FULL Gateway 7422GX Review

Gateway 7422GX Review
by Zeke the Geek

I purchased the Gateway 7422GX after looked for a full six months for a laptop to replace my desktop (AMD Athlon 2200+, 1GB RAM, dual 120 GB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti4800) so that I could turn my desktop into a dedicated webserver. I wanted a laptop with a reasonable battery life, a nice graphics processor for playing games (Halo, Doom III, World of Warcraft), a DVD drive, and
the ability to multitask with web-designing programs such as Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, and Illustrator simultaneously. I didn't care about screen size, only needed a 60 GB HDD, and weight was not an option. My price range was anything under $1500.

"...Yeah right." That's what I was thinking, at least. In late December, I found the Gateway 7405GX at Best Buy for $1249.99. It had everything I needed: 512MB RAM, 60 GB HDD, RADEON 9600...I was set to buy. Sadly, it was out of stock. I searched six other Best Buy stores within a fifty mile radius, and still, no luck. I was beyond angry that I had missed out on this deal, and I continuously checked BestBuy.com to see if I could find a refurbished or display model available to buy instead.

Then, on January 9th, Best Buy listed the 7422GX on their website. It had everything the original had +1, with the exception being in the graphics card. I called up my local store, and sure enough, they had it in stock. I bought it for $1399.99.
The actual specs of the 7422GX are as follows:
-Mobile AMD Athlon 64 3400 (2.2 GHZ)
-15.4" Ultrabright Screen (WXGA TFT 1280x800)
-System Bus @ 1600MHz
-1.0GB DDR RAM (expandable to 1.5 GB)
-80.0GB HDD
-8x4x8 DVD+RW; 8x4x8 DVD-RW; 24x10x24 CD-RW combo
-64MB (Dedicated) ATI Mobility RADEON 9550 Graphics
-56 Kbps Dial-up modem
-Built-in wireless LAN (802.11b/g); 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
-Built-in stereo speakers
-1 PCMCIA Slot
-4 USB 2.0 Ports
-1 Firewire Port
-Lithium-ion Battery
-Touchpad with vertical scroll zone
-Windows XP Home Edition SP2
-Included Software: Microsoft Works 8.0, Money 2004, Picture It! 9.0, Media Player; Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0; Nero 6 Suite; CyberLink PowerDVD; Gateway BigFix

After three weeks with the system, I think I owe it a proper review:

SCREEN

The 15.4" widescreen is beautiful. I ignored all the complaints about TruBrite's glare (see image below) and went for it, and I love it. I've had very little problem with glare at all, but I can understand why some people might. However, for the small disadvatage that offers, I still have to highly recommend the TruBrite screens. Mine had no dead pixels (yay!) and I've found it very easy to clean the screen in comparison to my old Toshiba.



HEAT

I've only heard the fan turn on about 10 times since I've owned it, using it daily. The system only gets hot when I put high demands on the graphics card, and that's also when the fan kicks in. I've played Halo PC on the highest graphics settings for four hours straight without any noticible system lag and a steady heat. The heat dropped when I quit playing, and there was no
damage whatsoever. Sitting in your lap, the notebook feels warm, but at a comfortable temperature rather than the burn-your-skin-off feel of most of the Dell notebooks I've used.

Keyboard

The keyboard is probably my biggest beef with the whole notebook. Which is a good thing, because it's not that big of a beef at all. the Fn key is located in the farthest left corner where the Control key should be, and the control key is one key to the right of it (see image below). I accidentally hit Fn + C instead of Ctrl + C when attempting to copy text or images to the
clipboard on occasion, but it's not that difficult to get used to. Other than that, the keyboard works great. The keys depress to a comfortable level and are very responsive.



Touchpad

Before I even bought the laptop I purchased a small wireless optical mouse to prepare for the touchpad. I dislike touchpads, I always have. But I've found myself using it over the wireless mouse. It's very responsive and highly customizable in the system settings menu. The vertical scroll can get choppy sometimes, going out of control speeds and causing you to go too quick or slow for comfort, so I usually just use the arrow keys. As far as touchpads go, though, this is nothing new at all.

Battery Life

After 12 tests, the battery life lasts for an average of 3 hours. In most of the tests, in which I connected to wireless networks and played online high-graphics demanding games, the battery lasted for about 2:40-2:50. However, in tests in which I multitasked with Dreamweaver and Photoshop while connected to wireless FTP servers updating websites, the battery lasted as long as 3:20.

Weight

This notebook weighs in at about 7.5 lbs. Not too heavy, though, as the weight feels very distributed. It's never bothered me at all, really, but I was prepared to buy anything up to 9 lbs., so you might want to take it into consideration.



Sound

The speakers are *awesome.* Gateway included a sound manipulation program that allows you to customize the virtual surround sound options to get a perfect tone. I was shocked by the speaker quality and actually prefer them over my headphones.

