Gateway LT3101u 11.6" netbook impressions/thoughts/reviews

Well YoutubeHD relies on CPU power, so that would explain it....

 

anyone know of any powerful 12.1 inch laptops? if not ill wait for the 11.6 timeline and see what happpens

 

also if anyone wants to buy this laptop, ill sell it $30 below cost because of the open box.....its mint condition, only change was windows 7 instead of vista and office 2007 installed

 

HP DV2, but you know about that one...

 

lol what about a $1000 budget, would you still otp for the hp dv2

 

If you had a $1000 budget why did you buy the LT3101u?

 

well at that time i just wanted a netbook, but then when i realized i cant get youtubehd or flash video or mlb.com i upped the budget to $1000

 

Well we already had this discussion... but I'll still you I'm impressed with an HP DV2 for under $500. 2gb more ram, better video card, faster CPU, and more hard drive space, and slighter bigger screen.

After that, you're looking at the thin and light 13" notebooks, but those are usually over $1000, and usually have the ultra-portable processors. And also... usually intergrated graphics as well. The HP DV2 is a great laptop it seems for the price.

 

will the hpdv2 be able to handle starcraft 2 next yr? or maybe i should just use the dv2 how im using the gateway, then get a bigger laptop 15.4 to game on etc........?

 

Hard to say, since I haven't played Starcraft 2 , but Blizzard games are known to be very scalable. But yes, the 3410 is definitely better than a X1270 and probably any intergrated graphics card... whole lot better than an Intel one. But it's definitely not a powerhouse, and if you really want to game on a notebook, it shouldn't be your first option.

For strictly gaming, Best Buy has a new Asus 15" notebook for like $999... maybe it went up a bit, but it has a GTX260m, now THAT is a gaming video card.

Different notebooks for different people though. The DV2 is going to be easier to take anywhere with you. I would still use it as a secondary notebook only, maybe if it stayed at the $450 price I would consider it on a budget as a main one. But for the price, it's a REALLY nice secondary.

 

It's a nice system but Im just not a fan of netbook quality CPUs in a chassis that has a screen larger than 11 inches. When that screen hits 12 inches I can't see a reason not to go to 13 inches and get a full specced notebook for the same cost as that dv2.

 

yeah your right, maybe i just cant decide what the hell i want, i mean a netbook supposed to be for web surf, office etc, so who cares abotu power graphics etc, but then when you get it you want all the other perks

 

Well the Gateway is an 11.6"... it's really a 12" anyways. And if the DV2 could only be found at the normal $700 price, it doesn't become so nice. Even then though, it has an external DVD writer, which is near $100 itself.

BTW, the DV2 has an Athlon Neo... so at 1.6 Ghz, it's definitely faster than any Atom or the AMD cpu in the Gateway.

 

basically what i want then it 15.6 inches or less......hdmi out, good video card, good processor good battery life

 

I have a 14" Toshiba that is 5lbs, 1 inch thick and 5 to 6 hours battery life. But I wanted something smaller. If the Asus eee had Vista I would have picked that. The gateway is nice but it's still alittle bigger than I would like. But I also have a problem with the smaller keyboards so my options are limited. I'll probably end up selling the gateway next year after the new systems with the Nvidia graphics come out. I got the extended warranty from BestBuy so hopefully that helps with the resale value. Plus I got 18 months no interest so it didn't cost me any money up front.

 

Maybe you'd be happier with the other 11" laptop with a C2D... the Vaio TT. Yours for only $1999.

 

$2K and it doesn't even have a hard drive as big as the Gateway.

 

I used the current version and it wouldn't work with mine either.

I did use ICS9248BF-96 and was able to choose the settings that show 140.0/210.0/70.0/35.0

When I implement that, CPU-Z shows the CPU running at 1441.8 Mhz, the Bus speed at 240.3, HT at 961.2 and the memory at I think it was 260.

WHen I tried other settings it would lock up, but at least this is a quick way to OC it at 20%. I was going to run the Vista Experience index, but I left the power supply at work and it won't run the tests on battery power.

What are the power supply specs? I have an older gateway around. I wonder if that power supply will work?

 

Very cool, 20% free is always nice. Like I said, 1.5 would satisfy me and that is real close. Since you OC'd on battery maybe on AC you will be able to get a better clock..................

