Gateway P7811FX viable for a college student also?

I know it's an amazing gaming PC but I need a laptop that can also be used for college. I've heard that the weight could be a slight problem for some but I'm use to lugging around a laptop so I doubt it would be much of a problem for me. Is there anything else that I should consider as far as a school/gaming combo would go?

EDIT: Also, if your going to suggest a different laptop please bare in mind that I don't plan on spending anymore than $1,400.

 

Budget laptop + desktop.

 

I'm looking for 1 solid laptop that I can do everything on since I often transport it around to do both gaming and school work.

 

Clevo M860TU(9800M GTS) or HP DV5T(9600M GT), Sager 2096 (9600M GT), MSI 1651(9600M GT GDDR2) are your best options.

I know a couple of people that carry 17"ers around, but I think they are insane. 5-7lbs isn't too bad depending on how many books your carrying, but 11lbs is too much.

 

You might want to go even smaller than 15.4". My laptop purchases for school went as follows:
Dell e1705 17"
Dell 1520 15"
Dell XPS M1330 13"
Sony Vaio SZ 13"
Lenovo U330 13"

The smaller the better. Unless you are a hardcore gamer, a 13" will get everything done.

 

I read that they were only 8-9lbs.

 

I was looking at the 7811 but I bought the 6860fx because I got it for $700. Since it is well below my budget of $1500 I was considering getting an Asus eee so that I could have the best of both worlds. Carrying around even a 5-6lbs laptop can be a hassle depending on how many books, binders, etc you need for your classes. and yes the FX series starts around 9lbs depending on the battery and how many HDD's it has.

Maybe somthing similar would work for you depending on your budget.

 

I can't imagine lugging a 7811 around for college. It's huge and fairly heavy. You may want to look at the Asus G50.

 

I'm a senior in college and I'm a pretty small guy, 145pnds, and I carry around my 7811. The trick is to have a good notebook case, whether it be messenger bag, sleeve, or backpack. If it distributes the weight and has good padding, you won't even notice you're carrying it until probably the 15 minute point.

 

C'mon guys. What's a couple of pounds. It'll build character. Seriously though it is kinda big but it makes up for it. Some might think it looks a bit garish though. But who cares about looks, right? I just got one of these to use for school and three weeks later its off in Texas having an issue resolved with the hardware. It developed digital scattering in darker colored fields on the display. Not sure what thats about yet. Never saw another review that warned of this. When I talked to Best Buy they couldn't have been any more rude. Once they sell it to you they're done and don't want to waste their time on you. Unfortunately the only place to get the P7811 is at Best Buy. In the three weeks I had mine I enjoyed but I already had to send it to Texas to have it repaired. That cost me $127 to send from Michigan. Postage is not paid for when you send it in for repairs. Also, 24hr toll free support is not available. I finally got ahold of some after trying for hours and it was a long distance number and it was not available 24hours. They tech said she thinks it might be because Gateway just got sold. Anyways good luck.

 

The first thing you should decide is whether you want to deal with the weight of a 17" laptop, with the advantage of the screen size and 10-key, or suffer a slightly smaller screen and no 10-key but have a laptop that's easier to carry around with you.

I can't give up my 10-key and 17" screen, so I went with the Gateway. If you CAN give up the screen size and 10-key, there are some great 15.4" laptops that will be great for gaming:

Toshiba F55-Q504 Slightly slower CPU and GPU, but still very close. It's available on buy.com .

If you're going to have a desk setup in your room, you can always get a bigger monitor and an external keyboard anyway. Yes the price gets higher, but then you have one central computer that can play games and the bigger screen and keyboard\mouse.

The laptop\monitor situation doesn't work for me because almost all of my computing is done from the comfort of my tv-watching chair, so I stuck with the 7811 and I'll just be lugging it around in my Targus backpack.

 

im sorry unless you are incapable of lifting 15 pounds because a physical problem, god forbid; or laziness. Carrying this is like carrying any other huge science book for me. I play crysis on high at class !!! but i mean is up to you if its really for school only a freaking Linux box will kick *** for it and save you major dough. You can use the difference to build your self a nice desktop.

any how going back to my first statement. This laptop is heavy. Your going to school your a young man and you should have the muscle to lift it heck my pops is 70 and he can carry it around. I walk 20 mins to campus with it and i don't mind, (and im a fatass!) So as you can see im inlove with this computer like you have no idea.

Are you in to the latest games? then go for it.
If you only play movies / music only buy a 13-15.4 cheap pc with a large battery life lets say 6 hours and you will be set .

in the end both computers will perform the same in PowerPoint heh... (you know what i mean)

 

I bought my 7811 just for college (I'm a freshmen) but I haven't lug my laptop around with my backpack yet (I bought the Slappa, very very nice backpack). Everyone around me has either mac or friggin small laptops. I will my laptop later when the need arises and start playing games that they can't play during lectures MUHWAHWAHWAHA >.<

 

Thing is this laptop has only two hours and change of battery life. I love it but it's definitely a significant limitation. Replacement batteries cost around 100 bucks.

 

i get 2:45 out of mine and i have a blue tooth dongle+mouse+extra HD so what ar eyou doing to drian your battery at that rate?

 

Why would you not buy buy a p-7812fx notebook?? Once you figure that out than you should decide for yourself if the pro's outwiegh the con's taking into consideration your lifestyle. Only you can decide that.

 

I have a bluetooth dongle and bluetooth mouse also.

Playing games at performance level power profile, not really trying to save battery life. Just seeing how much there was when the computer is stressed. I'm painting a worst case scenario here, but we still come down to both of us saying we get less than three hours, and that's what many people here have said too, so I'm thinking under three hour is common, even though the "and change" part of my statement will vary from user to user.

 

oh got you!

To the poster above you!@

and the pros will be; the pc rock in every posible way for the money!!
the cons the pc weights more than 9 pound OHNOES!
but like you said i know load of ppl that dont want to carry anything more than 14.X apple pc even if it sucks form here to oblivion.

 

I wouldn't suggest it if you intend to take it to class. for several reasons. For starters I don't know about the rest of you but when I was in school I walked several miles a day, not something I would want to do lugging a 10lb notebook. Stack on top of that a calc, bio, and history book you are going to be looking at north of 20lbs with the quickness. I don't care who you are or what kind of bag you carry, your shoulder is going to get pissed at you. Second, you are going to be cramping your workspace. You are going to likely run into several where its not even going to fit. No less have space you your book and old fashion notebook.

If I was going to school with your budget I would put together a home built $1,000 desktop and get a netbook to take to class.

 

i carry my 6860 where ever i go, and often forget that i even have a laptop hanging from my shoulder, 11lbs isnt realy that big of deal (for an ex football player anyways), just make sure you get a decent messenger bag with a nice padded strap

 

not everyone needs bluray (some of us have ps3's), and also the extra 512mb ram in the video card makes no difference. the 7811 is a much better value for most. also, the 7812 is only sold in japan....

 

the only problem i would see in using it for school is battery life, unless there are places you could plug it in. so far with just web browsing, with the screen at full and led's on i've gotten about 3 hours, thats also with an usb wireless adapter.with all that off you could probably get another 20-30 min.