Gateway P-7811FX

Gateway P-7811FX is another portable computer combining a very powerful graphics card with a good CPU.

Intro:
Gateway P-7811FX is a laptop that is aimed at devoted players. It has all the goodies necessary for playing the latest games: 4GB of RAM, excellent (high resolution) display, fast processor, high-end graphics card with 512MB of video memory. This configuration proves to be just perfect for even the most demanding games.


Gateway P-7811FX pros:
+ 4GB of RAM
+ Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTS with 512MB
+ Intel Centrino 2, 2.26-GHz
+ 17” high resolution screen
+ Good battery life
+ 200 GB HDD with 7,200 rpm
+ Built-in 5-in-1 card reader
+ Good value for the money

Gateway P-7811FX cons:
- Average speakers
- No Blu-ray drive
- Vista


The design:
Gateway P-7811FX measures 15.8 x 11.8 x 1.7 inches and weights 9.2 pounds. The laptop has glossy black finish with a silver trim. Inside you will fins a full size, comfortable keyboard and a responsive touchpad. The touchpad has two buttons and a biometric fingerprint reader between them. The laptop has plenty of ports: VGA jack, three USB ports, HDMI, FireWire and eSATA port. Gateway P-7811FX has also a 5-in-1 memory card reader. Just above the screen is the 1.3 megapixel webcam and a microphone perfect for video-chatting.

Performance:
Gateway P-7811FX had a high score on 3DMark06 - 8,679. In fact it is better than my desktop. This laptop can easily substitute a desktop for games such as Crysis or Call of Duty 4. The large, bright screen with vivid color does not have any motion blur so you can play and watch movies without worrying about the video quality. However, the small speakers have little bass and are in general a bit too quiet.
The battery goes for over 2 hours of watching DVDs or above 3 hours of browsing the net. That cannot compete with Apple MacBooks, but still is a decent performance.

All in all, Gateway P-7811FX is a great value for the money and for sure worth considering as a desktop replacement.

Selected Gateway P-7811FX specs:
CPU
2.26-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400
RAM Included
4GB
RAM Upgradable To
4GB
Hard Drive Size
200GB
Hard Drive Speed
7,200rpm
Hard Drive Type
SATA Hard Drive
Optical Drive Type
DVD+R DL
Optical Drive Speed
8X

Display Size (inches)
17
Native Resolution
1920×1200
Graphics Card
Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTS
Video Memory
512MB
Wi-Fi
802.11a/b/g/n
Bluetooth

Mobile Broadband
Operating System
MS Windows Vista Home Premium
Ports (excluding USB)
Ethernet;Firewire;HDMI;Headphone;Microphone;Modem;VGA;eSATA
USB Ports
3
Card Slot(s)
5-1 card reader;ExpressCard
Warranty/Support
One-year parts-and-labor/24/7 toll-free phone
Size
15.8 x 11.8 x 1.7 inches
Weight
9.2 pounds

Test Results
PCMark Vantage
3,994
3DMark03
28,529
3DMark06
8,679
DVD Rundown Test
2:05
Laptop Battery Test
3:14
Wireless Performance 15/50 ft
17.6 Mbps/15.2 Mbps