. No issue lugging it on vacations.

In spite of the review that gave this laptop a 1, due to wirless connectivity issues, along with Gateway customer service complaint I purchsed this laptop. I am very tech savy and never use customer support so I was not concerned about the bad review. This model had all of the festures that I was looking for i5 processor, 4gig Ram, Bluray drive, 17.3 display, 64 bit Windows 7 etc. at the best price I could find. I have had it now for a couple of weeks and have had no problems. I have a N wirless router and the Gateway recognized it immediatley. The laptop is very fast, bluray movies look great particularly when using a HDMI connection to my big screen Samsung LCD TV. The only minor complaint that I have is that the finish on the laptop shows fingerprints very easily but that is not a big deal.

I have been using this for about 2 years now and think it is quite a good item. I took Windows 7 off and loaded Ubuntu Linux 10.04 a long time ago and have not even considered doing anything different. Ubuntu loaded fast and easily and runs the peripherals that Microsoft requires additional drivers for without any problems. I have had no issues with the Gateway not being compatible with any OS either. Everything runs great. The only complaint I have is that where the 2 plastic pieces meet at the escape key and the asterisk key have never fit properly and over time the power cord has become increasingly loose where it fits into the computer. Other than that it is a really great machine. The large screen is great for watching movies and playing games etc. Kudos to Gateway!

This is my first laptop, so there were a few things I wasn't aware of. Such as the need for a backlit keyboard - this computer doesn't have that. The second problem, and I'm mentioning the only two problems I feel it has, is the power cord, it falls out all the time, it's just way too loose. The USB ports are so tight you practically have to hammer the things in there, but this cord isn't sufficiently attached.All things considered, these are small problems that I can live with. I really like this computer, it's a great value for the money.

An excellent notebook for the price, with a large harddrive, highly fast processor, and very good sound quality. I am more than happy with everything on the computer except for 2 notable exceptions. The first is the viewing angle of the screen. I had been under the impression, perhaps incorrect, that LED screens allowed for good viewing at all angles. However, this does not seem to be the case. The colors definitely become washed out if you are not looking at the screen head on. While this bothered me, most users who have had a regular lcd laptop prior will probably not notice a difference. The second problem I had dealt with a faulty driver. In simple terms, the touchpad and keyboard will not operate simultaneously. The only way to fix this problem, which is unnoticeable unless you use the laptop for video games, is to roll back the driver under the device manager, which then rids you of all of the fun and useful features the touchpad had, even getting rid of multitouch and scrolling. Other than those minor issues, I am more than content with the system.

I love gateway computers. My old gateway was starting to fizzle out and it was time for an upgrade. I have never had any problems with previous gateways and they also perform as expected or better. I even convinced my girlfriend to purchasse this laptop and she is also very happy. Best laptop in it's class and price range.

This computer is exactly what is described. Fast, responsive, great LCD screen, Blu-ray doesn't lag while playing. Overall a great buy at a great price. I have no complaints.