6831/171S/171X Issues to date?

Hey All

Im very close to pulling the trigger on the 171S from Gateway but decided to hold off for a few weeks due to reliability issues with Gateway. I bought a GW monitor 2 years ago and it only lasted less than a year....PS went out in 8 months and I had a hard time getting it fixed under warranty.

That was 2 years ago and I hope Gateway products quality has improved by now. Im creating this thread for post issues that may pop up on these wonderful cheap gaming laptops.

If you have something that has arised due to factory defect/quality control issue, please post your experiance here so we all can track how reliable these laptops are and the kind of support GW gives their products.

Hopefully, this thread never gets updated and we are all happy with out P series.

Thanks
Frag

 

I bought a laptop in january 2005 3018gz Gateway that is still like new. My mom currently uses it and loves it. Gateway is the only company I havent had an issue with.

 

These machines are too new to make any long or even mid-term calls. Stay tuned I guess. 2 weeks and counting for me. So far, this is the most fun I've ever had playing on a laptop.

I do have to say that the main components are good quality (minus the lcd). The case is another story. I have the 6831fx and there is a lot of flex and uneven sufaces on the top (keyboard).

Truth be told I don't expect this laptop to last more than a year. I think a component (power related) will kill it off prematurely. The thing cost $1,000 less than the other high-end gaming laptops. What more could you ask for.

The hardcore gamers know that they will be buying something in 12-24 months anyhow. Do you really expect top notch quality all the way around for $1,250? I don't. All I know is that this is the best gaming I've had on a laptop for a long while.

 

My wife was using our 6831 at a friends house and was trying to access the net via a neighbor's weak wireless signal. She said it would occasionally bluescreen in vista and be fine with a restart. She said it was fine everywhere else she took it and only had problems when connected to the weak signal.

It kind of worries me a bit because I received a blue screen in vista after only having it for two weeks. It was a corrupted registry and couldn't be repaired. I ended up having to reinstall everything. At this point I'm still happy as I only paid 1200 and got the free game. I'm just going to cross my fingers and see what happens for now.

Other than that I couldn't be happier for the price. I love the design and construction. I don't notice much flex at all and my case is smooth as a baby's ass. I do agree about the lcd, though it's only really noticeable when the screen is predominantly black.

 

P-6831FX
Time Passed Since Purchase: 1 month

Irritating benign issues:
PSU hissing - Gets annoying if you have your PSU right next to your laptop.

Intermittent HD clicking - Too many users reported this "issue" so now I'm just gonna call it a feature of the HD.

No Battery Cover - I run this laptop without the battery plugged in 90% of the time. There are tiny little holes where some dust could get in and could be difficult to clean.

HSF - Left area of the laptop can get hot enough to give you a slight heat rash if your hand is there long enough, only happens after a heavy load (FarCry).


No BSODs yet... no freeze ups or crashes...

 

I have the P-6831 also. Bought during President's Day sale.

PSU does make a hissing noise, but I can only hear it if I put the power brick next to my ear.

Palm rests do get warm during intense games.

No BSOD, freeze, or crashes yet.

 

Thanks guys...just what we need.

Frag

 

i dont know why half of these are issues, this is normal when gaming on ANY laptop.Of course it iwll get hot, such powerful components in a small area do heat up quick. and I have never had this HDD clicking thing ever happen....seems I got lucky.

 

Yeah, my 6831FX has been rock solid. It ran great with Vista and even better now that it's loaded with XP. Not one freeze, BSOD....top left area near where the heat gets discharged does get warm though. I don't normally leave my hand there anyway, so it hasn't bothered me. Best computer I've ever had.

 

ive actually kept vista, its not all that bad really.

Mine was open box so they clean installed for me, I just removed and shut off useless processes and other things is vista and it looks/feels like XP.

 

Hey guys.
Question: Is a GPU idle temp of 53-56 C normal on the 6831fx? it goes up ti 80 C during intense gaming.

Please help.

 

I just got my S and noticed something wierd with the touchpad and right mouse button. It makes a little springy sound when I tap on the right side of the touchpad or click the right button. I have no idea what that could be, both work fine but I'm going to call anyway (gotta love that warranty). I'll report back what they say....in the meantime, anyone else notice this or am I the only one so far?

OH, but other than that, this thing's a beaut, fastest computer I've ever laid my hands on, and I haven't even cleaned it up yet.

Edit: Actually now that I have spent more time with it this springy noise is happening when I type as well so no matter where I touch the keyboard, keypad, and keypad buttons I hear this springy sound....weird.

 

I think you should make your own thread for a better answer but I'm pretty sure 80C is pretty high for the GPU. I only go up to 62 when playing WoW. I'm using 174.20 drivers so maybe it's a driver thing?

and back on topic... I have not had any issues with the laptop, except sometimes the dvd drive will make some noise when I put in a dvd, although nothing bad really happened and it stopped after a few seconds.

 

The only major issue I had was that the main lcd screen cable was not plugged in tightly at the motherboard. If the laptop was moved around the screen would start displaying red, green, black, or other colored lines. Versus waiting weeks for Gateway to fix, I took the chance and completely disassembled the unit. Found the connection under the keyboard, pushed the connector in until it snapped tight, and put it all back together. No pieces left over!

I have done some mods. (See attachment).

 

Well, this thread is for Issues...

I've come close to 80C after a long hot battle. In a warm room I kick on a ceiling fan as the top deck get pretty warm and keeps my drives from running too hot.

I would tell you to call Gateway if you are not happy with it, but, I've found their tech support spotty.

FWIW my 7900gs will hit 82C when pushed but has a slow protect at 100C.

IMHO I can live with 80C, when gaming, no problem.

 

Springy sound.....nobody else has heard this while typing or tapping the touchpad....or tapping anything for that matter???