Wi-Fi
Out of the 10 wireless networks I've connected to, the notebook successfully connected to three on the first attempt. The other seven required me to disable the wired LAN connection for some reason...
It's not a big problem, but it is an inconvience. The networks I successfully connected to were all 802.11b. The 802.11g's had no trouble once I had changed settings around, though, and the notebook keeps a good connection for as long as I've used it (up to 10 hours).

Performance

Great. Absolutely great. Incredibly beyond my expectations. This machine operates better than my desktop-now-server in every aspect - even over the 128 MB Graphics card. However, that's only when it's plugged in. You see, when you unplug the notebook, the processing speed falls sharply to 798 MHZ. That's unacceptable for an AMD 64, and I'm sure it's either a power-saving technique or a bug. Supposedly, though, there are ways to override this feature, and Gateway is supposed to release a patch sometime next month to fix it. To clear up confusion on the graphics card, the 9550 is actually better than the 9600, they just renamed it to make it seem like more of a budget pick...the ATI control panel is identical to that of the 9600/9700 series, even listing it in the hardware profile AS a 9600.

I've done everything there is to do with a notebook in these past three weeks. I've traveled with it, I've given presentations with projecters with it, I've played online games with it, I've multitasked, and I've even dropped it a couple times. This is the BEST deal I have ever gotten in a computer, period. It's the first time I've bought a name-brand system - I've always made my own PCs in the past, but this will make me consider buying my next desktop with Gateway. Highly, highly, highly recommended, especially for the price. If you have any doubts, please clear them, I can't stress it enough.

FINAL SCORE: 96 / 100

Questions? Comments? Drop me an e-mail at [email protected] .

 

Zeke, this is a great review and thanks for your efforts here. Did you know we offer $50 for a full review with pictures? Your review is definitely a full one, and if you want to contact me at [email protected] I'll give you more details and we could post this review to the front of the site.

Nice job sir, and glad the Gateway is working out well for you!

BargainPDA.com | SpotStop.com | TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

I'll get some pictures up and you can post it at no charge. I wrote this review for fun...I own a gaming site and review games every other day, so it's no big deal. =P

 

Great, thanks Zeke, let me know if you need any help hosting those pics. And let's plug your site while we're at it:

http://www.d-padnetwork.com/index.php

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BargainPDA.com | SpotStop.com | TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

Hello, Zeke. A wonderful review, really. I live outside the US and a friend of mine is bringing me a 4722 along with her next week. I plan to replace my desktop PC with it, but I've set up Creative 5.1 speakers around my room, and don't want to miss them.

I could tell my friend to buy an Audigy 2 NX (USB), but I'll spend the hundred bucks only if the notebook cannot drive 5.1 per se. Most AC97 built-ins have an option to port the rear, center and subwoofer through the LINE IN and MIC jacks. Is that option available on your laptop?

Thanks

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by alavena

 

"Yes, it has a setup for 5.1 through the line in and mic jacks in the sound profile controller provided by Gateway. I haven't tried using it yet, but if you're anxious to know, I can plug it into my sound system."

Thanks. It would be nice to have your opinion on how its surround abilities perform. [8D]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Zeke
Yes, it has a setup for 5.1 through the line in and mic jacks in the sound profile controller provided by Gateway. I haven't tried using it yet, but if you're anxious to know, I can plug it into my sound system.
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I can see a mic jack, but where's the line-in?

 

I bought this same model Jan.16th when Best Buy had it for $1250 w/no rebates. I agree with most of the OP's thoughts with the exception of the fan and the speakers.
While the fan doesn't seem to run excessively or very loudly, it does cycle on quite a bit. I use mine on a Podium Pad most of the time so I know it's not getting too hot. The fan isn't that intrusive however.

The software for the sound IS quite good when used with external speakers,headphones or even ear buds (good ones). That being said, the speakers themselves are the worst I've ever heard. My previous laptop was a three year old Compaq with some kind of JBL speakers in it. The sound from that computer completely spoiled me for any other laptops sound. Including Powerbooks.

BTW...There's no "Line In" jack, only Line Out and Mic.

Hope That Helps....Norm

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by merlin666

 

No...this model is definitely the 7422GX. I'm at home now and looking right at it. It wasn't mis-priced though, it was on sale that week.

The difference in opinion is the sound, I feel, is that this is your first laptop (as stated in your review). There are some brands that just sound better than others. This one would be fine with me if I didn't have access to others which DO sound better. I happen to use a Dell Latitude at work and to me the sound is equally bad. That's just the nature of the beast. I've had a chance to use a friend's Toshiba Satellite and also a Dell 8600 and an Apple Powerbook. Of those three I would rate the sound 1.Apple, 2.Dell, and 3. Toshiba. My old Presario 2715 sounded better than all of those and I used that one on the same Podium Pad. All this is moot if any other method is used to listen like headphones or external speakers.