 

Hey demarco5,

I'm might be interested in buying your Gateway if you still have it. Don't think this board allows PM. Email me! (zimagold AT gmail)

 

I have had success using the information on page 12 pertaining to overclocking the gateway lt3103.
He does an excellent job explaining how to overclock the lt3103. It does work because I am using it now. Here is some additional information that maybe helpful for anyone interested in doing this. I would suggest doing what was recommended as far as making shortcuts on the desktop for the overclocking.

I used SensorsView Pro 3.2 to take measurements of the temperature of the CPU, and to check the processor speed. I also used a program called IntelBurn Test to load the CPU and check the stability of the different overclocked speeds. Here are my results.
Stock Stable 1.200MHz 133F degrees peak
267 Stable 1.650MHz 143F degrees peak 2.15 GFlops
271 Stable 1.674MHz 143F degrees peak 2.16 GFlops
272 Stable 1.680MHz 143F degrees peak 2.16 GFlops
273.2 Stable 1.687MHz 144F degrees peak 2.17 GFlops
273.5 Stable 1.691MHz 146F degrees peak 2.19 GFlops
274 Stable 1.692MHz 147F degrees peak 1.94 GFlops
275 Stable 1.698MHz 148F degrees peak 1.85 GFlops
276 and up is NOT STABLE

As you can see, after I overclocked it to 1.692MHZ the GFlops went down. I can only guess that this is because of the rising temputures, but I am not sure. I have been running my gateway at the 1.691MHz, and have not had any problems at all. Do this at your own risk, and make sure to use a program to check the CPU temperature. The MHz that shows in the overclocking program is less than what is showing in the SensorsView Pro 3.2 program. I am going to download another program and see what speed it shows compaired to the others.

 

can u explain what you did, b/c the directions didnt work for none of us

PLL ID ERROR everytime i click GET FSB

 

I was looking at the unit again and about to drop the money but the unit seems just too small. It is more like a device than a computer for alot of money. I was looking at an asus 14" , http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366562&type=product&id=1218092151327 , and the thing rocks compared to the smaller Gateway.

The Gateway unit is 399 then another 80 for an external DVD and later at least 100 for Windows 7 upgrade and another 50 for a 9 cell. so at least 629.00 plus tax. For 20 more, 649 I can have the asus and a dual core and between the batteries, DVD and the system the weight should be the same or less. Also as just one integrated unit it would be more convenient as well.

Decisions, decisions..................

 

@TANWare

Its according to what you are using this for... a netbook or a lightweight notebook. The purpose is entirely different and the machines will reflect that difference.

Netbooks are great lightweight net viewers and office work machines, because they don't need power to preform those jobs at an acceptable level.

If you need something more than that on the go then you will be happier with a light weight 12-14in notebook so you can have more available power for yourself.

 

if you dont need a "slim" external dvd burner, you can get one cheaper than $80

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=False&Order=PRICE

 

I notice that my CPU is slightly underclocked. It shows up as 1197Mhz. Is this the case with anyone else?
Your settings do not work with mine. But what I mentioned earlier works fine with my Gateway to give me a 20% over clock.
It raises my experience index to 3.0.

 

That's a totally different beast. I have a 13" ASUS and a 14" Toshiba. Both are huge and heavy compared to the Gateway Netbook(The ASUS and Toshiba are pretty small by laptop standards). The Gateway Netbook is much easier to use in the car or bus and much lighter to just throw in my backpack at work. I don't need a disc in those situations, and If I really need to play something from disc I can clone it ahead of time and play it back on the Gateway using the Virtual Clone drive. The Win7 upgrade was only $50, and for me I already had a laptop DVD burner so I just paid $17 for an external USB enclosure for laptop drives. I'm getting 4.5 to 5 hours of runtime from my battery which is plenty for me.

When I go on vacation to Canada in a few weeks I will take my 14" Toshiba to use in the hotel and I will use the Gateway while in the car to surf the Internet. It will help time go by for the 4 hours I'm not driving. And if my girlfriend wants to use it while I drive I just need to get a DC to AC converter to plug the laptop in while in the car.

 

Agreed, Just this one blurs the lines, between netbook and notebook, is why I was interested in the first place. I still am a bit torn, and why I haven't taken the dive.

At 9-10" you can see a huge difference in the size and I can see the justification, at the 12" size there is a markedly smaller difference in the two classes and the decision becomes much harder.............

 

I can see the market and use here. For me I am not sure yet, the expence is similar and these machines, at least to me, do not have that huge a difference. The asus would without a doubt have any issues with playing content though...............

