Gateway P-7805u FX

Hai, people.
I'm interested into Gateway P-7805u FX.
So, some company have imported these laptops in Latvia and are selling them for exclusively low prices (less than 800$ - new with 2 year warranty). Its most likely because the model is kinda old, but whatever.
So, as I read, its quite capable of running majority of new games with pretty decent framerate and graphic settings.
Also I have read that people are having problems with VGA drivers or smth (prolly the hardware).
So, why I made this topic?
I'm having some doubts with buying it, because, as I have seen in schematics, VGA have been soldered into one board with motherboard. That means, if 9800M passes out, I have to change whole MB instead of changing only VGA.
I would like to heard some reviews from people who have been actively using this machine for at least one whole year. Is it still working withput any glitches? Is it heating as usual or it have become hotter with time? How is the corpse (or call it case, I dunno how to properly call it in english) holding together when laptop have been moved around in a bag for a year?
Since our economical situation isnt the brightest, I cant afford to buy something that will pass out within a year (well, even if I have a warranty, I will need my laptop for working every day, losing time while notebook is in service is kinda pain in the *ss). Actually, I might not need this powerful VGA, but basically, this is the best choice found if I need powerful CPU with 7200RPM HDD and 17" screen.

So, I'm asking to Gateway P-7805u FX users to tell their opinions about the notebook after some long term usage.

Will be grateful for any answers - positive/negative, doesnt matter, just need to know the truth.

 

I love this machine. Been using it for two years. Had a couple BSOD but they went away with subsequent windows 7 64 updates. I use it for business purposes (Spreadsheets, Word processing, accounting and lots of video editing.) No games.

 

my opinion of my 7805u pretty much mirrors that of TreeTopRanch; it has thrown a couple of hissy fits in the past (such as BSODs, random reboots etc.) but none of these symptoms are persisent. I use mine for research work + leisure activities. Very capable in both respects.

 

Same here. I've had my 7805 for two years and nary a problem. I do play games and they look great on it. I also hook it up to my projector to watch movies (swapped out the dvd player for an aftermarket blu ray). I haven't changed out any other options as some on this forum have, i.e extra ram, processor and screen (I got the 1440 x 900, which looks great). Any way, Im gonna keep this as long as I can cause I love it so much.

 

In my honest opinion this Laptop has been nothing short of legendary in bang for buck performance. I only paid 1024 usd when it came out 2 years ago and got one of the few rare ones with the 1920x1200 resolution screen. It runs EVERY game that I have thrown at it very well at stock settings, and once I upgraded to Windows 7 and a x9100 overclocked CPU every game runs as smooth as butter almost always at max settings. Used to get some BSODs and driver errors on Vista, but all that was solved by upgrading to Windows 7 and applying a little fix of mine for a video driver error while gaming. So yes, I recommend this machine heartily.

Sincerely,
Andros

 

I haven't had the BSOD's other than with the x9100 and getting the proper Vcores setup. Mine has been rock solid from day one. This is why I m so hesitant to get a new system.

As far as the GPU being soldered most systems are this way. To get a MXM system you will pay more for it and it then can be proprietary and even expensive to upgrade. You really have to look at these more as modular systems other than a custom built desktop.

Now the P78xx series can be a hit or miss. Most of the 7805's are generally great but as in any system you can come across a lemon. Those few with primary issues had them resolved early on in these threads or abandoned the series and wen else where. Most of the early 78xx problems were resolved by the time this model came out so that is a plus too as it is well matured.

No one can decide or you if this meets criteria, you are the best judge. I will say if you plan to upgrade the CPU look to do so soon. C2D's may be a dying breed in availability, but try it out first. You may not feel the need to upgrade.