What's really important though is that you like it and are completely satisfied. A laptop is, by nature, a compromise between what you want, what you are willing to pay for, and what's available. It sounds to me like you got just what you wanted! Good Luck with it!

Norm

 

I need to see if they'll give me that sale price then...I paid for it the week before the sale when the managers told me there would be no sale! It's worth full price, though, I'll give it that.

-------------------
I once thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.

The D-PAD Network

 

The 7422 appeared ON SALE at $1250 in the second week of January. I asked my friend to go buy it ASAP, but the snowstorm kept her at home till the price zoomed to 1400. [B)]

Anyone already tried swtiching the outputs? I need to be sure if they work. Here I cannot get an Audigy NX nor the ZS PCMCIA.

 

Nice review, thanks.

The one thing I didn't see is the hard drives RPMs. My friend has the 7320GZ, and while gateway doesn't even show the RPMs on any spec sheet I found on their own website, I have found out it is 4200 RPM. I did this by going into the device manager, and under disk drives, I found this: "IC25N080ATMR04". When I did a search for it I found out that it is a Hitachi 80GB 4200 RPM 2.5 inch drive. Just thought this might be useful information for some. Hope it helps.

Thanks.

SuperG

 

Just bought one today at BestBuy for $1249.99; its on sale again through 2/26/05 I believe. Just hope its near as good as Zeke claims.[ ]

 

Zeke, I can't thank you enough for this review. After about 20 years with a desktop, I decided I want a laptop. Just to be sure I would be happy with the change I've been renting an HP ze5700. I like the change. So I've been looking. Rental due back this Saturday. I looked at the 7422GX yesterday at BestBuy, $1249. Was impressed, but still not sure. Especially about the video card. Googled the card, and became even more confused. Then I found this forum and your post. Tomorrow morning, before our expected snowstorm, I will be there to purchase. You described the video capabilities in very clear form, and it looks like what I need. (Only thing I'm not crazy about is that there is no line-in, as I'd like to transfer some vinyl to CD, but I'm sure I'll find a way around that). Anyway, I thank you for your review, and as I've joined this forum, I look forward to learning more from here. Thank you again.

John

 

Thanks Zeke for the review. I've been considering bying this notebook and the information you wrote as well as the forum in general has been very helpful.

Also thanks SuperG for the HD look up. I had been wandering about the rotation speed and couldn't find it anywhere.

 

Great review...... I actually picked up this laptop the day the bargain ended..... It had an instant $150 off to make the price $1249.00
I think gateway has it for $1399 and it is not configured exactly the same (at least in listing).... Try to find the same options in another brand and the price is from $1799 up to over 2k.... I am really pleased with it so far, and the ability to use dual layer DVD's in the burner is something I have yet to see in any other laptop under $2500....
Kudos to Gateway on this model.... I read one review that says this is actually an eMachine laptop... True? I guess Gateway bought out eMachines.....

CJ

 

I DO HAVE TO ADMIT I LOVE MINE BUT BE CAREFUL IF YOU TRY TO CHANGE TO XP PRO {{{{{ NOTE FOR EVERY ONE }}}}} THE CD'S IN THE PACK THAT COME'S WITH YOUR NEW LAPTOP ARE BLANK I REPEAT BLANK CD'S YOUR SUPOSED TO BACK YOUR OWN DRIVES AND STUFF OK OK SOME REASON BEHIND THE STUPIDITY OF WHAT I DID I HAD AN HP BEFORE THE GATEWAY AND THEY DO COME WITH LOADED CD'S SO THERE YA GO { WASEN'T TO COMPUTER SMART BEFOR ALL THIS } I'VE MANAGED TO GET EVERY THING ON NOW BUT NOW I HAVE A BROB NOW MY HEAD PHONE JACK DOSE NOT WORK IF ANYBODY HAS ANY IDEAS PLS. LET ME KNOW

THANK'S VERY WELL DONE ON THAT REVIEW AND YOUR RIGHT 7422GX KICK'S BUT


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I just got the Emachines 6809, which appears to be 99% the same thing. It totally ROCKS!!!! I was very impressed with the software installation and OOB experience for a "discount" laptop, best OOB experience of my life. Even the wireless worked instantly.

 

I just bought the 7422GX at best buy a couple of days ago for 1399.00, it came with a gig of RAM, 80 GB Harddrive, DVD +/- RW dual layer 64 MB ATI video (where are the 128MB cards for the AMD64?)and your standard layout of USB and firewire port.

So far I am very pleased with it. Even with the 64 MB video card, it will play Half Life 2 as well as my desktop with 128MB video card in it.

I had an emachines previously with the AMD 64 and was very happy with it.

I will get a good review on here in a few weeks, I am interested in how the Dual Layer DVD drive works.