Gateway MD7820u/MD7822u specification misadvertisement

Hey guys, I'm letting everyone know that the MD7822u's specification on both Gateway and Staple's websites are incorrect. According to their websites, the MD7822u supposedly came with the Mobility Radeon HD 3650 and DDR3 RAM. However, this was clearly not the case. When I received it from Staples, I turned it on and as soon as Vista finished loading, I immediately noticed that it had Intel graphics drivers installed. Upon re-examining the box, my suspicions were correct: This machine has a GMA X4500MHD video chipset and DDR2 RAM.

I will contact Staples first thing in the morning and get a refund, because I felt like I was duped into buying something that was clearly misadvertised. I just hope they don't give me trouble for removing the protectant cover off the keyboard and screen bezel.

 

Sorry to here about that. the MD7822u seems like a decent laptop if it indeed came with the ATI Radeon® HD 3650 with a msrp of $799 we could see it go on sale for $699 or less.

 

I looked at gateway's Website and product details and it says that machine should come with both, maybe its hybrid. So you can get Graphics with games and Battery when traveling. THe DDR3 thing though will still kill the deal. Maybe Check it out with a program that can read the Speed of the chip and if it surpasses 800 MHz than its dd3. I know with the FX line up some programs return a DDR2 but the Speed is correct.

I don't know this is just my Two cents.

 

A good conjecture, but unfortunately it's only the GMA X4500MHD. I thought it was possible using hybrid graphics as well, but I popped the bottom cover off and saw the heatsink only covering the CPU and Northbridge. There is no way that they would make the HD 3650 passively cool, so I think that pretty much confirms it. CPU-z reports it with DDR2-667 RAM as well.

 

Well that's a major Screw up. Since the website says the HD card "and" the Intel not "or"

I know you should be able to return it. Its not the consumer at fault for the false advertising. Hopefully everything will be resolved.

 

I was able to return it to a Staples location. They didn't give me a hard time at all, in fact, they offered me a heavy discount on a notebook, and I ended up with a HP HDX16 for $750 with tax. That works for me.

 

WOW... I totally agree with this. I ordered the DV5T from staples and it was supposed to have the 9600M GT, ended up being the 9200M GS! I returned it and bought another one. Hopefully this one will have it!

 

Was it the $699 deal for the dv5-1251nr? I just bought one too. I'm afraid it might be the same issue here.

 

I also have seen the false advertisement. I went to OfficeMax today to pick up a MD7820u, I did not pick one up. Beware that the GPU is integrated INTEL! Not Ati HD3650 as advertised on Gateway.com and officemax.com. Everything about the notebook looked and felt nice, except for the gpu. Now I have to explore other alternatives.

~Josh

 

Nice, so the MD7820u doesn't fall far from the tree either. Kudos to Gateway's marketing team. I know that laptop has been posted in several bargain hunting sites, and I hope people are aware of the misadvertisement before they buy something they didn't want.

 

My MD7820u arrived recently in email. As noted on this board, the memory is DDR2 and not DDR3. Also has no sign of Radeon Graphics Card.

 

Yeah, I drove 30min to the nearest Office Max to confirm graphics card. What tipped me off to begin with was the website did not specify how much dedicated gpu ram there was as they did for the MD7826u model. Sorry we couldn't have figured this out for you sooner.

~Josh

 

Unless you're okay with what you have, I highly recommend contacting whoever you got the laptop from and ask for a refund. They shouldn't give you problems or even try to charge a restocking fee; after all, it's a major misadvertisement and you didn't get what was specified.

Six hundred dollars is a lot of money, don't settle for something that you're not completely happy with.

 

I agree with TRF, return it for a refund.

 

I just checked the Gateway webpage and behold they have released the actual specs

Chassis with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with up to 1759MB of Intel® Dynamic Video Memory Technology 5.0 and Mobile Intel® GM45 Express Chipset

EDIT: but this has only changed on the 7820u model.