 

dont even need external drive, use clone drive or usb stick
windows 7 is cheap or free
the battery life and portability and the fact you can run windows 7, office 2007, browsers, apps without a hitch with a better resolution then 1040X600 is why you buy this over that $700 laptop......

then i might as well just say, if im gonnna spend 700 on that asus i mgiht as well just spend 900 and get a jacked laptop that i can game on etc

 

aaron when you overclocked it to 20% could you do flash hd video or youtube hd video?

im about to sell this netbook but i just wanna make sure theres not a way to overclock to fix those 2 issues

 

Actually that laptop is 1366x768, the same as the gateway. slightly larger screen so the text and icons are not quite as small. Windows7 is free till you HAVE to purchase it. And 649 is about the same cost with everything.

While I understand I can get away without a DVD I am not willing to do the work anymore, I'm at the point where my time is worth more than the 80 bucks. I also pay for everything I use, if I can't pay for it I don't want it. Not that I have any problem using my daughters Academic discounts.

I have the P-7805u as a DTR for gaming, no need to spend extra for that . I could go with the t4200 Dell version for 499 but the exra 150 for me is worth it to me for the t6500 and future proofing................

 

Hey guys, why should I buy this BMW Z4 when an F-150 has a higher tow rating?

 

Because almost any vehicle is better than a sports car. I hate sports cars and convertibles. I'll take a mini-van any day over any sports car or convertible.

 

For Flash HD 720P video it seems fine but it seems like instead of say 30 fps it's like 25 fps. It not as fluid. And then 1080P seems like 5 or 8 fps.

For the couple of youtube HD videos I looked at I don't know what the original resolution is but it's probably dropping one third to one half of the frames.

 

I just tried these at the normal CPU speed. There is a big difference between 1.2Ghz and 1.44 Ghz. Overclocked at 20% it is easily watchable, but at the normal speed it is not. It plays it when the CPU is at 1.2Ghz but it is dropping too many frames.

 

I have an Old HP zv6107wm with a sempron 1.8 and radeon 200m. I founf other than the drive the performance is similar to what this system is when forced down on the clock. Definately not what I want. While fine for normal stuff Flash video is a no-no.

That HP system at the 1.8 is fine though, 1.6 should be doable as well. So long as you don't need flash or other online video then this is an awesome little device.

Guess I need to wait for at least one, if not two, more generations of machines before I take the dive. Amazing though what can be done with such a small machine only four or so years after purchasing such a bulky laptop..............

 

The new ones coming out soon won't have problem with 1080P. When they start incorporating the Nvidia graphics chipset. I'll probably be selling my gateway to get one of those.

 

They will not have a problem with 720p or 1080p but Flash and other net video content is highly cpu intensive even in a gpu harware accelerated system. As seen with these and say Hulu, the 420p works alot better when you can over clock the cpu.

 

Today I downloaded Hulu desktop on my older AthlonXP 2500+ OC'ed to 2Ghz (10x200) and it was a slideshow. Works better on my Athlon64 2.2Ghz. The Hulu website says "1.8Ghz C2D required". lol.

Flash video just sucks.

 

Well a 1.8 Ghz C2D is a lot faster than an AthlonXP 2ghz.

Agreed on flash video though.

 

I meant that if a 2Ghz AthlonXP can't handle it, then a netbook has no chance in hell.

 

Hey folks, an update on my X2 cpu upgrade/mod...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=393200&page=17

 

Gotcha. It's wierd, that CPU is old, but you would think it could handle Youtube....

 

My Sempron 1.8 Ghz handles Hulu 420p in windowed mode, it will not do full screen 1280x800 well. Even windowed it appears to lose a frame here and there but watchable..........

Edit; The cpu is between 70-100% utilized at 420p windowed..........

 

My 3.2Ghz Core2Quad uses between 30% and 40% of the CPU processing on Hulu HD. At least the couple that I tried. That seems rather high for just 720P. Apple Quicktime only uses 20% to 30% with 1080P content.

 

I don't think Hulu is HD, it's just HQ - 480p and higher bitrate instead of the standard 360p.

 

Yeah, streaming 720p is pretty rough

 

I was talking about the Hulu HD content. there are only 3 or 4 titles in HD.

http://www.hulu.com/hd/

They are 720P(1280x720)

 

i wish i knew if the 1810t acer will play flash video or youtubehd

its priced at 700 when it comes out
http://www.slashgear.com/acer-aspir...table-priced-lands-europe-mid-august-2750371/