Gateway slips out 17-inch P-7808u FX multimedia laptop

Gateway's been on a roll of late with its bargain-minded laptops, so it's no shock to see the trend continue with its latest addition to the FX lineup. The P-7808u FX is a 17-incher that's geared towards multimedia freaks, and aside from the lackluster WXGA panel, the specs aren't half bad for the price. We're talkin' a 2GHz Core 2 Quad CPU, NVIDIA's GeForce 9800M GTS graphics card (1GB of GDDR3 included), 4GB of DDR3 memory, an 8x dual-layer DVD writer, 500GB SATA hard drive, 5-in-1 multicard reader, a stately nine-cell battery, WiFi, three USB 2.0 sockets, FireWire, eSATA and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. All 9.05 pounds can be ordered up from J&R right now for $1,699.99, and hey, they'll even cover the shipping. Bonus score.

[YpoCaramel Posted Mar 6th 2009 11:42PM]

Interesting they're still releasing new 9xxx cards ... The new releases don't elipse the 9800GTS by that much, but I wonder when the (misleading) GT2xx and GT1xx cards will be out.

[joshl Posted Mar 8th 2009 5:21AM]

Cheaper

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 6th 2009 11:43PM]

I

[Leindurstit Posted Mar 6th 2009 11:47PM]

Quad-core, a 256-bit graphics card, and a damned card reader? Wow, sounds a lot more 'Pro' than some other self-proclaimed 'Pro' laptops out there... too bad about the 1440x900 though.

[arash Posted Mar 7th 2009 7:08AM]

did you mean macbook pro? cause i dont see any other foolish pro out there.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 6th 2009 11:53PM]

Why in the world would anybody by anything with the "Gateway" name on it?

This is written on a Gateway laptop that I can't get repaired because the Gateway that sold it om me went bankrupt.

My daughter has on just like it--that she paid for a "warranty" for--she sent it in for repairs, now has to send money to get it repaired and returned to her (she drives a truck and bought the machine for her work).

I have a Gateway Down stairs with a dead sound system--I had to get an add-on sound card and figure out how to disable the broken motherboard to restore it.

If I buy another computer it sure won't be a Gateway.

I'll buy a Dell and throw the extra money in the fireplace.

[xValentine Posted Mar 7th 2009 4:25AM]

Why would anyone believe a post that has "Larry Sheldon" as it's poster in it ?

[Turbojugend Posted Mar 7th 2009 5:49AM]

Shall I go into problem I and countless others have had with Dell?

Dude, welcome to 2009 and electronics, nobody is better than anybody else, the only thing that matters is try to make sure you don't fall into the defective ratio % of that company.

[arash Posted Mar 7th 2009 7:14AM]

last time i heard from someone that sound is dead i found out windows sound is mute.

[Arkv2 Posted Mar 7th 2009 11:08PM]

The motherboard of my XPS m1330 failed some months ago; fortunately I paid for the CompleteCare warranty (for one year, but they gave me a 3 year warranty instead :D). Entered their website, gave my service tag, chatted for 3 minutes with a technician, and they came three days later (I told them too, the only day I was going to be at home), replaced the motherboard and end of the story.

[cray Posted Mar 6th 2009 11:53PM]

This the cheapest gaming laptop with DDR3 memory and video card. Only thing missing is Blu-ray, 1080 resolution, and bluetooth (despite that they have it listed). The harddrive is only 5400rpm too. Other than those quibbles you really can't complain about pricing for what you DO get.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:44AM]

yes... the pricing is REALLY good.

But I can't find enough reviews about NVIDIA's GeForce 9800M GTS....

How well would it run COD4 and FarCry2 on ultra high?

[Anticrawl Posted Mar 7th 2009 2:01AM]

My Gateway P-7801 runs Crysis Warhead and Farcry 2 both on maximum settings across the board with no drops in framerates. First thing to do is wipe the computer with a clean install of Vista 64-bit Ultimate and load up the latest nVidia drivers. I play Fallout 3 on max settings as well with 4-8x AA.

[Anticrawl Posted Mar 7th 2009 2:03AM]

Has all the same specs except the CPU and it has the full 1080p resolution. I upgraded the processor out of the box, nothing is soldered down to the board. I'm not sure about a Quad Core processor in a laptop though, sounds like too much heat.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:04PM]

Crysis Warhead and FC2 on maximum settings??? Are u sure about that? Because even the latest Alienware M17 doesn't do that.

[RedNara Posted Mar 7th 2009 3:31PM]

FC2 max setting prob no are maybe x2 aa. Other than that it def runs it easily on max setting. Crysis on the other hand you might get high.

[Anticrawl Posted Mar 7th 2009 4:27PM]

Yep I play Crysis Warhead on Enthusiast settings no problems. That alienware laptop doesn't have the better GPU or DDR3 ram.

[JeremyBenthem Posted Mar 6th 2009 11:54PM]

Last year's model seemed like a better deal to me, differences were;
2GHz Core 2 Dual CPU, NVIDIA's GeForce 9800M GTS graphics card (512MB of GDDR3 included), 320GB SATA hard drive
but for $350 less than this at it's lowest point, and a WUXGA resolution

by the way engadget, where's the Unboxing and Hand's On for this?

[Arkv2 Posted Mar 7th 2009 11:09PM]

Where's the apple logo on this?

Sorry, too tempting-

[skrew Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:00AM]

gateway has completely redeemed itself in my opinion. if you are a gamer who need a good value laptop, you can't beat gateway anymore

[skrew Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:04AM]

i have a p-7811fx, couldn't be happier with it performance.... not big on the style though

tigerdirect has it refurb for $800, almost same specs except for a c2d which is upgradeable to c2q

[Nadril Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:06AM]

They actually sold this laptop a number of months back at best buy. There was a big sale, it was selling for $1,100. had the same specs, including a 1920x1200 screen. 2.2ghz Core2duo, 9800GTS 1GB, 4GB DDR3 ram, ect.


