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what's the greatest thing about this website? perhaps it's posting in the "what laptop should i buy" forum, requesting a ~$500 budget model laptop, and getting a few links to a $900 lenovo. oh yes, that's what it is.
here is my review of the $599 from best buy Gateway NV78902U, fresh off of 4 hours of cleanup and first impression time.
first of all, the reason i have this laptop is that my stepmom wanted to buy a budget laptop for my dad, who is a complete pc novice. i didn't want to get him a complete piece of junk, but looking in the sub $600 category, i saw a lot of t4300 dual cored, only 3gb ram, small HDD's, ccfl screens.. well, knowing about a 10% off scheme from best buy, i decided to take a look at their selection. i had picked out a dell 1555 for her listed at $549. solid specs, but it sold it before she had a chance to pick one up. so upon a second look, i noticed this gateway, an asus u50a, and an hp dv6-2066dx. all were listed at $599. after much consideration i opted for the gateway.
these are the specs:
17.3" LED 1600x900
core2duo t6600 2.2ghz cpu
4gb ddr3 ram
intel 4500mhd
500gb 5400rpm
intel 5100 abgn
windows 7 home
not too shabby for the price spec. sure, the gamers and nerds are gonna complain about the 4500mhd integrated graphics or the screen resolution, but lets get real, these specs are great for a novice or even average user. i dont think my 64 year old father is gonna complain about the fps in crysis.
the only laptop i've ever owned is my current hp dv7t-1270, which i've had for nearly a year. you can see the specs in my sig. it's a decent little laptop, nothing too fancy, but solid in it's own right. i will be using the dv7 as a basis of comparison for the gateway nv7802u. (to be fair the dv7 was much more expensive but had upgraded cpu, gpu, bluray options. base models would be comparable and far as chassis, screen, etc)
PROS:
LED display: are the viewing angles great? no, but no worse than my hp. BUT the LED backlighting is certainly a very nice upgrade. the backlighting is significantly better and the screen looks nice.
BUILD QUALITY: this laptop is solid all around. it really puts the hp to shame. makes the hp feel like a cheap toy. i particularly like the screen hinge on it. it feels very solid.
DESIGN: an very nice looking laptop. the exterior is glossy, but the palmrests and touchpad are a matte finish. i particularly enjoy the matte on the touchpad, as the glossy touchpad on my hp is a pain to use.
TOUCH SENSITIVE CONTROLS: above the keyboard. i actually like the controls on the HP better, but the dell studio 1555 and asus didnt have ANY touch sensitive controls for wifi, sound, etc.
4 USB ports, HDMI: the hp also included esata (does a novice user even need it? no). also the hp has firewire and dual headphone jacks, and a media remote.
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Cons:
KEYBOARD: to me, this is the WEAKEST AREA of the laptop. it's flush against the base of the laptop, there is not much separation between keys, and there is not much feedback from the keys. they're a little soft-ish.. it very much reminds me of my hp wireless elite keyboard in the feel, except the elite has a little more separation and a slight raise in the keys. if the keyboard was better i would really be impressed with the build of this laptop.
6-CELL BATTERY: as of right now, i've bee using this thing on high performance for 120 min and have 20% battery remaining. im not sure why they'd sell a 17" laptop with a 44mwh battery, but even so, the battery life is not all that bad.
SPEAKERS: wow the HP DV7 really kicks the gateways on the speakers. the gateway has comes witha little dolby sticker, but uhhhhh, these speakers are weak. no subwoofer. i did notice that a little tweaking including setting the equalizer to "powerful" and disabling the dolby sound space option improves the quality a bit.
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at this time i really dont have any other complaints about this laptop. the build is very solid, the specs are very solid for the price.
time will tell about gateway's reliability/customer service, as i have zero experience in those areas.
a couple more minor details: 500gb hard drive is a +. has a multigesture touchpa. lack of bluetooth and lightscribe hardly matter.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway...lack/9548661.p?id=1218122908891&skuId=9548661
nv7802u review from best buy
Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by sublime313, Dec 14, 2009.
