Gateway P-6831FX User Review

Gateway P-6831FX User Review

Welcome to a Ac Adapter specialist of the Gateway Ac Adapter

It seems like only yesterday that consumer notebooks were simply analogs of their corporate cousins. Think grey slabs of plastic with no personality. Those were sad times.

Something happened recently to change this. I don’t know if it was a resurgent Apple showing the big PC makers how to infuse some soul and character into their products or if it was the realization that there is no longer any way to differentiate against a competitor through specs alone. Maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever the reason, PC makers have discovered style.

HP and Dell, as leaders in this industry, have come out with some very impressive designs recently. Where only a short while ago you would have bought a notebook from either of these brands because of low cost, now you might buy one because its cool. Yeah, that’s right I said Dells are sexy (but only some models).

Gateway, the perennial market share follower in the PC industry is attempting to join the fray too. While HP and Dell can draw on the hot rod artists at VoodooPC and Alienware (boutique brands recently acquired) to develop cool computers, how do the Gateway folks manage? Surprisingly well as it turns out.

Seeing this kind of performance from an attractive and upgradable $1,400 notebook with adapter such as eMachines D520 AC adapter, eMachines E730 AC adapter, eMachines G520 AC adapter, Gateway LT1005 AC adapter, Gateway 0220A1990 AC adapter, Gateway ADP-50GB AC adapter, Gateway PA-1650-01 AC adapter, Gateway 0220A1890 AC adapter, Gateway SA70-3105 T4010 AC adapter, Gateway ADP-60DH AC adapter, Gateway Solo 9100 AC adapter, Gateway S7200 AC adapter should make the boutique notebook makers more than a little nervous. Especially considering that it can run cicles around many of last year’s SLI notebooks even with its lowly processor.

If this notebook was completely closed, with major components soldered on, at this price it would still be a good deal. But Gateway is offering so much more. The CPU is upgradable. Extra mini-PCIe and Hard Drive bays sit empty, waiting for you to fill them with some future goodness. And peering deep into the FX’s innards, I could faintly see another socket exactly where I expect the GPU to be – so there might be some pleasant surprises for the more adventurous hardware tweaker. In short, this is a notebook that should see even an avid gamer get two years of use from. Consider the rapid pace of game development and you will appreciate the compliment.

To underline the FX’s value proposition, a store bought custom PC with similar specs comes out to $100-150 less than this notebook.

At about $325, the new Intel T9300 Penryn CPU would bring the FX in line with much more expensive gaming notebooks from specialty manufacturers and makes the most sense as an upgrade. Why spend $200 on a small improvement when $300 will deliver a meaningful one? A T9300 should really allow the GPU to spread its wings. The FX is a good performer with plenty of untapped potential.

With the inclusion of a CPU upgrade, total price is about $1,700 (irrespective of sales, rebates and resale value of the T5450). Only an 8800 SLI configuration will offer a noticeably better gaming experience. Faster RAM (800 MHz) would also be a good idea. With RAM prices dropping it is better to postpone the RAM upgrade.

Everything else being equal, I will take a fast GPU over a fast CPU. This is especially true if the CPU is socketed. In this case both processors may be upgradable – although GPU upgrades tend to be iffy due to lack of available upgrade parts. Still, the FX offers a lot of room to grow and for that Gateway deserves credit.

Gateway’s standard one year warranty will likely be voided by many FX owners as they have fun modding their purchase. As long as they educate themselves a bit before they do so, these folks will be fine. Communities like www.notebookreview.com can help (there is already lots of discussion on this particular notebook).

Gateway’s FX is a really great value. If you are in the market for a portable gaming rig, you owe it to yourself to have a close look at the Gateway 6831FX. Notebook gaming at this high a level has never been so affordable. In knocking this home run out of the park, Gateway has completely stripped the skin off the ball.