So for the money I paid for it ($1,100) I got an amazing laptop.

[Kimolas Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:34AM]

This is a Core2 Quad, not duo.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:46AM]

Ummm..... this is:

1) Core 2 Quad
2) 1GB video card

So basically double the most expensive two components.

[Nadril Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:48AM]

I did misread the quadcore, which is my mistake (oops!) but the laptop I have does have a gig of DDR3 in it for the 9800GTS.

[Karnblack Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:07AM]

I'd rather pay $550 less for the Gateway P-7805u:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827

2.26GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile
4GB DDR3
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS w/1GB GDDR3
320GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)

[Karnblack Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:17AM]

Nevermind. I'd rather have the Gateway P-7801u for $400 less:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4187624&CatId=1891

2.26GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile
4GB DDR3
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS w/1GB GDDR3
320GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
WUXGA 1920 x 1200

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:30AM]

it's all about the L2 cache.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 7th 2009 1:08AM]

that color combo is a weeeee bit off..

[Raio Posted Mar 7th 2009 2:39AM]

yup yup yup Im loving my P173x FX since Ive got it.
no need to pay 2000$ for a gaming laptop ever...!!!

[ipodman715 Posted Mar 7th 2009 2:47AM]

I have the 7811FX. I hope they're fixed the heat issues with the gpu on this one :(

[Turbojugend Posted Mar 7th 2009 5:45AM]

Why do companies put these type of notebooks out with 5400 rpm drives?

[Verythrax Posted Mar 7th 2009 7:55AM]

Gateway laptops float or sink?

I'm very impressed by their good prices (they had one sometime ago that was a match for the alienware one in specs for a bargain!), and I'm considering importing one. Is it worthy?

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 7th 2009 9:37AM]

Ha ha, the mouse pad is not centered. Get an apple to get a centered mouse pad.

[saint Posted Mar 7th 2009 9:43AM]

Oh geez, how could they forget something like that!

[Orangecat Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:40PM]

The mouse pad is centered with the spacebar. If you look at the picture there is a numpad next to the standard keyboard. If the mousepad was in the center of my laptop, my palm would be on the mousepad right now as I am typing on my 17" Gateway. And you can't even compare a 17" Mac to a Gateway because Apple won't even put a numpad on their 17" laptops.

[saint Posted Mar 7th 2009 9:33AM]

I hate it when they ship to only U.S ! Someone please enlighten me on the best way to order one from Asia?

[Raio Posted Mar 7th 2009 12:30PM]

ebayyyy, through me

[BoullionCube Posted Mar 7th 2009 11:47AM]

Ehh... this looks old compared to ASUS' new 15" K-series with a Mobility Radeon HD 4860. A few months back the 8500 3DMark06 @ 1280x1024 score of the 9800M GT wow'ed me. The MR HD 4860 fits on a 15" and has a 3DMark06 @ 1920x1200 score of 9000+. I'm definitely going to go with ATI's new offering. Good thing I didn't opt to get an ASUS G50vt last month.

[RedNara Posted Mar 7th 2009 3:31PM]

Id rather wait for a 15 inch laptop with the HD 4860 lol... Seriously battery will last twice as long, cost cheaper, less heating problem, a lot lighter, and the HD 4860 is better than the 9800m GT which is better than the GTS. Lol.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 7th 2009 4:28PM]

I've got one of the earlier versions of this laptop with an 8800GTS and it's been great. I've had it for about a year and have no issues at all. People always say you need to wipe the harddrive, but Dells and Gateways typically come very clean right out of the box with nothing that a quick antivirus uninstall and an msconfig tweak won't take care of. Most Gateways now, however, are no longer coming with the OEM restore discs, so the only option is to burn a set of apps&drivers discs, or the a full blown system restore disc with everything already on it.

[Jayenkai Posted Mar 7th 2009 6:23PM]

Where was this 10 years ago!?

You guys had AMIGA!!

Cheap decent spec laptop + Amiga name + some kind of emulation built in = sales!!

Wasn't hard!!

Aw well, too late..

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 8th 2009 11:58AM]

I have the older P6831-FX but upgrade proc to T9500 2.6ghz/6mb cache , 4GB ram and 2 250GB 7200rpm hardrives in raid 0 and it plays every game i've thrown at it Left for dead , farcry2 COD4, UT3 you name it, it its awsome. i use it at all the lans i go to.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 9th 2009 8:18AM]

I just bought the 7805u and got the model with the 1920x1200 display. I couldn't be more happy with this desktop replacement notebook. This thing flys and plays left 4 dead at max settings at 19x12. ;)

Gateway has been reliable for me and I hope that it continues.

[JMONA Posted Mar 20th 2009 1:03AM]

So based on the review im seeing that this was already sold at bestbuy??? i have the P6831FX edition with the lower memory ram and lower HDD as well, and in hopes to find this one i went to BB the other day and they only have the P7805 Edition, that is about $1150, right now im without a computer and i have qualified for the no lemon so im wondering if actually Best Buy is going to carry this model again.
I would really like to get it, i had other options on other Computers with always Gateway on the top of the list but no matter how cheaper i find a laptop with a bigger HDD capacity and 4Gb of Ram, i keep coming back to this one, i just wished that Gateway would bring it to BB in the next couple of weeks cus this is the system i want, specially cus im not paying for it the junk out from BB is, but if they did i wish it was cheaper, but i guess im asking too much here, this is a heck of a system i love it, Mac's are way too overpriced!