Gateway LT3101u 11.6" netbook impressions/thoughts/reviews

That new Timeline looks nice.

 

I wonder how many people just have unrealistic expectations. I would think twice before playing Hulu HD on my dual-core rig with a fat pipe.

 

I can confirm that this works. Maybe there are 2 different pll chips in these.

 

So the Gateway LT3103u technically supports 4GB memory modules. AMD confirmed this, but I don't think anyone's tried it.

Fast forward to today I got a hold of a 4GB Kingston DDR2-800 SODIMM module.



Stock memory on left, new module on right


Memory installed


BIOS shot with memory installed


CPUID shot. Strangely the memory is running way below spec of the chipset/CPUs capabilities, unless the L110 memory controller is underclocked.

Next up, Turion X2 and an SSD!

 

Wow, that'll be a pimped netbook. I haven't beel fully keeping up, but has anyone figured out why the X1270 is so severely underclocked? And is there anyway to fix it?

 

Its because there isn't a heatsink on it. Not even a heat spreader. You can overclock it in atitool by raising the clock speed above 450. I got mine to 67mhz and it overheated in 3dmark01. I am going to take it apart soon and dremel a small northbridge heatsink to it and try again.

 

So a question would then be, how is say even 53Mhz. If it does run at 44Mhz then that alone is a 20% overclock..............

 

Yo, Tuanies, how much did the 4GB cost? I was about to try it, but isn't it > $200? Also don't be too hasty on the X2. I've done it but it's not totally reliable and you'll probably need some cooling mods. Go for it though, I'd like to see what others can accomplish. I've already been told it's a lunatic idea, but I'm almost there.

See my post on http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5137084#post5137084

Perhaps I should post here since this is a Gateway thread. Also the X1270 is part of the RS690M chipset, it has a heat plate on it.

 

That is the same frequency mine runs with the stock 2GB memory module. I thought that 2GB was the max. This is good news. I'll order a module tomorrow. Although the stock module runs at 5-5-5-15, with CR at 2T..

 

Holy Crap!! These 4GB modules are over $150. Maybe I won't be getting one. Was there any improvement when going from 2GB to 4GB?

 

I would guess this would work as the actual memory speed is low, but you may need the 800 instead.....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148220

 

Going from 2GB to 4GB seems to run a bit better, but I'm using Windows 7 x64.

Photoshop loads a tad faster, I haven't had as many system hang ups as before. I haven't spent too much time on it since the upgrade though.

 

That's still too much. I plan on sticking with 32bit on the Netbook when I upgrade to Win7(My Notebooks will be running 64bit). Vista basic seems to work fine on my Gateway with 2GB and I have been overclocking by 20% when I do any installs or something out of the ordinary. Otherwise this Netbook has been working great for browsing the INternet, viewing camera pictures and videos, and checking email.

If the memory was half the price I would get it but even $130 is too much for an upgrade for a cheap Netbook.

 

lol, but unfortunately it's still about a tenth of the original speed...

 

Argeed it is slow but better than nothing. if the chip is interfaced to a plate or something have you tried ICD?

 

they are now down to 379.99................

 

has anyone tried playing Steam games with this netbook (ie counter strike CS/ team fortress 2, etc) does it run decent with low-mid settings?

 

Great. Hopefully I can still get a refund of the difference.

 

I'm very interested in knowing this as well. I'd love to know how well it runs the latest Source based game, Left 4 Dead.

 

This guy has some Fear and LOTRO videos.

 

Just bought this netbook over the weekend.... anyone else having trouble running HD video's? Running in VLC, they are beyond choppy and virtually unwatchable....

 

The best you can do right now is to overclock the processor to 1.6MHz. But even then the HD video will not be perfect. It will be watchable, but the processor will probable run around 150 degree F. Until someone finds another processor (dual core) that we can use in this netbook, I do not think that streaming HD is going to work very well. Other than that, I am very happy with the lt3103.

 

Now that bestbuy has this for 379 I am really tempted to pick it up...

 

Streaming HD works fine as long as you limit it to 720P or 1080i. Some frames are dropped but it is watchable. Now 1080P is not watchable. To many frames are dropped with 1080P.

Plus I think there was an update to the GPU drivers. I have no idea if it actually helps but with the Vista experience index, it is now is at a 3.0 without overclocking. the graphics score a 3.0 while before it was a 2.7.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up about the $379 price(not sure who posted it last week). I got a price match at BestBuy this weekend for the $21 difference.
I have been very pleased with this netbook. I'm glad i picked it over the Asus eee Netbook.

 

A faster X2 1.7 proc didn't help with my graphics score, it's at 3.0 too. My CPU score is 4.6 though.

 

Hmm, I love this laptop. I really do, but what sucks is that the fan gets pretty loud and it gets hot. And that it's been charging for the past half an hour and only went up about 8% in battery life.

But on the other hand, its pretty darn quick. Sure it has its quirks, but its nice! I installed TinyVista on it and it flies!

 

Ya other then the HD restrictions, this really is an amazing netbook... I installed Windows 7 on it and it runs like a champ now, boots up in well under a minute and has very little lag while running multiple windows and apps.... very happy overall

 

What is TinyVista?