 

I see. Well, since I'm working in a computer service/customer care center, I can easily and cheaply access all kinds of mobile or desktop CPUs, so upgrading wouldnt be a problem.
Basically, I need it more for a work than gaming, this is just best price/performance notebook I have found lately.
Besides, my current laptop is Benq Joybook A52, so performance increase will be huge.
I'm more concerned about motherboard endurance in long term, because I have read a lot about nVidia mobile VGA solder failures (well, we got technologies that would be able to quite properly repair this soldering, but, if system passes out, I lose few days of my own work because this is going to be my primary work computer).
i havent found any chronical problems of VGA soldering and this model, tho.
At the moment I think I'll give it a try, but feel free to change my mind if u have had some serious and longlasting.

 

The primary nVidia solder issues were with the 7xxx and 8xxx series. There are some lingering into the 9xxx but these are rare. As an example we are starting to see some P6xxx notebooks needing the reflow.

If you primarilly use the system as a work notebook you should have even less to wory about the GPU solder issue. The reason is the heatup and cool down of the GPU causes the problem. If you don't stress the GPU you will just have it last that much longer................

 

Ofc I'll play some games, but games aint the primary reason I'm buying this computer. To be honest I have been searching, browsing and reading about it, I cant rly find a reason not to buy this one. Most likely, I'll have a new laptop next week.

 

TAN:
Just wondering if you feel the cpu upgrade you did (x9100?) was a good "bang for the buck" upgrade. I am starting to do some audio (DAW), or rather, more seriously now. Running plugins inside of Cubase or etc.. eats cpu fairly quickly. I know that there's always going the new quad-core route, etc... but I do REALLY love my p7805 - it's been the best laptop I've owned, esp. after 2 years.

I haven't priced or spec'd doing the upgrade, and would appreciate if you have any info or can point me at any threads (about to start my search, but any firsthand advice will be greatly appreciated

In all cases - cheers and thanks

 

Running DAW etc this may be something you'd be interesed in..........

 

I just did the upgrade, and can tell you that for my purposes it really gave me a kick in the pants. I found an x9100 on ebay for 149.99. Pulled the trigger and bought a tube of ICD7 and a zalman cooling pad. My temps are just fine and when I'm encoding and decoding audio or video I can really tell the difference. Also, when doing RTS gaming like CIV5 I'm getting a lot quicker response time from cpu intensive actions like calculating enemy turns. I'm oc'd to 3.4 ghz very stable with TS. A lot of people report 3.6 to 3.7 Ghz stable...I haven't tried. If you can find one at or near the price I found mine at, I would say definitely go for it.


Tyrus

 

I can OC 3.7 stable, non orthose, and 3.990 too but I don't like to push it that hard. Since I can undervolt for 3.2 GHz that is where I stay. I need 1.250 for 3.4 GHz so since it isn't undervolted I use the other profiles for that and up.

The only time I'll see a real difference is doing RAW with DPP. Conversions, previews etc. are well improved but again I don't really press the CPU....................

 

Hello Motto,

I'm a noob so please bear with me. In an old P-7805u FX thread, now closed, you mentioned you upgraded your screen from the stock WXGA to the LG LP171WU1(TL)(A3) WUXGA screen.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/402429-gateway-7805u-fx-screen-replacement.html

After an errant toss of a PS3 controller hit my screen (I blame Dark Souls), my screen turned all white. I figured it was a good time to finally upgrade the screen. I saw your post and assumed it would be relatively easy so I ordered the screen from Amazon.com.
Amazon.com: LG PHILIPS LP171WU1(TL)(A3) LAPTOP LCD SCREEN 17" WUXGA CCFL SINGLE (SUBSTITUTE REPLACEMENT LCD SCREEN ONLY. NOT A LAPTOP ): Electronics

I hooked up the screen using the 7805u's Video Cable and Inverter Board. When I turned it on the screen just stayed black, like it wasn't getting power. I plugged my old screen back in thinking I damaged something during install, but it still gets power. So, do I need to get a new Video Cable and/or Inverter to get this thing to work?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

I think he recieved the Samsung pannel not the LG............