 

important question guys, i wiped this netbook out and installed windows 7 without making any restore/drivers discs (i know im stupid) is there anyway someone can make copies of them and mail them to me? I will send $15 dollars via paypal if anyone is able to do it, let me know, thanks ([email protected])

 

Hey Demarco, just wondering, when you installed windows 7, have you been able to get your webcam up and working again? The webcam works in MSN but I can't get a stand alone program to use it with..... any thoughts or suggestions anyone

 

You can't get an image from Gatreway?

 

i dont know i guess ill call them tomorrow and see if they can send one

 

Its Vista with all the crapware that comes with it removed. I personally can't notice the difference between it and the regular Vista.


Oh and by the way, does someone have a comparison of Vista vs. Windows 7 on teh Gateway? I've looked at the comparisons online, but they don't really show the capabilities on a netbook.

 

I found that this utility works for turning off the fan.
http://www.computentsystems.de/aceraspireonefancontrol/

The cpu will heat up and the fan will kick in after a certain temperature threshold (configurable in the utility), but if you want it to stay quiet for a little while at least, that'll do it.

It doesn't seem to work with win7 x64. I had win 7 x64 but for some reason videos were too slow for me (normal youtube, cnn, etc... maybe some driver issue), so went to win 7 x32. Videos play fine now and the fan utility works.

 

I have an amd turion x2 tl-50 1.6 ghz cpu.This cpu is 90nm instead of 65nm like the tl-52,but the tdp is the same.So would they consume the same amount of power?

thanks in advance

 

Thanks! Utility works for me too, under Vista. I raised the "fan on" threshold to about 50c but on my X2 it gets quite warm underneath.

 

I found the PERFECT case for it. It arrived today and it fits the Gateway like a glove! And it's pretty cheap!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10760283

 

mine is still for sale

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300332170009&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

 

This looks like a good option. Has anyone had any luck with other cases / carrying bags? I've been trying to find an ~11"-capable messenger bag with little success. I've checked a few but they are either too big or too small - hard to find that snug fit for the 11", it seems.

 

I may be missing something, but why are you selling it for more than it is new since it is used? It's $380 at BB now, right?

 

Perhaps of the Office 2007. Licensed?

 

What version of Office and are you including the retail disks?

 

Remember everyone. Buying and selling of items goes in the market place, not in the general subforums. If it continues I will start deleting this stuff.

Kamin_Majere

 

I wonder what the implications will be?

Just bought one of these myself, and I definitely fell in love with it, but already noticing what others have brought up using it as it is, i.e.: strong heat blown out of the left side port, as well as fan noise.

So my question is, how much more stress would OC put on these components, and is it really worth it? Obviously, something that the brave among us will only find out from experience. But running even just 20% OC, is there a significant increase in heat dissipation/fan noise?

As I am quite inexperienced in doing this myself, would love to hear some opinions on the risks I might take to do this on my machine.

Also, would welcome any detailed guide that could help me do this on my own.

Lastly (..phew!) if anyone can point me in the direction of a guide that would explain how to install Ubuntu on this, as I tried but the hidden partition is giving me grief, and I am not willing to wipe everything in order to do so, and the few times I have used parted to move and resize partitions around have been with less than stellar results.

Thanks in advance, and sorry if any of this has already been posted.

sg

 

Ok, I'm quoting myself here typing from the Tablet PC I replaced my old Gateway LT3101u with.

My first LT31 had dead pixels right in the center of the screen but was otherwise perfect. It had to go back though. My second LT31 was sluggish and laggy right from the start and even after a clean wipe of Vista. Both LT31's were unable to play any source based games at any resolutions or settings. More over simple memory leaks in Firefox as well as basic flash based video slowed that thing to a crawl.
Simply unacceptable performance from a full fledged mobile processor (Though under clocked) and a Radeon x1270.
So I bought a refurbished HP TX2Z Tablet PC (12.1" screen) just a few days ago and planned my return of the Gateway LT31 around the arrival date of the TX2Z.
I can tell you the couple hundred extra I paid for the refurbished HP was well worth it just to be able to enjoy regular computer usage in a very small form factor. Not to mention I've been drooling over the HP TX tablets for some time now.

My advice is to spend the hundred or so extra on full fledged small form factor Notebook until the Netbook game catches up in processor and GPU speed. I'll be revisiting Netbooks when these two things come together in a cheaper package.

 

it ended up selling at $405, office discs werent included, i ended up with a fully loaded vaio sr430, its almost the same weight as the gateway for 2.5X the price after cashback rebates etc

couldnt justify $400 on a "netbook" that couldnt process hd video

 

I got Source games to run, but the info that the GPU doesn't have a heatsink and is severely downclocked explains a lot. Portal and HL2 ran 'ok.' Some parts were a stuttering mess. HL2 episode 1 and 2 on the other hand didn't run hot at all. I haven't tried TF2.

Don't have a desktop, have been away from PC games for a while, and just wanted to see how they ran on this netbook. Strange thing is that lowering the resolution, gfx quality(auto-adjust set everything to high), and sound didn't speed up framerates at all, which I would think pointed to the CPU. Why would you release a netbook with a GPU w/o any cooling? *boggle*

 

Did anybody else check this out?
I think im having buyers remorse...

http://www.jr.com/acer-computer/pe/...are&SiteID=lw9MynSeamY-zbBRxlETgLmlU/Xvw5JYKg

 

Go to the Acer section and see our thread, there will be a dual core version too.

 

There will also be something new and cheaper.